top of page

Why You Should Never Repeat Commands to Your Puppy


puppy-training-huntsville-alabama

When I see many new puppy owners start a puppy training program, I hear them doing this a lot to their puppies: Dixie, sit, Dixie, sit, sit, sit, sit. Stay. Dixie. Stay. Stay. Dixie. Sit, sit. They keep repeating commands quickly, one command after the other, not giving the puppy a chance to absorb the command and do it. 


This comes from living in the digital age, where everything is instantaneous. You send an email and a text message, and it gets there instantly, but puppies don't live in the digital world. They live in the analog world. Think of 1970s records, cassettes, and eight tracks when things were slower, and we didn't have all that digital stuff like cell phones and computers.


Puppies don't want to be constantly badgered, corrected, and told what to do through repeated commands. This article will explain three reasons you should never repeat commands to your puppy, give you a solution, and explain your training goal regarding puppy commands in a training program.


1: The puppy loses respect for you as a leader.

The first reason to never repeat commands to your puppy is that the puppy loses respect for you as a leader. They don't want you nagging them and repeating things to them all the time because they will eventually check out, and then they won't respect or trust you. They think you're off balance, frustrated, and unable to communicate with them properly. After this, they will never listen to or obey you. They will be undisciplined and out of control.


2: The puppy gets confused and checks out.

The second reason you don't want to repeat commands to your puppy is because the puppy gets confused and checks out. Imagine if you repeated commands to a human, somebody that worked for you or somebody that you lived with, your spouse or your children, they would tell you you're crazy. You say it once they say okay, and then it's done. 


When you say a command to the puppy, they should do it. Repeating commands will eventually cause them to check out. 

Many years ago, I lived near a train track called the Tri-Rail train in Deerfield Beach, South Florida. The first week you live in this apartment, you hear the train. After that, you never listen to it because you habituate it; you block it out. You're used to hearing it all the time, so it means nothing to you, and this is what happens with the puppy.  They get confused and check out because you're constantly badgering them. You're telling them what to do with every second; they don't want to hear it anymore. 


3: You’re programming the number of times you say the command.

The third reason you don't want to repeat commands is that if you say to the puppy something like this: sit, sit, sit, and on the third time, they sit, they're never going to do it with the first command because you're programming it to be said three times for it to be effective. This is the main reason why you don't want to repeat commands; you want to tell the command you wish once, and the puppy will do it.


Start the video below to listen to this podcast episode.

What's the solution?

Say the command once and allow the puppy enough time to do it. I've worked with many puppy owners who say the command to their puppy. The puppy looks around, not knowing what to do. It looks back at the owner, looks down on the ground, looks left, looks right. It's thinking. It's trying to process what to do. It's trying to figure it out. This could take 15, 20, or 30 seconds. Give the puppy a chance to process what you said and do the command, and then you mark it with a yes and give a food reward. This is how you train a puppy with one command. 


The next repetition may take them less time. It might only take them five or 10 seconds. The next time after that, it's instantaneous. An example is if you're training your puppy to sit. They look around a little bit, and then they finally sit. You mark it with a yes. You give the food reward that may have taken 10 seconds for them to figure it out and sit. The next time you look at the puppy, show them the food reward. You say, sit, and then it takes five seconds for them to sit. The next time you show them the food reward, you say, sit, and then it takes them two seconds to sit, and it gets faster and faster, but you've never repeated commands, and you taught the puppy what the word means, so it's programmed into their software, which is their brain. 


The training goal

The goal is not to rely on commands. Instead, you want to train your puppy to make good decisions and automatically do what you want it to do without constant intervention. The goal of dog and puppy training is not to constantly tell them what to do but to have them figure out what to do through the training process. It takes months or even longer, sometimes years, for the puppy to figure out precisely what you want it to do in every situation at home. 


For example, you walk on a leash, and they move. You stop, and they automatically sit. You stop a little longer, and then they automatically lie down. You start walking again, and they begin moving with you. No commands are needed. This is the training effect.


Conclusion

Never repeat commands for three reasons:

  1. Your puppy loses respect for you as a leader. 

  2. Your puppy gets confused and checks out.

  3. If you say it more than once, you are programming that number of times you say the command into their software.


Request a FREE Phone Consultation for dog training in the Huntsville, AL area.

bottom of page