This morning I was reading a post written by a leading dog trainer, asking how many of our human words our dogs understand and it set me thinking, so I wrote a list and these are the words my girls understand and respond to (I may have missed a few). Writing them down made me realise that the words my girls have chosen to learn from me are very much out of the 'golden retriever' handbook; i.e mostly related to fun times and food!
Anyway, if you are curious, or have nothing better to do (!) please read on ...
Sit, stand, down, stay, come, watch, wait, turn, turn left, spin, beg, dinner, hungry, biscuit, carrot, sweeties, cheese, mat, bed, off, back (for walking backwards with me - it's a cute trick!) their names, paw, up, roll over, jump, away, over, walk on, steady, slowly, jogging, get up, toy, tug, ball, catch, drop, leave, find it, bring it, teddy, tug, here, touch, go wee, kisses, over, tunnel, go to sleep (I use this instead of 'play dead') stop, car, through, come round, out, indoors, garden, heel, with me, grass (we use this to walk on the grass rather than pavement) close, speak, quiet, shake it, step, head in (to put collars on) lead on, say hello, hello, okay, cuddles, go get Dad, slipper, scratchy bum (!) tummy, feet, ears, brush, quiet, lay down time, beep beep, nice, clever and of course, GOOD GIRLS!
Sit, stand, down, stay, come, watch, wait, turn, turn left, spin, beg, dinner, hungry, biscuit, carrot, sweeties, cheese, mat, bed, off, back (for walking backwards with me - it's a cute trick!) their names, paw, up, roll over, jump, away, over, walk on, steady, slowly, jogging, get up, toy, tug, ball, catch, drop, leave, find it, bring it, teddy, tug, here, touch, go wee, kisses, over, tunnel, go to sleep (I use this instead of 'play dead') stop, car, through, come round, out, indoors, garden, heel, with me, grass (we use this to walk on the grass rather than pavement) close, speak, quiet, shake it, step, head in (to put collars on) lead on, say hello, hello, okay, cuddles, go get Dad, slipper, scratchy bum (!) tummy, feet, ears, brush, quiet, lay down time, beep beep, nice, clever and of course, GOOD GIRLS!
I wonder which words other breeds prefer to learn?!
Joking apart, when I first brought Polly home five and half years ago, I certainly never anticipated that she had the potential to understand me as well as she now does. Little sis Betty, now three and a half years old, has been equally eager to learn and even easier to train than her big sister.
Teaching my girls and learning from them, has been a fascinating and fun journey but the most important lesson I have learned over the past five and a half years, is never underestimate your dog's potential for learning. Teach with kindness, compassion and fun and their willingness to learn your language will reward you beyond measure!
:-)
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