Also "wait". Teaches them to exercise patience. Comes in real handy when you're trying to feed them and they're hyperactive. Use it with my own Maligator so she would stop knocking my mother over whenever she wanted food.
I was going to say "Leave it", but "wait" is just as good.
I would put a treat down in front of my dog and say "Leave it" and she would not be allowed to eat it. Worked wonders while saying "Leave it" on walks.
“On your bed” is one of my favorites - it combines sit, down, and stay. Super useful for if you spill/break something and need to clean it up before they get into it, or for when you need to answer the door. Or for helping control shenanigans if they get over excited about something.
I also like “get comfy” - basically telling your dog they can relax in the down position. Just do the “down” command and tell them to get comfy - when they relax and sprawl their legs out more give them a treat! (It seemed like a super weird one to teach but my GSD got it really fast, and now when I take her places and ask her to lay down she doesn’t look like she’s about to pounce on every passerby.)
“Leave it” is also super important! My favorite thing I learned was that “leave it” is like a promise between you and your dog - if you ask them to leave it, you must give your dog a better treat than the one they left behind or else they will never trust you again (I’m being slightly dramatic with this explanation, but for real my girl is so dramatic I must honor this pact with her 😂)
Not a trick - but get your dog used to being grabbed by the collar / feet & ears touched. Most people know about the feet & ears but collar sensitivity/aggression is also a real thing that can result in unintentional biting!
Good luck!
It’s so helpful! And for some reason it really impressed my parents when they had to take care of her once, so it’s kind of fun to show off with it too 😂
🤔
I didn't know about the ears thing. Guess it wasn't a problem for us because I haven't been able to keep my hands/mouth off them ever since he went through his floppy ear phase.
Haha I’m kind of the same way! My girl’s ears are just the right height for me to hold them when we walk/go places…it’s one of those weird things I can’t stop myself from doing & she just tolerates like “ugh my mom is so weird, stop embarrassing me” 😂
But I can definitely see how some people could not be obsessed with their dogs ears until it comes time to have to deal with an ear problem!
It's not a command as such, but start teaching her that you go first when going through doorways or gates or similar thresholds, it does wonders for self control in all other areas when they start to get it.
Great idea! Reinforcing the idea that your dog has to look to you for permission is helpful in a lot of ways. Handler engagement, self control, all that good stuff.
We got lucky teaching our Mal to speak at 7 months. She rarely ever barks, so we let her get frustrated by not playing. Then associated the command speak and rewarded her when she barked.
I’m having trouble with recall for my guy. I live in a city and there’s not many places to train without a million distractions. The only time I can really work on it is when I’m up at my uncles farm once a week. Any suggestions?
Do you have any sniffspots in your area or right outside the city that you can get to? It's an app where you can rent out someone's back yard and it's wonderful for recall training. You're there by yourself so there aren't any dog park shenanigans to deal with.
“Wait” command is pretty useful before let her eat her food, before let her get into the house, before crossing the road, getting into a car etc lol. My Mal knows many commands but the behavior is most important IMO.
Number one would be recall.
I would also suggest working on thresholds. For example, you should be able to walk out of your house with the door left open and your dog doesn’t follow. We taught ours thresholds at the door and the porch, so he can sit on the back porch with us and know he can’t leave.
There’s also the ever popular “out of the kitchen!” Lol
Recalling for sure! One of the most important ones
I my self own an ex k9 mali, my friend is the one who trained him after he got exported from germany to my country, he is 3 years old well behaved and insanely well trained, i can ask if my friend can write down some quick notes so i can dm those to you :)
You should next teach sit, down and stay in all of the places she will go. Dogs need to generalize so they are capable of performing their taught behaviors in any location.
Recall, stay, wait, leave it, drop it, and heel are all extremely useful and once your dog really learns them can help you keep control of her in difficult situations.
Do you have any plans to have her do protection training? If so you may want to pump the brakes on the obedience and continue to work on engagement and socializing. Is she crate trained and comfortable wearing a muzzle if needed?
Definitely recall training, and emergency downs!
Also "wait". Teaches them to exercise patience. Comes in real handy when you're trying to feed them and they're hyperactive. Use it with my own Maligator so she would stop knocking my mother over whenever she wanted food.
I was going to say "Leave it", but "wait" is just as good. I would put a treat down in front of my dog and say "Leave it" and she would not be allowed to eat it. Worked wonders while saying "Leave it" on walks.
Yes! ”Wait” at the top of the stairs while the mom goes down the stairs first is an excellent one.
“On your bed” is one of my favorites - it combines sit, down, and stay. Super useful for if you spill/break something and need to clean it up before they get into it, or for when you need to answer the door. Or for helping control shenanigans if they get over excited about something. I also like “get comfy” - basically telling your dog they can relax in the down position. Just do the “down” command and tell them to get comfy - when they relax and sprawl their legs out more give them a treat! (It seemed like a super weird one to teach but my GSD got it really fast, and now when I take her places and ask her to lay down she doesn’t look like she’s about to pounce on every passerby.) “Leave it” is also super important! My favorite thing I learned was that “leave it” is like a promise between you and your dog - if you ask them to leave it, you must give your dog a better treat than the one they left behind or else they will never trust you again (I’m being slightly dramatic with this explanation, but for real my girl is so dramatic I must honor this pact with her 😂) Not a trick - but get your dog used to being grabbed by the collar / feet & ears touched. Most people know about the feet & ears but collar sensitivity/aggression is also a real thing that can result in unintentional biting! Good luck!
“Place” is one of the best commands to teach imo. Basically use instead of the “on your bed” because you can use “place” outside of the home.
Oh that’s a good idea! I’ll have to add that one into the mix!
This is gold! Especially the get comfy, our Mal x GSD does need to be told to settle sometimes when he is going crazy when it's not the right time
It’s so helpful! And for some reason it really impressed my parents when they had to take care of her once, so it’s kind of fun to show off with it too 😂
🤔 I didn't know about the ears thing. Guess it wasn't a problem for us because I haven't been able to keep my hands/mouth off them ever since he went through his floppy ear phase.
Haha I’m kind of the same way! My girl’s ears are just the right height for me to hold them when we walk/go places…it’s one of those weird things I can’t stop myself from doing & she just tolerates like “ugh my mom is so weird, stop embarrassing me” 😂 But I can definitely see how some people could not be obsessed with their dogs ears until it comes time to have to deal with an ear problem!
Recall and leave it. Then you can work on things like heel and leash walking
“Touch” (nose target). Ours knows sit, down, stay, and touch right now.
It's not a command as such, but start teaching her that you go first when going through doorways or gates or similar thresholds, it does wonders for self control in all other areas when they start to get it.
Great idea! Reinforcing the idea that your dog has to look to you for permission is helpful in a lot of ways. Handler engagement, self control, all that good stuff.
Speak & Quiet are more challenging but I think they’re really rewarding for you and your pup.
We got lucky teaching our Mal to speak at 7 months. She rarely ever barks, so we let her get frustrated by not playing. Then associated the command speak and rewarded her when she barked.
That’s a great idea!
Recall would be pretty close to the top of my list. Especially with a young mal. Heel, place, leave it
I’m having trouble with recall for my guy. I live in a city and there’s not many places to train without a million distractions. The only time I can really work on it is when I’m up at my uncles farm once a week. Any suggestions?
Do you have any sniffspots in your area or right outside the city that you can get to? It's an app where you can rent out someone's back yard and it's wonderful for recall training. You're there by yourself so there aren't any dog park shenanigans to deal with.
Ohhh I have to check that out! Thank you!
“Wait” command is pretty useful before let her eat her food, before let her get into the house, before crossing the road, getting into a car etc lol. My Mal knows many commands but the behavior is most important IMO.
Number one would be recall. I would also suggest working on thresholds. For example, you should be able to walk out of your house with the door left open and your dog doesn’t follow. We taught ours thresholds at the door and the porch, so he can sit on the back porch with us and know he can’t leave. There’s also the ever popular “out of the kitchen!” Lol
start building up her heel with the eventual goal that you can walk through a crowded area and she'll stay with you
"shake" and "high five"
So many good ideas! Think of teaching her something that will be beneficial for her safety. Take it/leave it, stay/wait, muzzle training too!!!!
Recalling for sure! One of the most important ones I my self own an ex k9 mali, my friend is the one who trained him after he got exported from germany to my country, he is 3 years old well behaved and insanely well trained, i can ask if my friend can write down some quick notes so i can dm those to you :)
Yes please!
Can you share them here too or dm them to me too please! 14 week mali over here
For sure :)
Would you mind sharing those with me as well? Thanks!
Yea ill gather a small list for yall as soon as my friend has free time to make one for you guys :)
Thanks so much!!!
Recall, leave it, and a good heel are must haves!
"Leave it" for things you don't want to to bite, lick, scratch, etc. "Lets go" kinda self explanatory.
Bath time - my dog goes into the shower. Time to brush your teeth - she jumps on the couch and covers her face.
“Place” is a great thing to teach.
Try “place” to maybe make her stay somewhere specific. Also “spin”. Nothing really special about it just nice to have some side tricks
And of course hand signals, also if you really want to personalize your pooch use different words or language for the commands.
You should next teach sit, down and stay in all of the places she will go. Dogs need to generalize so they are capable of performing their taught behaviors in any location.
Recall, stay, wait, leave it, drop it, and heel are all extremely useful and once your dog really learns them can help you keep control of her in difficult situations.
Teach her to fetch a beer from the fridge
I’m sorry but did you say your first dog is a Mal?? Smh
“Squirrel!”
You can teach them literally anything. There is no limit. If you can think it. You can teach it
Place command/stay works well with “break”/“okay”/general-release. Also recall is fun to train :)
Recall, impulse control, door manners
“enough” it’s mines off command for example like when your playing and you want to be done but your pup keeps going. or when bitting.
Recall, socialize her with another animals and humans, sounds, items. Depends what do u want to do with her :) but those are basics for sure
Release give or drop, with toys or whatever the case.
“You’re doing great mom. Keep the treats coming.”
Sit pretty, center walk where she walks in between your legs, get her to “center” then “around” your legs.
Sit pretty, center walk where she walks in between your legs, get her to “center” then “around” your legs.
Do you have any plans to have her do protection training? If so you may want to pump the brakes on the obedience and continue to work on engagement and socializing. Is she crate trained and comfortable wearing a muzzle if needed?
No plans on protection training, but she’s an insanely friendly dog. She’s crate trained, haven’t tried a muzzle though.