# What is your "release" command??



## Rastadog (Oct 24, 2006)

*Ok !*

OK! sometimes with a physical release like a thump on the chest.


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## bbuzz (Aug 8, 2010)

Our release command is 'sasha time'. We also have a hang signal to release which is a funky wave. We walk Sasha without a lead (on a heel) so it's very important that her release command is very clear. Also no matter what she has to be in a sit before she is released, just as an added safety measure to ensure she is never confused concerning her release command.

We have the command 'walk with me' when means she has to be on a heel, no sniffing, meeting other dogs or people and always within a certain distance from my right leg. By having the clear segregation of 'walk with me' and 'Sasha time' it makes our life's easier and sash knows exactly what is expected of her. 

The image of your troubles with the release command gave me a good giggle (sorry!). Don't worry I have a reputation for doing silly things!


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

Ive used "FREE!" and "O'keeeeY" (versus Okay) over the years - the dogs will release to both....
Alot of Agility folks seem to use the word "BREAK!"


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

Depends on the context....

Obedience stays: A cue to hand target/touch (dog touches his nose to my hand) is our release. 

Casual at home: A specific movement/hand clap from me....

Other: In agility, the next obstacle cue. 

You can use whatever you want as long as you can remember it!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I've always used "okay" but now I find that my field trainer uses that word a lot in conversation, and it has caused quite a few misunderstandings on Tito's part. I think maybe "Free" would have been a better choice.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

I use release--not originally and took getting used to be 'ok' is way too casual speech for me to want to use it.


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## walexk (Nov 13, 2009)

I have always used "break" as it is a clear command and can't be confused with other words. I also rarely use it in general so I don't confuse Gable.


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## Stretchdrive (Mar 12, 2011)

I used to say ok, but I now use "Break!".


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## Phillyfisher (Jan 9, 2008)

We use "free". I can see the confusion ok creates...


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

yes, poor Tito, his field trainer will line him up for something and then turn to me and say something like, "okay, now we're going to....." and of course Tito is gone like a shot. 
"Okay" was not a good choice.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I use Okay - the tone of voice is different from causal conversation. I also use Free - but that also indicates play or reward time so is limited to when they can jump on me or grab something from me


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## GoldenCamper (Dec 21, 2009)

I used to use "free" with Tucker, worked great. But with Fiona "free" and "Fi" Confuse her as they sound too similar. Lately just using "Kay" to release her.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

This might be redundant by this point, but - OKAY.  

For any situation like an open door or crossing the road, I'd tell him "wait" and just not use the word "OK" until I mean it. Like other words I use in training (stay or wait), I simply do not use the word around him unless I'm going to follow with training.


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

I use 'ok' with a touch for stays etc. and their name for things like coming in and out of crates or doorways. That works fine for me. Had to retrain the other half, because he likes to talk a lot more and always uses their names for everything. 

It was totally normal for him to use the dog's name before EVERY command, so he'd open the door and say 'Bender wait' and she'd hear Bender and come inside, then he'd do the same with Ticket and so on. 

My 'ok' is a higher pitch and not normal speaking tone though, it's more like an OKAYY! so not what anyone would normally use when talking unless they're just strange.


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

I use "OK" alone in almost all settings except when I tell Brooks to sit and wait until I set his food dish down. He has to wait for the OK accompanied by the pat on his side to be allowed to start eating.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

I use OKAY. It's given in a different tone than casual conversation and I've never had my dogs confused by someone using it in a casual contex.

Bender, I use the dog's name before certain commands. I have to since I have three dogs or they get confused. I had to retrain myself for agility, though. Because I would say "Danny jump", "Danny table" or "Danny tunnel". LOL


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Free/ Free Dog


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## Cowtown (Sep 23, 2009)

Free or OK


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## Eleanor's Mom (Nov 6, 2009)

I use "all done"-


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## esSJay (Apr 13, 2009)

We use "O-Kayyy!" but it also comes with a pointing finger hand signal or a body touch on his back. Many times I see how it creates confusion and if I had the chance to do it again I would like to go with "Free" (because it sounds way cooler than "Release" and it is not used as commonly in conversation around dogs).


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## mist (Jun 23, 2007)

I use go play with my four


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## Claire's Friend (Feb 26, 2007)

Thanks for all the great idea!! It's probably going to be harder to train myself than the puppy !:


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

I use "OK" with a hand signal. The hand signal is a forward movement of my bent arm beginning at the elbow. That probably is incredibly vague.


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## GoldenJoy (Jul 30, 2009)

We say, "You're FREE," with the emphasis on "free." Being a total nerd, I like to work word discrimination into her training, so there I am out in the yard saying, "You're a tree!" "You're a BEE!" "Whirl a FLEA!" She's gotten really good at not releasing until I say, "you're FREE," even if I use the same inflection but different words. Ah, dog people...


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

I use "okay" and my dogs have pretty much figured out the context of when it does or doesn't apply to them. I also proof against similar sounding words said with assorted inflection and variations on my "OK". For instance:

Obay
Otay
O'Shay
Ooooooook
OH!


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## Colorwolf (Feb 21, 2011)

I'm using the command "drop". I think thats suitable coz it does not clash with any other commands or sentences. And also i actually get him to drop lotsa things, especially when we go out for walks.


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## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

I use "alright" I shortened it I use to say alright you can go now. Vendetta is very sharp when it comes to words understands way too much...lol But alright works for us.


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## Mavrk (Mar 11, 2011)

Sunrise said:


> I use Okay - the tone of voice is different from causal conversation. I also use Free - but that also indicates play or reward time so is limited to when they can jump on me or grab something from me


We use Okay as well. Our friends used something else because they say "okay" in conversation all the time. I agree that it has more to do with tone with our older dog though. I could probably say "taco" in the same tone and he would relese 

Maybe we will do something different for our puppy since she hasn't learned it yet.


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## Claire's Friend (Feb 26, 2007)

"I could probably say "taco" in the same tone and he would release "

LOL !!!


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

GoldenJoy said:


> We say, "You're FREE," with the emphasis on "free." Being a total nerd, I like to work word discrimination into her training, so there I am out in the yard saying, "You're a tree!" "You're a BEE!" "Whirl a FLEA!" She's gotten really good at not releasing until I say, "you're FREE," even if I use the same inflection but different words. Ah, dog people...


This had me laughing so hard, I had tears in my eyes! 

On topic, I use "okay". Ranger's a finicky enough dog that he won't listen to anyone else anyway (it was hard enough getting him to listen to ME). If someone says "ok" near him now, he just looks back at me to double-check if it actually is "ok" to break. 

Though the other day this happened and my mom pointed something creepy out to me. He was waiting to go outside and mom said "ok", so Ranger turned back to look at me, then ran out the door. I didn't even realize this, but mom pointed out I didn't say "okay" to Ranger; I had just nodded my head and he took off. Of course, this made me want to double check and see if he actually knew what a head nod meant. We set him up again, he looked back and this time I shook my head...little creeper came over to me and laid down instead of going out the door. Does he actually know what a head nod is vs. a head shake?? More testing to come...


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## DianaM (Feb 18, 2010)

We also use "OK" in a high pitched voice and sometimes "all done!". That is what our first trainer always used so we stuck with it. When we went to Petsmart for a class, the trainer there wasn't a fan of using ok as a release word and I understand why but I don't think we're going to change it now. We tested it the other day when we put Gracie's food bowl down. My husband and I pretended we were having a casual conversation and used ok but she didn't do anything. I still want to test her a bit more though.


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## Mavrk (Mar 11, 2011)

DianaM said:


> We also use "OK" in a high pitched voice and sometimes "all done!". That is what our first trainer always used so we stuck with it. When we went to Petsmart for a class, the trainer there wasn't a fan of using ok as a release word and I understand why but I don't think we're going to change it now. We tested it the other day when we put Gracie's food bowl down. My husband and I pretended we were having a casual conversation and used ok but she didn't do anything. I still want to test her a bit more though.


Our new trainer doesn't like "okay" either. But after 4 years of using it with Rocket, we have been trained not to use it in regular conversation. Plus it is always a good test when someone else says "okay" to see if he will release. He is pretty good at only listening to the person that gave the original command (although sometimes it just has to be one of the family members).

We are going to try "release" this time around. Not really sure if it will stick.


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## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

I believe that Ranger understands the head nod because Vendetta understands head nods and shakes. Some dog are so smart.


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## Claire's Friend (Feb 26, 2007)

I have decided to use "release" and we are in the process of retraining Rose right now. She has picked up that "release" means release real fast, but she still thinks "OK" means release too. So I am having someone hold her leash when I say"OK", but drop it when I say "release". Of course she gets lots of praise and a treat when she does it right, but is there something else I should be doing???


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

General V said:


> I believe that Ranger understands the head nod because Vendetta understands head nods and shakes. Some dog are so smart.


Evidence is leading me to believe he does know what a nod vs. shake means even though I never spent any time specifically teaching this. He must have picked it up on his own which is rather unsettling. I was even testing him with his food the other day and if I shook my head, he kept waiting. As soon as I nodded, he darted over to it and started eating. Soo bizarre.


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## DianaM (Feb 18, 2010)

They pick up on body movement so quickly. Gracie has picked up that a lot of times if O'm sitting on the couch with my laptop then lean forward to put my laptop down, it means that I'm getting up. Sometimes I don't get up but she will immediately jump up and off the couch so she can follow me, even if I'm only leaning forward to grab my cup of water.


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## musicgirl (Jul 26, 2009)

I used "okay" and a quick tap under the chin


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## Iggy987 (Oct 1, 2009)

I use "You're Free"


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## Muddypaws (Apr 20, 2009)

Ranger said:


> Evidence is leading me to believe he does know what a nod vs. shake means even though I never spent any time specifically teaching this. He must have picked it up on his own which is rather unsettling. I was even testing him with his food the other day and if I shook my head, he kept waiting. As soon as I nodded, he darted over to it and started eating. Soo bizarre.


Ranger is one smart dog. I remember a special on TV and the research that said dogs watch our eyes, facial expression and body language so they know/learn more from just living with us then we think. Mine respond to me with out me consciously giving them a signal or sign, they just know my facial expressions and body language. I think it fascinating.

BTW - their release word is "ok".


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