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? Never Use 'down' Only 'drop' ?


Guest RosieFT
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Guest RosieFT

Got text from DH today because someone he works with is having dog trouble and has recently got professional help - someone out of the paper, not sure who - and has been told that you must never, ever use the command 'down' and only ever use 'drop'. The trainer did say something about the word 'drop' being very clear to the dog where as 'down' wasn't ? They were surprised at how adament the trainer was. So DH msged me to get the answer.... ???

We use 'down' as i wanted to save 'drop' for releasing a ball as we had done with all my child hood dogs. Irony is i use 'give' LOL. I have to say that when Rosie springs people do say 'down' to her to get her to stop bouncing, so perhaps this confusion might pose a problem?

any thoughts?? anyone heard this before?

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:laugh: Well there are plenty of obedience champions who have never had a problem unsderstanding 'down' :laugh: Most obedience people I know use 'down'

I use 'drop' but I'm not an obedience person as you know :laugh: (And I use 'down' to tell them to get off furniture etc so couldn't use that)

Really you could use 'coconut' if you wanted to :laugh:

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I have always used drop and used down to get down from something. To release a ball or object I use the word leave or give. I think it is up to the individual as to what commands to use.

I use the same commands...

I think it is an individual thing and what works for you and your dog

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Use whatever you can remember to use every time. One word for laying down, another for dropping an item etc.

'Down' for us means lie down. We dont use 'drop' but instead use 'give' to get them to drop the item. Getting off an object is 'off'.

Consistancy is the key.

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You can use what you like and many advanced trainers use "down" :)

I use drop but my husband had a habit of saying down or lie down so they have learnt that too(BAD TRAINING)so thats their informal command but I always use drop to be formal and off to get off furniture/people. Out or give as a drop it/ let go command.

I know someone who always uses drop with shelter dogs because so many people say down to get off them when a dog jumps and it could confuse the dog. So maybe that's why.

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In Victorian Dog Obedience Trialling "drop" is the ONLY acceptable command for getting a dog to lie down - maybe your Professional is originally from Victoria

Really? I've never heard that before, I thought any command as long as it's in English is acceptable in the trial ring as per ANKC rules (and even that is at the discretion of the judge).

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In Victorian Dog Obedience Trialling "drop" is the ONLY acceptable command for getting a dog to lie down - maybe your Professional is originally from Victoria

Really? I've never heard that before, I thought any command as long as it's in English is acceptable in the trial ring as per ANKC rules (and even that is at the discretion of the judge).

OK - I haven't trialled for a while but, I was always taught that "drop" was the only acceptable command in Victoria - different states have different rules

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OK - I haven't trialled for a while but, I was always taught that "drop" was the only acceptable command in Victoria - different states have different rules

I don't think that's the case but I'll have a look at the rules as I'm intrigued now.

ETA: I had a look at the rules and the only thing I can find in reference to commands is that they must all be in English.

Out of curiosity, since you can only use English for obedience, can you choose between English and German if it's for Schutzhund?

A friend of mine does ANKC obedience and uses German commands, she hasn't had an issue, she just asks the judge before going in the ring if it is ok to use German words and they've always said yes.

Schutzhund I'm not 100% sure, am sure you can definitely use German commands though.

Edited by huski
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Wow, of all the important messages you could impress on someone in a training consultation, this has to be one of the most trivial.

If I hired a trainer that spent more than 5 seconds on this I would feel like I was wasting my money.

I use down for my boy and lay down for my girl. Drop, off and leave are already taken in our training dictionary. I'm certainly not going to start shuffling them around now!

Edited by Weasels
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I use 'Lay down' for my puppy too.. I did originally try 'down' and he wouldn't listen, then I said 'Lay down' and he did.. So it stuck :laugh: Every other command he knows is one syllable so it's a bit out of place but hey, whatever works :thumbsup:

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