Many people are under the mistaken assumption that commands need to be one syllable.

"Sit."

"Down"

"Up" (in the car).

"Kennel up"

This is not an accurate understanding (or observation) of how dogs learn.

In my experience, dogs recognize sound patterns, rhythms and tonality. Have you ever noticed how your dog's ears perk up when you ask, "Do you want a cookie?" just as much as they do if you just say, "Cookie"?

Now, when you're out in the field, sometimes it's best to have commands that are only one syllable. However, for non-essential commands, I like to incorporate a bit of humor into my training.

For example, "Shake," becomes, "Slap me some skin, brotha," or "What's shakin', Mama?"

And, "Hup" (short for "Get in the truck,") become, "Get your tookis in the truck."

"Kennel up," humorously becomes, "Get in the mansion."

"Bark" transforms into, "Who's your daddy?"

The command I use for "attack," becomes, "Easy." Short for "Take it easy." (This tends to fool the bag guy into thinking you've got an uncontrollably vicious animal. And tactically, it's not always beneficial to let a potential assailant know you're giving your dog the attack command).

When I put the food bowl down and make the dog wait for the release command, the normal "Free" or "Take a break," becomes "Chow time!" (The release command in this context is situational).

Anyway--the point is: Have fun with your training. Your dog doesn't inherently understand one word from another--he only gets the associations you create with each word. This is why you can train your dog in a variety of different languages, and your friends will think your dog is multi-lingual.

I once had a dog that spoke three languages. (Or understood three languages at least!)

And I'm not above lowering myself and my dog training for cheap laughs amongst my friends.

Meanwhile, they all think that the dog must be a genius. And trust me--your dog will have a big smile on her face as she soaks up all the attention, too.

That's all for now, folks! Adam Dogproblems.com

About the Author
Adam G. Katz is the author of the book, "Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer: An Insider's Guide To The Most Jealously Guarded Dog Training Secrets In History." Get a free copy of his report "Games To Play With Your Dog" when you sign up for his free weekly dog training tips e-zine at: http://www.dogproblems.com

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