One of the biggest differences between professional dog trainers and new pet owners is that trainers are very consistent. They use the same command and hand signal each time they ask a dog to do something. They also have consistent expectations and rules for their dogs.

Consistent Commands:

Why does it matter?
Dogs can only learn a limited number of word sounds. It’s easiest for them to learn one syllable words that always sound the same.
As the classic Far Side cartoon points out, what they mostly hear is “Blah, blah, blah, Ginger, blah, blah, blah.” Think how you feel in a country where you don’t know the language–you’re very happy when everyone uses the same greeting and you are quickly thrown off if someone breaks the pattern by saying “Nice day, isn’t it” instead of just the usual “Good morning”.

Why is it so hard for us to use a single word and only say it once?

We value complexity in language and use synonyms to avoid repeating ourselves. So initially it feels very silly to speak this way. Just remember, if your dog doesn’t respond to “Come”, he’s no more likely to respond to “Come Here”, “This Way”, “Over Here”, Come Here NOW” etc.

What can you do to use commands more consistently?

1. Make a list of commands and hand signals that you use and share it with your household.
2. Watch yourself in the mirror when you give hand signals. Is your palm up or down? Open or closed? Are you bending over?
3. Don’t repeat yourself or chatter at your dog. Make sure you have your dog’s attention before you give a command and then say it once. If you always say “Sit, Sit, Sit” then your dog will understand that the command is “Sit, Sit, Sit”.
4. Control your own emotions and behavior. Good dog trainers are good actors. It takes practice to be aware and in control of how you look and sound to your dog. You need to make sure that your body language says the same thing as your voice says. For example, if you want your dog to sit, a calm, firm voice, and quiet body language will get the job done. Sit! Sit! Sit! while your vocal pitch goes up and you gesture furiously will just wind your dog up. So use a calm voice and body language for stationary commands and an upbeat tone and active body language when you want your dog to come running.

Consistent Expectations: 

Why does it matter?
In addition to using simple, consistent commands, it’s important to be consistent in your rules and expectations. There may be some rules that matter more to you than others; however, if you let the little things slide, you will start to have problems in other areas. For example, in agility, dogs are required to stay at the start line, on the pause table, and at the end of the contacts. Handlers who allow their dogs to get away with breaking their start line stays soon find that their dog also starts challenging the rules about staying on the table and contacts. Just like kids, when dogs realize that some of the rules don’t always apply they will start testing other rules.

Why do we give commands and then let it slide?

1. Social pressure. Telling your dog to sit when he is bothering someone makes you seem like you are doing something, even when there is no chance your dog is going to listen.
2. Distraction–you ask your dog to sit, but then fail to notice that he doesn’t because you are doing something else.
3. It didn’t really matter–You ask your dog to sit so that you can put his leash on, but instead he comes and stands still next to you which allows you to put the leash on. So, since you didn’t really need the sit, you fail to enforce it.
4. You feel bad enforcing the command. I found myself in this situation on a walk this morning. Out hiking with Flash, I had just crossed a stream and didn’t see where he was. I called out “Flash, Come!” then turned around and saw him lying in the stream cooling off. Honestly, it wouldn’t have mattered if he lounged in the stream for a couple minutes and then caught up with me, but since I had called him, I told him “No” and reminded him to come. He hopped out of the stream and came along as asked. Coming out of the stream wasn’t an emergency, but some day when there is one I’ll be glad he knows that I always expect a response.

What can you do?

1. Only make rules that you are willing and able to enforce.
2. If you know your dog is going to do something anyway, make it seem like your idea. When I have a puppy in the house and I see him going for something on the floor and I know I’m not going to be able to stop it, I’ll tell him “OK, Get it!”
3. Try to pause and think before issuing a command.
4. Only give a command if you have a reasonable expectation that your dog will follow it or if you have a way to make it happen–either by physically enforcing it or by withholding something the dog wants.

Good luck with your plans to become a more consistent trainer! You’ll find that training yourself to be consistent is a much bigger challenge than teaching your dog a new command, but it really does pay off.