I'm embarrassed at how ignorant I am regarding obedience/dog training, as far as commands and their meaning. For example, I know that there is such a thing as a command to "finish", which I believe means the dog is supposed to end up beside you in a sit (I'm not even sure I'm right about this part!).

My question is, I am very interested in learning more, and but I don't know where to start looking. Anyway, where can I learn the correct obedience commands and/or terminology and their meanings? Of course, I'm not talking about "sit", "down", etc, but a little more advanced (or a lot) than that.

Also, what about commands in German? For example, I've picked up through context and reading that "platz" is the German word for "down", but I'm not even sure how to pronounce it correctly. Not that I want to learn German, but it would be good to know where can I learn more about these things? Are there any good books, websites, etc? I'm not necessarily going to train my dog to do all the commands I see, but I'd like to at least learn more terminology.

I'm such a newbie I can't even really ask the question right.

TIA!

Commands

There is a site with a lot of the commands listed in several languages. Also if you click on the links they play an audio clip of the command being said!

As far as what words to use for specific commands, it really depends on if you are competing in a sport where specific commands are needed. If not - then it is completely up to you... If you want to teach your dog to sit when you say apple, go for it!

Every sport and every area of dog training may have different tasks. The particular cue, word, or command used can be whatever you want it to be! Front may mean a command where the dog comes and sits in front of you, then can finish in the heel position.

Platz is pronounced phonetically like "Plots". Some people who do a dog sport may choose to save the traditional German commands for training and competition. Then when they are at home they will casually use English words. If I tell my dog "Platz" he knows I mean to down square and formally, if I say "down" he may lie down however he wants, usually with his back hips sideways and one front paw tucked, that is how he prefers to lay casually.

Certain words can be changed if they interfere or sound very close to another word. For example, the word "stand" sounds very similar to "stay", so it is common to use the word "back" to mean stand.


-Jennifer Hack