Dog training part v - the command voice

2. Dog Training Part V: The
Command Voice

3. Whengivingcommandstoadog,acalm,firm,authoritativevoiceismost
effective.Dogsdonotrespondwelltohesitant,pleadingvoices,nortoyelling,
whichmightsoundtothedoglikethreateningbarkingorscolding.Itisalso
importantthatthewordusedforthecommandandthepitchofthevoicebe
consistenteachtimethecommandisdeliveredsothatthedogcanmoreeasily
learnwhattheownermeans(siiiiiiiiiiiitdoesnotsoundthesameassit,for
example).

4. Usingthepuppy'snamebeforeacommandensuresthatthedogknowsthata
commandiscoming,thatitisforhim(ratherthanforotherdogs,children,or
people),andthatheshouldpayattention.Thisis importantbecausedogshear
alotofhumanspeechthathasnorelevanceforthematall,anditiseasyfor
themtodisregardcommandsamongstthebabble.

5. Toreinforcethecommand,thedogalwaysgetssomekindofrewardor
reinforcement(praiseandusuallyatreatortoy)whenitperformstheaction
correctly.Thishelpsthedogtounderstandthathehasdoneagoodthing.

6. Notethatnotalldogsaretrainedtovoicecommand.Manyworkingbreedsof
dogarenottrainedtoavoicecommandatall;theyaretaughttoobeya
combinationofwhistlesandhandsignals.Deafdogsareperfectlycapableof
learningtoobeyvisualsignalsalone.Manyobedienceclassesteachhand
signalsforcommoncommandsinadditiontovoicesignals;thesesignalscanbe
usefulin quietsituations,atadistance,andinadvancedobedience
competitions.

7. Thespecificcommandwordsarenotimportant,althoughcommonwordsin
Englishincludesit,down,come,andstay.Short,clearwordsthatareeasily
understoodbyotherhumansaregenerallyrecommended;thatway,people
willunderstandwhatahandleristellinghisdogtodoandotherhandlershave
agoodchanceofcontrollingsomeoneelse's dog if necessary. In fact, dogs
can learn commands in any language or othercommunications medium,
including whistles, mouth sounds, hand gestures, and soforth.

8. To LearnMoreAboutDogTraining,go to
http://howtohousetraindog.com/go/dog-training
http://howtohousetraindog.com/go/theonlinedogtrainer