# top 10 commands for a companion-only puppy



## princess heidi (Jan 10, 2013)

:wave:
top 10 commands for a companion-only puppy
:wave:


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

Stay/wait
Sit
Down
Come
Crate
Leave it
Up
Off

ETA: 

Settle
Mat


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## Tuco (Jan 3, 2013)

The polite combo (stay, sit, Gimme paw)
Come
Eye contact when saying name
Give it
Heel
Fetch
Go
Cross 
Down
Shhhh (stop barking) 


These are what I've taught tuco so far. And are pretty useful, I would highly recommend clicker training


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

the life saving ones are come, stay, and either being able to sit or down from a distance.


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

Ohhh a life saver might be stop or woah if the dog is about to dart into traffic. 


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## princess heidi (Jan 10, 2013)

my mom's friend (springer owner) does quiet hand signals, only
and it looks fantastic - boy would i love to do that!


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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

1. Sit
2. Down
3. Wait
4. Come
5. Stay
6. Out
7. Leave It
8. Off
9. Heel
10. Crate

I also like:

11. Shake
12. Circle Right
13. Twirl Left, both are good for spinal flexibility
14. Finish …sit in front and circle around the back to sit at my side. Just cool
15. Find it – we do nose work so that is her command to work
16. Bring it – for tossing bumpers and flying disc


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## maggiesmommy (Feb 23, 2010)

I would recommend a "back off" command...I use it when I am cooking. Maggie likes to investigate the oven, so, to keep her from sticking her head in and getting burned, I give the back off command and she takes 4 steps backwards.


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## Yaichi's Mom (Jul 21, 2012)

Great list so far.

I would add:

- Drop It
- Watch me

Come and Leave it, IMHO are the most important commands we can teach.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Brave said:


> Ohhh a life saver might be stop or woah if the dog is about to dart into traffic.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


That's why I said sit or down at a distance. Same idea, but clearer to the dog exactly what to do


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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

maggiesmommy said:


> I would recommend a "back off" command...I use it when I am cooking. Maggie likes to investigate the oven, so, to keep her from sticking her head in and getting burned, I give the back off command and she takes 4 steps backwards.


Funny, we use back off when Tayla is being too rowdy with our 15 year old dog. I hadn't thought to use it for the stove. Nice.


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## Wyatt's mommy (Feb 25, 2011)

princess heidi said:


> my mom's friend (springer owner) does quiet hand signals, only
> and it looks fantastic - boy would i love to do that!


All commands should be taught with a verbal and hand signal. That is how they learn. Once he has mastered the commands you should have no problem using just the hand signals.


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## FeatherRiverSam (Aug 7, 2009)

Down 
Sit
Stay
Come
Leave It
Shake...not for a paw but to shake off snow or water
Load Up / Kennel...to get in & out of a boat / car / house
Heel / With Me
Stay In....not a heel command but rather stay within 20 ft of me
Hush...stop barking

And probably the most important..."Get The Hat"...which means remove this persons hat without them knowing it...

Pete


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## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

Besides the usual commands, the most useful one we've taught Casper is "Back". Thinking about grabbing my sock from my hand? Back. Too close to the fridge? Back. 
Want me to throw the ball again? Back. It's also kind of cute.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

My dogs are companions and all the competition obedience commands have their place in the average home. They just are very polished and exact and distraction proof because of all the training that needs to go into them. 

Jumps have their place in real life - if you hike. There are times where you come across obstacles while going cross country where you need your dog to have the courage and strength to jump over fallen trees or scale steep inclines (though I guess that falls under agility more). Oh and jumping in and out of the car.

Directed Retrieves and scent discrimination definitely have their place in real life.... particularly if you own a golden retriever who takes his toys out to the edge of the property and leaves them out there. You should be able to send him back out to retrieve his toys or no treat for him. 

Anyhoo... putting my simplify to basics cap on:

1. LEAVE IT. Meaning that the dog should be turning his face the other direction and avoiding the object of interest. You should be able to call your dog off of any delectable surprise that will likely kill him if devoured. 

2. TRADE. Meaning that your dog must be trained that you will always reward him for bringing you something nasty. As opposed to him running away with that nasty thing to eat it. 

3. OFF. Meaning that even if your dog does jump up, he will keep his paws to himself. 

4. EASY. Meaning that you have a word to give that dog to SLOW DOWN and adjust to your pace. Without you nagging on him.

5. STAY. This is a funny one for me, because honestly the only times I've used the S-T-A-Y word in average daily life is when I'm taking pictures and want to pose the dogs. I've pretty much trained myself to avoid using the word in common conversation around the dog just to keep it special. 

6. SETTLE. Meaning that you shouldn't have to exhaust your dog to the point of expiration (you or the dog) if you want to sit in peace in your living room and watch TV without the dog demanding your attention. The single word is all you need to send the dog to a comfortable spot in the room to sit or lay down and relax. 

7. SIT. This word is especially useful because most people feel the most important thing to do when meeting a dog is telling it to sit to test its intelligence. And you do not want your dog to look stupid, right? 

8. COME. This is a two way training word. Train the dog to COME like the wind every time you ask without fail. And the owner needs to be trained to recognize there are just some times when it is futile to throw that command out there and instead of calling, they need to get their running shorts on and physically retrieve their dog. 

9. NO. This word is the most important command at all. It means that without any exceptions, your dog needs to stop whatever it is he was doing. Because you said so. No BITE. No BARK. NO STARE-DOWN-STRANGE-DOG-WHO-CAN-KILL-HIM-WITH-ONE-CHOMP.

10. GO POTTY. Really. This is the most important command of all.


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## USAFWife74 (Jan 13, 2013)

So far Ellie knows:

Sit
Sit stay
Down
Down stay
Leave it
Drop it
Take it
Come
Paw
Settle (I sit down with her cradled in my lap, and hold her gently while touching her all over...been great for trust issues)
Spin (she spins clockwise)
Reverse (spins counter clockwise)
Wait (different from stay because she can do as she pleases as long as she doesn't cross the line I've laid down for her)

Working on walk nice. She is a puller, but we manage well with the Easy Walk Harness). Her curiosity is good for her since she had a lack of socialization as a puppy. We won't teach her heel. As long as she walks nice and follows my other commands, I think we'll be ok.


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## USAFWife74 (Jan 13, 2013)

Oh yes, and GO POTTY! Definitely the most important one! 


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

We were taught in class to say "Hurry Up" for the potty command. Its a little less embarrassing in public.


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## princess heidi (Jan 10, 2013)

" SIT. This word is especially useful because most people feel the most important thing to do when meeting a dog is telling it to sit to test its intelligence. And you do not want your dog to look stupid, right? "
it's funny u should say that. my mom always says "sit is a wasted command".
anyhow. these are all soo great. thanks everyone


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Hurry Up (go potty)
Come
Sit
Down
Stay
Off
Up
Relax ( Go lay down)
With Me/Let's Go
Fetch
Leave It
Drop It


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Come.
Off.
Drop it.
Leave it.
Go lie down (or get out of the kitchen, or go to your spot, or whatever).
Sit.
Down.
Stay.
Crate.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

BTW, dogs learn hand signals easier than verbal commands, they are very programmed to pay attention to body language, not so much to language, so don't be too impressed by dogs responding to hand signals  !

Not what you asked, but no matter what commands you teach, don't ever use one in a situation where you can't enforce the command, or they quickly learn that all commands are optional. Also, when you give a command, give it once. They hear very well. They don't need to hear the command repetitively. I go bonkers at the pet hotel when owners stand there and say, "SIT....SIT....SIT FIDO.....FIDO SIT....SIT....SIT FIDO....". I say, "he heard you the first time you said it. He's just trying to figure out which one he's supposed to respond to". 

Anywho, my list will be about the same as everyone else's. In no particular order:

1. Come
2. Wait (stop where you are and wait for me to catch up)
3. Sit (from all sorts of distances, until they will sit from 100 yards away)
4. Down (again from all sorts of distances)
5. Stay 
6. Drop it (item is already in the mouth)
7. Leave it (they are thinking about picking up the item)
8. Off
9. Kennel up (or get in the crate, whatever)
10. Give me a kiss


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## KatieBlue'sMidnightSky (Feb 22, 2011)

Go Potty
Here (Instead of Come)
Wait (one of my favorites ~ she stops on a dime when she is up ahead of me and I don't want her going any further, but don't necessarily need to her to come back)
Sit
Stay
Down
Leave It & Take It
Give (instead of Drop It)
Let's Go
Back
Gentle & Easy (when taking things, or going up to a small child or frail adult...or when she is pulling to get to the open field were she loves to run, lol!! Easy girl! haha!)
Look (eye contact)

sorry! I know I went over 10!!


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## Allie (Nov 30, 2008)

MominGermany said:


> Oh yes, and GO POTTY! Definitely the most important one!
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com App


HAHA! Allie does that well - in the spot where I tell her no matter where we are - we have traveled a lot - I'm retired airline and Allie is my service dog - so she knows that potty may not happen for awhile.

I love the command list so far and being a new momma again to a puppy I def need a refresher course!


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

In my house we use: 
Sit
Down (as in lay down) 
Off 
Roll over
Shake
Watch
Up (invitation to get onto couch or into back of car)
Come
Stay
Wait (very useful I find--dogs know it's a brief thing, use it when exiting and entering house, etc.)
Belly rub (this is Bella's--she plops down and goes belly up for rubs...)
Treat 
Bring it
Leave it
Back or back up
Walk nicely (means slow down and loosen up on the leash) 
Let's go 
Go to bed (go to crate--Tess is really good at this. Firstborns are often the politest!)
Out (leave the room, usually the kitchen)
Outside (everybody head for the back door for potty break) 

Oh yes, and Hugs! (invitation to stand up and hug us)


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

If you live in a snowy area, I would add "clean your feet"! My angel Cody would come in from the backyard snow field, plop on the rug at the back door, and pull off all of the snowballs before he went any further. I taught him that one and it saved a lot of melted snow on the hardwoods


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## Leslie B (Mar 17, 2011)

I will add two commands

1. Place - the dog can sit, stand, or lie down but has to stay in the 2x2 square where he is.

2. Break - for us sit means sit, kennel means kennel, and place means place. There is not expiratation time on the command. Break give the dog the cue that the command is over.


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

Relax/Settle is the most important one to me, especially used in combination with a Go to Mat command. Also, Look at That.


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