Tuesday Tip Day Naming a cue!

There are many different cues to teach your dog, names and/or hand signals for each individual cue are important!

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Q1: What is this trick called?

We all know the basic commands and their names, sit, stay, come, off, etc. but when you start teaching a dog more complex cues it can become harder to think of a name for each command, especially one simplistic enough for your dog to know what you are saying (one word cues). I find myself constantly thinking "what exactly should I name this cue I just taught because I honestly have no idea what this new trick is called". The great thing about more advanced training is that you dont technically need to use a word for a cue each time, it can be just a hand signal or even a body movement. I usually teach using both words (which forces me to come up with a name for a cue) and hand signals then switch between using just a word and just a hand signal to be sure my dog is comprehending the cue by both word and hand movement separately.

When you get into advanced obedience with your dog, as in competitions or CGC type certificates, they prefer if you use just words or just hand signals and that is another good reason to either train both making sure to practice on them separately or just stick to one.

You can also use a different language for your cues! A lot of k-9s respond to German cues or other languages so that only the handler is certain to have full control over their dog.

Use whatever cue names or hand signals that you want and will remember and stick to them!

Q2: What is this trick called?

example: If you have taught your dog to beg using the word "beg" stick to that word and dont change it half way through your training session to "sit pretty", this can confuse your dog and may end up taking longer for your dog to comprehend what you are asking of him.

With deaf dogs things are obviously a little more complicated and hand signals are going to be your best bet for training just as blind dogs would be better to train using words. Let me add that deaf or blind dogs are definitely not impossible to train and shouldnt be treated any differently than any other dog!
I will have to do a whole separate post about training deaf and blind dogs just because they are so unique and intriguing to train!

Here is the key thing to remember! When you name a cue make sure you only use one word for that cue!
????Example: When a dog is jumping on you what do you say? Well a lot of people I know, or have hear, have the habit of telling the dog "down". If you are asking "well, whats wrong with that"? then this is for you. To me, "down" means "lay down". "Down" is the word that sticks out in this phrase so when I am teaching "down" as a cue I simply use "down" for lay down. If you were to say "down" as a command for "lay down" and "down" as in "get off me" it can be quite confusing to the dog. Im sure the thought is something like "why are you asking me to lay down I just want to see your face and greet you and love you". This is why I use a completely separate word making training different cues a breeze and less confusing!
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Q3: Why is Rusty on a table?

"Off" is the word I use for that obnoxious jumping, not only is it a good cue for "get off me"!, but its also good for "get off the couch", "get off the bed", "get off the table" and others like that! The word "off" works for all these things because you are asking the same thing in each scenario, when you successfully teach this cue "off" will let your dog know that he needs to get himself or his paws off of whatever theyre on.

If you have kids make sure you are using a cue for your dog that you dont use for your kid, sounds silly but we actually do give our kids "cues" the same as we give our dogs, right?. "Get lay down" "sit", you know, those type of "cues". Well "no" is a good example. For dogs, I use "no" to mark a behavior I didnt ask for while training, for example if I were to say "down" and my dog simply sat still I would say "no" turn around for a few seconds and restart the behavior. For my son, I use to constantly tell him "no" but since he is older and comprehends more I usually use phrases like "stop doing insert obnoxious behavior" or "dont do insert equally obnoxious behavior" to keep the word "no" less confusing for both kids and dogs. Im sure many other parents can relate. If I were to just say "no" in a stern voice to my children and my dogs were around they may not know the difference and that can create a few problems. If they think that the cue was aimed towards them it could cause them to be afraid or feel as if they are in trouble! So first I would like to say that you should try to keep as even of a temper as you can around your children and dogs (in all seriousness as a mom I know how hard this can be but it is possible!). You can also teach your dogs to know when you are talking to your kids vs. talking to them, using the dogs name before a command is an excellent start. I will be making a children & dog blog soon for more information on training around your children and also how to "train" your children how to act around dogs!

Hope you learned something useful from todays Tuesday Tip!

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