Ripley, doing a recall

Sit. Sit. Sit. Sitsitsit. Sit! SIT!!!

Does that sound familiar? Some people seem to think that telling their dog the same thing over and over, then louder, will somehow communicate to the dog what they want. That’s operating on the same principle that yelling SIT to someone who speaks Ukrainian will somehow get them to plop a squat.

Dogs don’t speak English.

If you have to repeat yourself, your dog doesn’t understand what is expected of him. Either you didn’t teach sit properly, didn’t teach it in the conditions you’re asking for it, or didn’t teach him that he must comply upon the first request. You’re setting him up to fail. If you repeat it over and over and he never sits, you taught him nothing. The word has no meaning. If you forced him to comply after you yelled, he learns to comply only when you yell. If he waits to see a treat in your hand, you used food as a bribe instead of a reward.

You see how that works? It’s never the dog’s fault.

When you want to teach your dog to do some action when you say some word, you pair the word with a hand signal and a guide into position, then you mark it with a clicker or a word and give him a reward such as a treat.

Got that? Say the word as you give the body signal, guide or lure your dog into position, mark completion with a clicker or other marker, and reward.

This must be repeated at least 30-50 times over several sessions for the dog to begin to understand. Repeat it over and over until he consistently performs correctly (under no distractions). For best results, use short sessions of 10-15 repetitions twice a day for a week or two.

Only after he can perform the behavior on command under no distractions do you ask for the behavior with distractions and correct immediately for failure to comply. You don’t keep bribing him or repeating yourself. You reward correct responses sometimes with food, a toy, or praise, but not every single time. He needs to work for the reward. You don’t give the command if you cannot enforce it.

If you make a mistake during the training by repeating the command multiple times, not correcting for non-compliance, giving a command you cannot enforce, or not letting the dog fully understand the command before adding distractions or corrections, you are setting him up to fail. You’ll need to start over from the beginning for that command to fix it.

So set him up for success from the start! You are teaching him a foreign language. Be as precise as possible and don’t leave room for confusion. Don’t ask him for more than he can give. You have to work up to performance under high distractions. Take your time, be patient, be consistent, and be fair.

Happy training!