In Dog Training, Simple Commands Work Better than Complex Ones

In dog training simple commands are much easier for your dog or puppy to understand than more elaborate ones. You’ll learn this in any obedience training class, but getting the habit does sometimes take a while.

As an example, imagine you are in a training class where the sit is being taught. All over the room, you may hear people saying the word repeatedly, so if the puppy or dog isn’t completely confused, he may come to the conclusion that he isn’t supposed to sit until he hears the word three times!

The purpose in sticking to simple, short words for commands is to help the pet develop a habit of recognizing and responding. Canine behavior has a lot of habitual aspects to it — as does human behavior, come to think of it! When your dog training is based on using simple words that you repeat once per request, this is easier for the animal than if it has to guess at your meaning as you chatter away.

Naturally, dogs may notice certain words in the middle of your conversation with someone else. If you ask your son, “Are you ready to go for a walk with Buddy?” it is likely that Buddy will recognize his own name as well as the word “walk.” Domestic dogs have been listening to people talk for centuries!

So your training will go best if you use simple dog training commands — which can also be described as cue words. That phrase bypasses the whole dominance issue, the idea that you have to always be the boss. While obedience is certainly necessary at times, in general the most satisfying dog training comes about when you and the dog are working as a team.

When you are teaching your new puppy, do use simple terms like come, sit, stay, and down. These are time-tested training commands that work well.

By the way, since “down” means something like “Get onto the floor,” what do you say when your dog is jumping up on people and you want him to stop? A good word is “off.”