Verbal Cues - One and Done

A verbal cue in dog training is a word or phrase the lets the dog know what you want them to do. Common cues are Sit, Down, Leave It, Stay, Heel, etc. A common mistake I see is handlers giving cues multiple times, Bruno, sit…sit…sit Bruno sit. A cue should only be given ONE time. If the cue is said over and over, the dog learns that they do not have to respond unless they have heard it multiple times (learned irrelevance).

There are a few ways in which you can handle the situation if your dog does not respond when given a cue. First you can “reset” your dog by moving them around a little bit and trying again. Another way you can handle this situation is calmly giving them a correction “eh eh” and then say the cue again. If your dog does not respond after a few tries, go back to the basics of using a lure (treat) to show them what you want. Use a lure a few more times until they are responding reliably and then move back to using a verbal cue.

While this is an easy concept to understand, I catch myself often as a trainer repeating cues. First thing is to start becoming aware that you are doing it and then over time you will be able to decreasing the amount of times you repeat cues.