How to Increase a Dog's Vocabulary
Dogs can learn simple words beyond the ubiquitous "no" and "sit." Expanding your dog's vocabulary will enable her to understand more clearly how you want her to behave.
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Things You'll Need
- Biscuits And Treats
- Dog Toys
- Dog Training Leashes/collars
- Dog Treats
- Flying Discs
- Tennis Balls
Instructions
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Keep in mind that dogs learn through repetition.
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Be consistent with the words or phrases you use for specific behaviors.
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Reserve "no" for critical situations only, such as telling your dog not to eat something off the ground. Too often, a dog will begin to think his name is "No."
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Begin to attach other words to "no," such as "no more ball" or "no more play."
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Use a normal voice when training your dog. If you say "Sit, sit, sit, SIT!" you'll train your dog to sit only after she hears the word three times followed by a loud "SIT!"
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Give the "stay" command only when you're sure you want the dog to freeze. If you tell your dog to stay as you walk out the door, you're teaching her a different use for the word. In an emergency, the dog won't understand what you mean.
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Teach "wait" as a more relaxed command. "Wait" allows your dog to move around in a general area.
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Be sure to teach your dog a release command such as "OK" or "free," especially if you've taught the dog "stay."
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Tips & Warnings
Avoid raising your voice when teaching a dog new commands or saying "No!"; dogs are sensitive to noise.
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Comments
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uttaresh
Apr 08, 2008
My doggie knows a hell lot of commands. She knows what cat and crow mean (mortal enemy), she knows what "Get off", "Let's go", "Park", "Dad's home", "Hello"/"Paw", "Bath time", "Shut up" and "Bed-time" mean. Strangely though, she only listens to me. Not my dad, my mom, or my sis. Just me. Weird, huh? -
Nov 22, 2005
I have found that my dog learns new words much faster if I praise/reward for close approximations of the behavior in the beginning. Remember to end on a positive note. If my dog, Aussie, hasn't gotten it, we end with a word she does know.
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Nov 22, 2005
Linking a hand gesture with a verbal command is very useful - for example, pointing down for "sit." We find this combination helped train our dog quickly and now we can use the hand motions when the dog can't hear us.
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Nov 22, 2005
Very simply: I have trained my dog to wait until I say "amen" before she eats. After all what is the last thing you say before you eat? I have seen others wrestle when feeding, dogs jumping and owners spilling food - not for me.
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Nov 22, 2005
I have taught my dog both verbal and sign language. If the lawn mower is running they can't hear you or think you're yelling at them. With sign you can talk to them without raising your voice. Of course my dog's the smartest dog alive. :)
