Friday, July 31, 2009

Any other words I can use besides 'Heel'?

Well, I recently taught my husky/chow mix to heel at my side. (I never knew it was so EASY!) =D I used the method when the dog walks in front, turn abruptly, and go in the opposite direction. It worked so well! So, now I'm ready to add a word to it. But the problem is, his name is 'Steele'. So I wouldn't want him getting confused with 'Steele', and 'Heel'. Plus, it'd sound weird saying "Steele, heel." xD So, can anyone come up with a word I can use besides 'Heel'? I was thinking 'Place', or 'Side'. But I'm not sure. Anyone have any better words? =P
Answers:
You can say let's go or use the German word for heel which is fuss (fooss).
The words place or side are also fine. It really does not matter what word you use as long as you are consistent and use that word all the time.
say slow, and yank, not too hard on the leash
Side is good! Maybe 'back'?
I think "place" or "side" would be great. Whatever word you choose, he will associate the action with it. Instead of using "down" to get my dog off the chair, I use the word "off". Maybe you could use the word "on"?
side is great. I use place in the house when I want the dog to go to his specific designated place. you might want to save that one for the future.
Side should work fine.
You could tell him "cottage cheese" if you wanted to... pick a word you like to use and use it, Steele will learn what you mean quick enough. Maybe "walk" or "mind"?
side is a good
How about "foot"? The heel is part of the foot, and you're asking him to be next to your foot. Or "ankle."
I like your word, "side," too.
I say "walk nice"
you can use "hold" I do that with my children instead of yelling "stop" and I know someone else who has a dog trained to heel at hearing "hold".
You may use any command you want. I use "walk now" for one dog who was named Seal by my granddaughter. It will just make it more difficult for another person to "control" the dog. In many cases guard dogs, police dogs, as well as competition dogs such as retrievers etc are trained in a foreign language just so other people cannot give them commands.
follow or lead may be good, but i taught my dog the word convoy. it works good.
Dogs don't (and I mean this honestly) speak English. Any word you want to use, consistantly, will work. I have known people to train their dogs with "It's o.k. boy" when they mean "GROWL and show your teeth" if the owner felt threatened. I'm a hand signal (along with words in the beginning) kind of person. Why have to yell. And they are always watching what you do.
I use the word "easy" when my dog wants to walk too fast. It is a nice vowel sounding word which dogs respond well to. I have begun using it when walking with my dog, who is not as good as yours. Mine wants to hurry me along. So I say, "Eeee-zzzz" and he looks back and slows down. I might have picked another word if he was always slow, but that isn't the case. It is also used in the military "at ease" to be "comfortable", and I think a dog walking comfortably by your side should be easy. Good luck.
Some pretty good answers but I think Lizzy and Shepherd say it best.

Your dog does not "understand English" as we would know it but relies on repetition of a familiar sound along with your body language to know what to do.

You could say "Rumpelstiltskin" and it could have, arguably, the same meaning as "heel".

I once had a wolf-shepherd cross that I adopted from a pound and taught him, for reasons that are not important here, entirely in German. He (obviously) had no more trouble with it than any other human language.

It is best, however, to use a one-syllable word when giving a command to a dog. It just makes the translation easier for the dog. Remember, they are not "trying to understand a different language", they are trying to understand an entirely different species.
I know you half way already decided what to do, but just another idea...

I use...On My Leg, or By My Side (depend on what EXCATLY I want my guy to do)

So, those two are similar to the ones you already are thinking about, but just said differently.
WALK that is what you want him or her to do any ways

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