Dogs are naturally more attuned to our body language than our words. Some are still able to pick up the meanings of words easily - think of the dogs whose owners have to spell out “b-a-t-h” or “w-a-l-k” - but most will only learn verbal obedience cues if the owner makes a special effort. Here are a variety of tips and methods for you to use.
Things to remember before you start training
Don’t use the same word to mean different things (such as saying “down” when you want your dog to get off the couch and when you want him to lie down on the floor).
The word “no” often falls prey to this - people say “no” to mean “don’t eat that” and “don’t rush out the door” and “don’t jump” and “don’t bark at the other dog.” (Here is more information on why “no” isn’t very useful in dog training.)
The same thing can happen with your dog’s name. Teach your dog that his name means “focus on me,” and then use it only for that purpose. “Come” is a separate cue!
Don’t use words that sound very similar for two different behaviors (for example, “down” and “bow", or “speak” and “feet”).
Keep your tone consistent (eg, say “come” the same way every time, not sometimes high-pitched and happy and other times low and upset).
Don’t keep repeating your cue, hoping that the dog will eventually listen - follow the steps below to get reliable responses.
Pairing a verbal cue with an event, rather than a behavior
This is used when you want to teach your dog that a specific word is signalling what’s to come next, regardless of the dog’s behavior. Common examples are:
“Walk” or “Wanna go for a walk?” signals that you’re about to put on the dog’s leash and take him out.
“Up” signals that you need to pick up your small dog or puppy.
“All done” can signal that you are done giving your dog attention for now. (The “event” is you withdrawing attention and ignoring your dog.)
Reward markers (see clicker training 101) fall into this category; “yes” means “you did a good thing and I’m about to give you a treat.” Some people teach different reward markers to mean different things, such as “catch” for a toy that is about to be tossed to the dog or “find it” for a treat that is tossed for the dog to chase/sniff out.
These cues are extremely easy to teach: simply 1) say the verbal cue, then 2) make the event happen.
The key is to say the cue FIRST, and THEN make the event happen. Don’t do both at the same time.
Repeat this over and over. After a while, you’ll see the dog’s body language change when he hears it. He may perk up and wag his tail at “yes” or head to the front door at “walk” (or slink away and hide at “bath”).
Pairing a verbal cue with a previously-trained behavior
This will only work if you already have a behavior that your dog will perform when given a hand signal or otherwise prompted to respond correctly. Common examples are any of the typical obedience behaviors (sit, down, heel), fun tricks (shake, roll over, spin in a circle), and husbandry skills (placing head down on target, offering paw, settling on side).
Similar to above, you want to: 1) say the verbal cue, then 2) give the hand signal or other prompt to get the dog to perform the behavior, finally 3) reward the dog for performing the behavior correctly.
Again, the key is to say the cue FIRST, and THEN prompt the behavior. Don’t do both at the same time. Make sure to reward the dog after he performs, so that he stays motivated to pay attention and respond.
Repeat until the dog understands the pattern and responds to the verbal cue before you get the chance to prompt the behavior. Reward!
Here is a video demonstration of this process, by KikoPup/Emily Larlham:
Trouble-shooting: If you’ve been working on this for a while, and you’re sure that you’re saying the cue first, and then prompting the behavior, but your dog still isn’t responding to the cue:
Use a lower-value treat (such as kibble or a treat they get all the time) when your dog responds after the prompt.
Use a higher-value treat (such as real meat or cheese) and extra praise when your dog finally responds before the prompt.
Pairing a verbal cue with an offered behavior
A behavior that is being “offered” by the dog is one that he does without any cues or prompting - either because he’s learned that you like that behavior and so he keeps repeating it, or because it’s a behavior he naturally does on his own. Examples are peeing outside, barking, and stretching. Any behavior that the dog is offering, and which you want to be able to cue the dog to do anytime, can be put on a verbal cue.
Like the two methods above, you still want to rehearse saying the verbal cue just before the dog performs the behavior, but it can be much more challenging. How do you know that your dog is about to stretch, bark, etc? Look for patterns! For example:
Turning in a tight circle while sniffing around, just before pottying
Always stretching after coming out of a crate or getting up from a nap
Barking every time the doorbell rings
Going to the back door when wanting to go outside
You’ve been petting your dog every time he puts his head on your lap, and now he does it frequently when he approaches you at the computer
Now that you can predict the behavior you’re looking for, you’re ready to start pairing it with a verbal cue. Simply say the cue just before your dog does the behavior, wait for him to do it, and give a reward after he does it. Repeat something like 50-100 times before you try cuing your dog to perform the behavior in a different context.
Trouble-shooting:
If your dog stops what he’s doing as soon as you say anything (especially annoying if you say “potty” and that makes the dog stop and stare at you), you can:
Say it very quietly at first, and raise your volume to a normal voice over time.
Start off by saying the verbal cue once the dog is already doing the behavior, and adjust your timing to be earlier and earlier over time.
If you’ve done the pairing process soooo many times but your dog just stares blankly when you give the cue in a different context:
Try practicing in as similar a context as you can.
For example, if your goal is to be able to cue your dog to potty during walks, and right now he only does it in the backyard, practice saying “potty” in the front yard next.
If you want your dog to bark on cue, and he does it when there’s someone at the door but not any other time, trying saying “speak” and then giving a knock on the front door. This is likely similar enough that he’ll bark, and you can reward him. Later on, trying cuing “speak” when there’s no noise at the front door.
Give treats or other good rewards after the dog performs the behavior, even without the cue, so that he understands that it’s a behavior you really like.
You can also consider adding another technique in addition to the above. For example, teach the stretch or head-on-lap with luring, then add the verbal cue.
If your dog is now responding to the verbal cue but also offering the behavior at unwanted moments (eg, he barks when you say “speak” but also barks anytime he wants attention now), simply stop giving any attention to the behavior when you haven’t cued it. Reward the absence of the behavior (eg, being quiet when he wants attention, sitting without offering a paw to shake).
One last note: If you give attention to the behavior, you will be rewarding it. So if you don’t want your dog to ever bark at the doorbell, then don’t use that situation to put barking on cue. Or if you don’t want your dog to put his head on your lap when you’re trying to work at the computer, don’t ever pet him or coo at him when he does it.
Extra practice responding to verbal cues
If you want to really emphasize verbal cues in your training - perhaps you are going to compete in a dog sport in which this is critical, or your dog will often be wandering at a distance from you - try these techniques:
Teach a set of verbal cues for different types of reward markers (common examples are handing the dog a treat, tossing a treat, scattering several treats on the ground, tossing a ball, inviting a game of tug). This would be “pairing a verbal cue with an event.” Because the dog is highly invested in what is going to happen next, he’s much more likely to pay attention to the sounds coming out of your mouth. Start by teaching one reward marker, then a second, then mix those two up in the same session, then teach a third, then mix the three up in the same session, etc.
Do several reps in a row of saying the verbal cue for a recently learned behavior (eg spin), then giving the prompt, then rewarding as usual. After a few successful reps, say a different verbal cue, for a behavior your dog already knows well (eg sit). If he does that (sit) correctly, reward, then go back to practicing the behavior that he doesn't know as well (spin). If he isn't listening and does the incorrect behavior, reset him (by moving around the room, or if necessary by tossing a boring/low value treat), then try again.
Teach opposing cues (such as speak vs quiet, stay vs come, left vs right). Start with one cue first (eg left), and get it going reliably. Then introduce the second cue (right) in separate sessions. Then mix those two up in the same session. Make sure you’re not falling into a predictable pattern, such as left right left right left right.
Practice responding to verbal cues while you change your body language from the norm. Can your dog respond to “sit” while you are lying down on the couch? How about while your back is turned? While you’re around the corner and out of sight? Any time he successfully responds, reward with a high value treat! Any time he doesn’t, adjust your body posture to be more “normal,” then give the cue a second time. If he still struggles, provide a clarifying hand signal or other prompt. Reward with a low value/boring treat if he needed help.
Is your dog not listening but instead offering several behaviors, one after the other, every time you bring the treats out?
Don’t reward him for offering those behaviors without the cue.
Don’t practice the same behaviors in the same order each time (eg always going in the order of sit, down, roll over).
Teach a “default” behavior that you want your dog to do when the treats come out, such as sitting calmly or just standing still. Reward only that, and reward it generously when you pull the treats out. Ignore all the other offered behaviors.
Once your dog stops cycling through all the tricks in his repertoire, and assumes the default behavior instead, you can return to working on verbal cues using the techniques above.
Final notes
Always remember that in the end, behaviors happen due to consequences, not cues:
“Buddy has a pretty solid recall going! He comes running happily as soon as you call. Is that because of the word you’ve chosen as the cue for this behavior, or because you’re using just the right tone of voice? No – it’s because the behavior of running to you when you call, has a nice strong reinforcement history! So as long as that keeps up, the behavior will keep happening whenever you cue it.”
Test your assumptions about whether your dog does, in fact, know the cues you think you’re teaching:
“He looked for the bus while standing right on top of Jordan. It seems that Kip did not actually know the meaning of, “Where’s Jordan.” I was mistaken and presumed far too much. Dog owners often complain that their dogs know obedience commands and house rules. They say, “He KNOWS sit, but he won’t do it.””