I’m a dog trainer and there’s a word I would NEVER use – you’re asking for trouble
ANYONE with a young puppy or badly behaved dog will know the struggle of getting them to do exactly what you say when you say it.
Now a dog trainer has shared how one word could be making everything worse as it can actually stop your unruly pooch from performing tasks.
The pet expert shared how the often used command ‘OK’ can easily confuse dogs and hinder their progress.
That’s because it’s a term humans use regularly in speech, so it begins to lose its meaning.
Hannah Gillihan, a certified dog trainer at Zoom Room Dog Training, explained: “Many people and trainers use it as a release word or to get their dogs to do something they want.
“But really, humans say the word ‘OK’ all the time without even realising it!”
Therefore, they could be talking about something totally unrelated and their dog will suddenly stop what they’re doing.
So instead Hannah told PureWow that she favours many other ‘release’ words, which are used to instruct a pooch to stop doing what they’re doing.
She said that her list of chosen words include ‘release’, ‘free’ or something like ‘to me.’
Shedding further light on the subject matter, Hannah continued: “[These] are far better release words than ‘OK,’ because we don’t use them often, so they are easily recognisable and distinct.”
The dog expert went on: “Having a specific, unique release word will help your dog better understand when they are supposed [to] get up from their ‘wait,’ or ‘stay,’ or ‘go to your mat.’”
But this is far from the only phrase that dog owners should be conscious of when speaking to their pets.
Hannah also said that the command ‘leave it’ is equally counterintuitive and should only be used when needed.
She gave the example of telling your dog to stop eating something off of the floor, only for you to pick it up and give it to them.
Hannah explained: “If you want your ‘leave it’ to really stick, you must treat it like whatever you are telling your dog to ‘leave’ will kill them.
[These] are far better release words than ‘OK,’ because we don’t use them often, so they are easily recognisable and distinct
Hannah Gillihan
“You should never give your dog the thing you are telling them to leave – ever.
“This will create a sort of, ‘I can ignore it now, but I’ll sneak and get it later,’ mentality with your dog, even if you don’t realise it.”
Hannah added: “Dogs are sneaky!
“You may think that they know to leave it alone, but the second you walk away, they’re going for that item, because they are used to getting it later anyway.”
She concluded: “Never letting them get the ‘leave it’ item and rewarding [them] with a high-value alternative treat, is how you get a foolproof ‘leave it’ command.
“That will protect your dog in life-or-death situations. But you must be consistent with it!”
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