How to teach my dogs these commands...i don't know where to begin

k9krazee

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#2
My dad has been trying to teach Jack to say "I love you" on command for quite some time. Jack does it ALLL the time on his own. If your dog already does it, it's just a matter of rewarding when they do it, and pairing it with a word. If it isn't something they do naturally...it'll be a lot harder. I don't even know how you would get them to do it, lol.

Roll over is an easy one. You can use a food reward and lure them into the position you want, rewarding as you go. Or have the dog in a laying position and gently push them on their side. Reward. Then encourage them (either by having them follow a treat, or physically maneuvering the dog) to roll over the rest of the way. Just be gentle, take it slow and make it fun.

And speak. I don't think I ever formally "taught" them to speak. My terriers love to bark, so it was much more efficient to teach them to be quiet! But reward them when they're actually barking, and pair it with a word.
 

Maxy24

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As far as speak you'd need a dog who already barks at something, anything. Say speak, then use whatever makes him bark then reward. Never reward the barking without the cue or else you'll have a very annoying dog. This is a command that could backfire if it is rewarded when the behavior is not asked for.

Saying "I love you" is not something i think you can really train, some dogs makes those noises but most don't, unless your dog already makes moany noises like that there isn't much you can do.

Rolling over will be easier. First make sure the dog lies down on command. once he's in that position you can use a treat to lure him into rolling over. First lure him into laying on his side, reward that over and over. Then once he easily goes on his side you move the treat over his shoulder so he has to roll to get it. If the dog is getting uncomfortable with rolling you'll have to do small steps and reward for the dog getting closer and closer. usually after hey make it over two or three times though they'll be all set as long as they are not very old or have back/joint problems.

This shows a roll over: YouTube - Dog Tricks : Roll Over Dog Trick

This lady is a little annoying but it shows the proper movement of the treat to get the dog to roll (something that's hard to explain in words): YouTube - Dog training-Rollover- dogclassonline.com
 

lizzybeth727

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Roll over:

Cue your dog to lay down (or lure him into position.... or train a down before beginning roll over). Then use a treat to lure the dog's nose toward his tail, down between his shoulders and his hips; and then up and over his back. You can give treats periodically as you are luring to keep your dog's attention. Eventually he will loose his balance trying to get the treat and flop over on his side... that's good, treat that! Then continue luring until he rolls completely over. It will be very slow and ackward the first few tries, and it's often much easier to practice on thick carpet or some other soft surface.

Speak:

There are several ways to teach this one (as with everything!) but this is what I've found to be effective. Get a REALLY YUMMY treat or favorite toy or something that your dog is going to be EXTREMELY excited to see. Hold it just out of your dog's reach, and kind of tease him with it. Eventually he will get frustrated and make some kind of vocalization. If you are clicker training, that would be the time to click! Otherwise just give the treat. After a few tries, he will start to figure out that making the vocalization is what is getting him the treat, so he will concentrate on the noise he's making. Then you can wait until he gets louder and louder, and only reward the louder vocalizations until you eventually get a bark.

I love you:

You can work on this while you're teaching speak, just reward anything that sounds remotely like "I love you." Most dogs who will do this do it pretty naturally anyway, so it's hard to teach if your dog isn't very vocal to begin with.

ETA: wow, we all posted at once....
 

lizzybeth727

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#6
Speak is the one thing I didn't want to teach !
I taught my dog to speak, and as long as you train it right they should not bark unless you cue the bark. In fact Luna has a "speak" bark which sounds very different from her other barks, so I know when she's "speaking" for attention and when she's barking for other reasons. It makes it easy to discourage the "speaking"!
 

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