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The 5 Minute Dog by Personable Pets Dog Training
Quick, practical dog training tips in under 5 minutes—because training your dog shouldn’t take all day.
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With over 20 years of family dog training experience, this podcast delivers real-life advice you can actually use. From simple tips and clear explanations to common behavior scenarios, we’ll help you understand why your dog does what he does—and what to do about it.
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The 5 Minute Dog by Personable Pets Dog Training
#95 One Cue One Definition
Your cues should only have one definition.
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I saw this video on social media the other day, and this dog hopped up into the car seat with the kid. The parents were in the front seat—they appeared to be driving—and they would call the dog’s name. The dog would peek around and look at them, and then they would tell the dog to down, and the dog would just back up and lay down in the car seat.
And while watching this video, I wondered if the dog truly understood what down meant.
Down is one of those words that we sometimes use in multiple contexts—and I think that confuses our dogs. They jump on us and we say down, which means quit jumping on me. Then they hop up on something and we say down, which means jump off an object. And then sometimes we use down to mean lay down on the floor.
And I think we confuse our dogs when we start using the same word, but it means so many different things.
So for me, down means lay down on your belly.
Off means jump off of whatever object you're on.
And if a dog jumps on me, I never say a word. I just sort of move my body—maybe a little bit forward—so that they have to put four feet back on the floor.
So pay attention when you talk to your dog or when you give them cues. And for your dog’s clarity, make sure that a cue only has one definition.