Basic things every dog should know

But if you've got a good stay on the dog, the leash or tether is immaterial. You put the dog in a stay, tie the tether (as a safety precaution) and go do what you need to do. A dog with a good stay should be able to stay even when you aren't paying attention to him, or are far away, or are even out of view for a little while. I'm working on this right now, and so far I can put Marlowe in a stay on his mat (I'd like to also make this behavior non-mat-specific but the boundary area of the mat makes it click easier for many dogs) and go up stairs for a second and come back, and he's still there. I consider staying in one place and being left for a short period and not freaking out part of a good "stay", not a separate thing. 

houndlove

But if you've got a good stay on the dog, the leash or tether is immaterial. You put the dog in a stay, tie the tether (as a safety precaution) and go do what you need to do. A dog with a good stay should be able to stay even when you aren't paying attention to him, or are far away, or are even out of view for a little while. I'm working on this right now, and so far I can put Marlowe in a stay on his mat (I'd like to also make this behavior non-mat-specific but the boundary area of the mat makes it click easier for many dogs) and go up stairs for a second and come back, and he's still there. I consider staying in one place and being left for a short period and not freaking out part of a good "stay", not a separate thing. 

If you ever really need to do this, it would be in an emergency situation. We are in a traffic accident and cars are still driving past, a dog fight going on, I am seriously hurt, my other dog has been seriously hurt, etc. In those situations I would NEVER expect a dog to hold a stay. Maybe they would but I would not bet their life on it. With the extra stress and commotion, even the most titled obedience dog in the country might be expected to break.

Along with crate training, I think every dog should be trained to wear a wire muzzle without fighting it.

Any dog when dazed and/or in pain can bite.  Muzzles that hold the dog's mouth closed can only be used very briefly or the dog will overheat.

corgipower

One thing I teach all my dogs, and I think it would be great for all dogs to know, is how to unwrap themselves. If their leash gets wrapped around a tree or around their legs, they know how to turn around and go the other way around the tree or how to step out of the leash. They know how to do it, they also have a command for it (if I'm walking them and they head for one side of a pole and I head for the other side of it ~ or some such reason). The command I use is "wrong way".

Wow!  That's an awesome command!  I would love to be able to teach Misty this.  Especially now since it's so darn cold!  I would actually like to discuss this with you further! 

But in regards to the tethering and those who disagree, just keep this in mind.  No matter how well you have taught your dog to stay, if a situation arised, such as previously discussed, dog attack, someone hurt, etc.  Your excitement would be picked up by your dog, and you may tell him/her to stay, but he/she will sense your distress &/or concerns and probably not want to obey.  I can leave Misty out in the yard and she won't leave it (untied), but I also have a**hole's as neighbors and no fences between us, so we chain her out back or up front, at times if we can't be standing outside, or at the door watching her.  So, she's used to the 'chain', is what I call it, so it would probably not bother her, the fact that she might flip out while tied up, would probably be because of my reactions.  She'd probably want to be w/ me, therefore, pull and jump, etc.

samshine

We are in a traffic accident and cars are still driving past, a dog fight going on, I am seriously hurt, my other dog has been seriously hurt, etc. In those situations I would NEVER expect a dog to hold a stay.

Maybe I'm just not understanding what you are saying here, and I'm not trying to agrue with you, but suppose one of the above did happen. How and WHAT would you tether your dog to? You are seriously hurt, how are you going to attach your dog to something? Car accident, with cars still running past - what are you doing to attach your dog to, and with what? Casey does not do well when something is attached to his neck. He must be on a harness when walked, otherwise he starts to panic - must be something from his past. We are working on it, but I would not tie a dog out on an easy-wak harness.

houndlove

I consider staying in one place and being left for a short period and not freaking out part of a good "stay", not a separate thing. 

Agreed.

I also agree with the muzzle thing... Casey will accept a muzzle, he is not happy about it, but he will let you do it to him.

Jewlieee

Let's list some basic things that every dog should know. We'll start with Must Knows, Is Nice to Know and Tricks. We can get in to detail on how people train for these too if someone wants. So please add, disagree and discuss:

What every dog Should Know:

• Walk on a loose leash- Max can do this well when alone, with Georgie, questionably, and I think you've given me something to work on next, Georgie doesn't do this for more than a few seconds.
  
• Come- Max is pretty good, Georgie I am not as sure about. She would probably come to Max's name I think. I know for sure she will come to Max, because she did when she got off her leash once. Max would probably come to her, and we did use Millie the one time he got off his leash to get him to come back.
  
• sit- Both can do this, Max also from a  distance, which I think is a should know.  I would not want Max to run across the road to me if he got off his leash if a car were coming. It would be much safer if he sat on the other side, then came across to me when it was safe, or waited for me to come to him.
  
• stay- Max knows it, I don't know if Georgie does
  
• down- both dogs can do this, Max also does from a distance
  
• leave it- Max not very well, Georgie, I have no idea
  
• not to jump up on people- definitely not good at this one, Georgie is way worse at this than Max.
  
• drop it- Max can if it is not a highly desirable item, Georgie, no
• I also want to add allowing nail trimming and other general health things like looking at the teeth, in the ears, brushing, etc. Max does these, and as of this week we can say that he allows me to manipulate his paws and dremel his nails. Georgie right now allows everything but nails. We take her to the vet for this, because she gets scared and pees all over, and tries to escape. They can tether her to the table and do it, and we can't at home. After some work on it, Max pretty much lounges on a chair while I do his nails. Georgie is up next for learning to get her nails dremeled.
  

Bonus commands that is nice for dogs to know:

• Paw (shake, give me your paw, etc. for nail trimming and such) Max does this, and it was absolutely no help in nail trimming to be honest.
  
• open (open your mouth) No
• Calm (lay calmly for inspection) No
  
• Show me your belly so I can look for injuries and such- Max will roll over, and I can get him to lay so that I can see his belly, but we don't have this specifically as a command. Georgie also rolls and shows her belly, but we have no command
  
• Settle, go to your spot, bed, etc.- For Max, go to bed actually means to go in my bed at night, he also will go in to a certain chair in the living room. I have no clue if Georgie does this.
  
• Go in your crate/kennel- They both know this
  
• Wait- For Max, this command is specifically in regards to exiting the car, I haven't taught this to Georgie
  

Tricks just for fun:

• Roll over- Max
  
• Spin- Max
  
• Take it- Max will do this sometimes, depends on the item
  
• Touch- Max
  
• Push
  
• Find
• Get it- Max
  

 

 What does your dog know or not know from this list? Do you agree with the list? Would you add or remove some things? Why?

Georgie would know more,if I were the one training her, but basically, I said I am not going to be the one responsible for training her, because I just don't have the time, nor do I want to have another dog to take with me when I move out. I think my sister, like many teenagers, doesn't feel like putting in the effort required to train her. My dad just won't do it, and just likes to make Max do things I've already taught him, and my mom, she just has a poor understanding of the general principles of behavior. It's almost like she refuses to understand, or maybe rather, she refuses to apply them.

Can I add something for humans to the list? A basic understanding of the principles of behavior! 

• Walk on a loose leash - Louise is great at this sometimes, not so great other times.   She's improving.
  
• Come - yes
  
• sit - yes
  
• stay - generally yes, not perfect all the time outside the house.   She's great at "wait", which is a little different.
  
• down - yes
  
• leave it - generally yes, unless it's something AMAZING like another dog's ball.   she's gotten a lot better.
  
• not to jump up on people - yes, although she's allowed to jump on some people
  
• drop it - sometimes.   luckily, she has no interest in dangerous things, just sticks and toys.
  

Bonus commands that is nice for dogs to know:

• Paw (shake, give me your paw, etc. for nail trimming and such) - yes
  
• open (open your mouth)  - no
  
• Calm (lay calmly for inspection) - she does it, we just don't have a command for it
  
• Show me your belly so I can look for injuries and such - yes, she just learned this last week with the help of some cheese
  
• Settle, go to your spot, bed, etc. - does it, but we don't have a single command.
  
• Go in your crate/kennel - no, we've stopped using the crate except in the car.
  
• Wait - yes, she's great at this and I think this one of the most useful commands we have
  

Tricks just for fun:

• Roll over - no, we just do "where's your belly?"
  
• Spin - yes and on 2 legs!
  
• Take it - yes
  
• Touch - she did a long time ago, we haven't tried it in over a year
  
• Push - no
  
• Find - she can "find" some things, like my partner and the cats and some toys
  
• Get it - she knows what she's supposed to do, but she's bad at actually finding what she's supposed to get.   like when we play fetch, half the time she runs in the total opposite direction of what i threw and then runs around looking for it, sometimes even running right over it.  but she tries hard!

erica1989

Maybe I'm just not understanding what you are saying here, and I'm not trying to agrue with you, but suppose one of the above did happen. How and WHAT would you tether your dog to? You are seriously hurt, how are you going to attach your dog to something? Car accident, with cars still running past - what are you doing to attach your dog to, and with what?

A fence, a tree, a post, a traffic sign, all sorts of things. When I take my dog places I bring a leash. If I was hurt, hopefully someone else would secure my dog for me. I can imagine some rare situations where it would not apply, but that is not the point. There are many situations where it would apply.

It is very simple. Being able to tie your dog to something in an emergency is a useful thing. Why is this difficult to understand???

Janet808

corgipower

One thing I teach all my dogs, and I think it would be great for all dogs to know, is how to unwrap themselves. If their leash gets wrapped around a tree or around their legs, they know how to turn around and go the other way around the tree or how to step out of the leash. They know how to do it, they also have a command for it (if I'm walking them and they head for one side of a pole and I head for the other side of it ~ or some such reason). The command I use is "wrong way".

Wow!  That's an awesome command!  I would love to be able to teach Misty this.  Especially now since it's so darn cold!  I would actually like to discuss this with you further! 

corgipower

I'd be happy to. I don't know how easily I can explain it in writing, but I'm willing to try. Do we need a new thread for it?

A new thread would probably be a good idea so we don't take this one OT.  I would love to know how to teach Dusty (the beagle) this...she goes out on a tie out b/c she will dig under the fence and I don't want anything to happen to her.  But she gets tangled (sometimes she doesn't but sometimes its every 5 minutes) and then she starts howling b/c she can't keep sniffing.

I taught my husky how to unwrap herself too - well actually she taught herself. I also say "over here" when she's about to go on the wrong side of a post, mailbox, etc.

She learned to stay on my side of things when we were roller blading on MSU campus with a friend of mine.  My friend had his 2 GSD and I was blading with my husky. We came to a fork in the sidewalk and he went one way and I went the other. We were booking it too - going really fast. Well my husky, followed his GSD (of course) and I went the other way. Unfortunately there was a light pole in the middle and we both went flying. Since then, she stays on my side of things ;p

TheDogHouseBCMPD

corgipower

I'd be happy to. I don't know how easily I can explain it in writing, but I'm willing to try. Do we need a new thread for it?

A new thread would probably be a good idea so we don't take this one OT.  I would love to know how to teach Dusty (the beagle) this...she goes out on a tie out b/c she will dig under the fence and I don't want anything to happen to her.  But she gets tangled (sometimes she doesn't but sometimes its every 5 minutes) and then she starts howling b/c she can't keep sniffing.

• Walk on a loose leash- All 3, plus heel off leash
• Come- All 3
• sit- All 3
• stay- All 3
• down- All 3
• leave it- All 3
• not to jump up on people- All 3
• drop it- All 3
  

Bonus commands that is nice for dogs to know:

• Paw (shake, give me your paw, etc. for nail trimming and such)- All 3, and this has turned into wave, high 5, 10, etc
  
• open (open your mouth)- Oliver and Chips
• Calm (lay calmly for inspection)- Oliver and Chips
• Show me your belly so I can look for injuries and such- Oliver and Chips
• Settle, go to your spot, bed, etc.- All 3
• Go in your crate/kennel- All 3
• Wait- All 3
  

Tricks just for fun:

• Roll over- Chips and Gossip
• Spin- Chips and Gossip
• Take it- Oliver
• Touch- All 3
• Push- Gossip
  
• Find- All 3
• Get it- All 3 (I use this command for playing fetch, where are take it is a formal command. This is my informal command)
  

Eventually, the baby girls will learn this, but Gia already knows come, sit, stay, wait, and leave it. Those get started from the start. Haydees is a different story, what a tough cookie to train!