Ideas for dog cues?
April 12, 2025 1:37 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for two words for my dogs to learn: one should mean "flop down and stay", used when they're running toward danger. The other should mean "turn around and run to me". I need both cues to be instantaneous. I know how to make this happen, but I can't find the right words.
I want a one-syllable word for the emergency stop, and it needs to be one we wouldn't use in daily life. My first ideas were "stop" or "drop". I like how these sound, but we use them all the time without thinking. I considered "freeze", but it feels too open-ended.
The "whiplash turn" cue could have one or two syllables.
Any ideas? I'm stuck.
I want a one-syllable word for the emergency stop, and it needs to be one we wouldn't use in daily life. My first ideas were "stop" or "drop". I like how these sound, but we use them all the time without thinking. I considered "freeze", but it feels too open-ended.
The "whiplash turn" cue could have one or two syllables.
Any ideas? I'm stuck.
Is there any reason for them not to be called "down" and "come" same as everyone else? If your dog already knows these (but just doesn't respond consistently or quickly enough) then you've got a good head start on the training.
Putting the dog's name on the front of all dog commands is how you distinguish them from daily life / casual conversation.
posted by quacks like a duck at 2:13 AM on April 12 [6 favorites]
Putting the dog's name on the front of all dog commands is how you distinguish them from daily life / casual conversation.
posted by quacks like a duck at 2:13 AM on April 12 [6 favorites]
Remember that with companion animals it’s not just the word but also the tone of voice, surrounding context, and your body language. A dog can hear “walk” in a sentence when their person is giving directions over the phone and ignore it, and they can hear “walk” in a rising, bright tone while their person makes eye contact or bends towards them and they will get excited and wiggly or run to the door. Same word to us but totally different tone, context, and body language.
If you need to train your dog to disregard tone, body language, and context for two specific commands, and be constantly on guard for you speaking them, you are training some kind of working or service dog and should employ a trainer who has breed expertise and experience with the tasks you intend to have the dog working at.
If you don’t actually need that level of precision, the commands “down” or “ground” and “come” or “recall” combined with their name, a clear and direct tone, and a context in which they know you are alert and focused on them should do the trick. You might also do what some service dog owners do and use another language for commands - I know of a Canadian seeing eye dog who was trained in French so their person uses French commands and that way there is rarely confusion, and I knew a couple of farm dogs who responded to Spanish commands much more readily than English ones.
Remember, a really well trained and obedient dog is a well stimulated and very socialized one. They are going to need to be in a bunch of different situations and your job is to project confidence and safety so they will want to listen to you and come back to you. That’s not a specific word in any language.
posted by Mizu at 3:27 AM on April 12 [3 favorites]
If you need to train your dog to disregard tone, body language, and context for two specific commands, and be constantly on guard for you speaking them, you are training some kind of working or service dog and should employ a trainer who has breed expertise and experience with the tasks you intend to have the dog working at.
If you don’t actually need that level of precision, the commands “down” or “ground” and “come” or “recall” combined with their name, a clear and direct tone, and a context in which they know you are alert and focused on them should do the trick. You might also do what some service dog owners do and use another language for commands - I know of a Canadian seeing eye dog who was trained in French so their person uses French commands and that way there is rarely confusion, and I knew a couple of farm dogs who responded to Spanish commands much more readily than English ones.
Remember, a really well trained and obedient dog is a well stimulated and very socialized one. They are going to need to be in a bunch of different situations and your job is to project confidence and safety so they will want to listen to you and come back to you. That’s not a specific word in any language.
posted by Mizu at 3:27 AM on April 12 [3 favorites]
Best answer: "Freeze" was my first thought for the first one; can you explain what you mean by "too open-ended"?
Would "halt" work?
posted by Johnny Assay at 3:48 AM on April 12
Would "halt" work?
posted by Johnny Assay at 3:48 AM on April 12
+1 to quacks like a duck and Mizu.
If your dog is smart enough to obey a command at a distance (which they almost certainly are), they're also smart enough to understand that if you use the same word in the middle of a conversation you probably don't mean the command. And even if they do, what will happen? They might lie down or come to you, that's all.
"Down" and "come" are great words for this and you can use the dog's name to reinforce the command.
posted by fight or flight at 4:08 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]
If your dog is smart enough to obey a command at a distance (which they almost certainly are), they're also smart enough to understand that if you use the same word in the middle of a conversation you probably don't mean the command. And even if they do, what will happen? They might lie down or come to you, that's all.
"Down" and "come" are great words for this and you can use the dog's name to reinforce the command.
posted by fight or flight at 4:08 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]
The commands you are looking for are "down" and "come" traditionally. If you have already used those words for non precise training, are you feeling need to have commands with more gravitas, just use the German terms. (These used to be used in police stock and personal protection dog training; I don't know if they still are.)
Down = Platz
Here = Komm
Komm is very close to come obviously, so perhaps replace with lauf (run) or auf (leave it). I would go with Platz and Auf as they are short excellent commands ideal for a shouting.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:23 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]
Down = Platz
Here = Komm
Komm is very close to come obviously, so perhaps replace with lauf (run) or auf (leave it). I would go with Platz and Auf as they are short excellent commands ideal for a shouting.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:23 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I think toucan may be referring to an "emergency down" and "emergency come." Some trainers train a separate word for "come" that is rarely used but always rewarded with a boatload of the best treats and highly praised, the idea being to give your dog some choice/freedom around the word "come" on a daily basis but still ensure they'll come when it's life-or-death. The normal "come" is used frequently, rewarded intermittently, and can maybe be disobeyed if the dog decides it is sniffing something reallyyyyy interesting, whereas the special "come" is associated with such urgency and jackpot rewards that the dog treats it as a must-always-be-obeyed command. Useful for dangerous situations.
posted by fire, water, earth, air at 5:19 AM on April 12 [9 favorites]
posted by fire, water, earth, air at 5:19 AM on April 12 [9 favorites]
The cues only mean what meaning you've built into them. You could use utter nonsense words, you could call it "pizza", you could use foreign words, you could use the words you listed. Dogs don't speak English. We build up what we mean for them by reinforcing and proofing.
Be consistent with your reinforcement and proof in every possible scenario you can. The weak link is not the command, it's how you use and respond to it. If you use "freeze" and sometimes are ok with the dog creeping forwards or blowing you off, it won't make a lick of difference what word you've chosen because you've changed what the word means.
My working dog is both a service dog and a competition dog. I use "down" for formal obedience that involves precise body positioning and "drop" for when I need the dog to immediately down but I don't care what their feet or hips are down when they do it. I use "come" for a formal front and "here" for the dog to immediately recall and place their collar/neck against my hand. I use all of these words in conversation- but not necessarily to the dog and not in the tone of an explicit command.
Dogs are much faster at discerning criteria than we are. It means that they can pick up commands easily, but also that you need to be on top of your end of the bargain and not dither about what that criteria means. That's where your confusion typically sets in on the dogs end.
posted by shesaysgo at 6:11 AM on April 12 [4 favorites]
Be consistent with your reinforcement and proof in every possible scenario you can. The weak link is not the command, it's how you use and respond to it. If you use "freeze" and sometimes are ok with the dog creeping forwards or blowing you off, it won't make a lick of difference what word you've chosen because you've changed what the word means.
My working dog is both a service dog and a competition dog. I use "down" for formal obedience that involves precise body positioning and "drop" for when I need the dog to immediately down but I don't care what their feet or hips are down when they do it. I use "come" for a formal front and "here" for the dog to immediately recall and place their collar/neck against my hand. I use all of these words in conversation- but not necessarily to the dog and not in the tone of an explicit command.
Dogs are much faster at discerning criteria than we are. It means that they can pick up commands easily, but also that you need to be on top of your end of the bargain and not dither about what that criteria means. That's where your confusion typically sets in on the dogs end.
posted by shesaysgo at 6:11 AM on April 12 [4 favorites]
Best answer: I think I understand what you’re asking and why freeze/down/come wouldn’t work, I’m with fire, water, earth, air. I do not recommend any English words, I recommend nonsense sounds. The trainer we used recommended purposely silly noises.
The one that works really well for us is a high pitched “beep beep beep”. Another distinct one could be a very singsongy “high low high low”. Whatever you choose, make sure the vowel sounds and intonations are distinct from each other. (Ex. Don’t do “beep beep beep” for one phrase and then “wee-oo wee-oo” for the other, unless you REALLY make sure you choose different registers and cadence etc.)
The best part of these nonsense sounds is they 100% do not come up in any regular convo. They also immensely help YOU / your other handlers have a 1:1 relationship with “urgent need” = specific vocalization that is easy to remember and map onto the need.
The hardest part is socially embracing being the weirdo who trains their dog using these noises for the few weeks it takes to really click. It’s 100% worth it though! Good luck!
posted by seemoorglass at 6:29 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]
The one that works really well for us is a high pitched “beep beep beep”. Another distinct one could be a very singsongy “high low high low”. Whatever you choose, make sure the vowel sounds and intonations are distinct from each other. (Ex. Don’t do “beep beep beep” for one phrase and then “wee-oo wee-oo” for the other, unless you REALLY make sure you choose different registers and cadence etc.)
The best part of these nonsense sounds is they 100% do not come up in any regular convo. They also immensely help YOU / your other handlers have a 1:1 relationship with “urgent need” = specific vocalization that is easy to remember and map onto the need.
The hardest part is socially embracing being the weirdo who trains their dog using these noises for the few weeks it takes to really click. It’s 100% worth it though! Good luck!
posted by seemoorglass at 6:29 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]
Best answer: My wife was taught that these commands should have different names from the workaday "down" and "come" commands.
We taught our dog "rocket" for the instantaneous return, and "halt" for an instant "down" (even if we keep walking away).
We practice these with very high-value treats.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:43 AM on April 12 [4 favorites]
We taught our dog "rocket" for the instantaneous return, and "halt" for an instant "down" (even if we keep walking away).
We practice these with very high-value treats.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:43 AM on April 12 [4 favorites]
Best answer: I assume that you want to reserve "Come" and "Stop" for ordinary rambles in the woods when the dog can finish pissing on the bush before she heads back to you, but you need two new commands for when instant compliance is urgent due to the suspected or abruptly verified presence of a bear. Sounds reasonable. I suggest you go with terms that were used on the battlefield.
"HOLD!" means stop exactly where you are and don't move or something seriously bad is going to happen. The cry was something I learned in the SCA for when someone's equipment broke during combat, or for when a child was putting a full glass of milk halfway onto the table, or if one of the newborn kittens had just blindly groped underfoot. I still yell it, and I still respond to it by freezing, not putting anything down and not changing the position of my feet until I know what the danger is. It looks absurd as hell when one foot is in midair, especially in an entire feast hall full of people.
It shouldn't be too hard to teach a dog to do this, as that is exactly what pointers are trained to do, so they won't flush game, although they use visual and olfactory cues rather than a verbal one.
Back in medieval and pre-medieval times when kings fought on battle fields, when the king's retinue was either no longer thick enough to protect him, or if the vanguard was in danger of getting cut off, the battle cry to regroup around the king in French was "A moi!" and in English it was "To Me!" But both of those are two syllables, so I suggest you make your urgent recall cry "ME!" But sometimes it is easier to yell two syllables than one that ends in a vowel, so test it out when the dog isn't around and see which one sounds more like your dog's health and well being are at stake. "ME-E!" is an option too.
Again, I think it should be quite possible to teach a dog this, as it is in fact a dog's natural reaction when they see a bear. A dog will frequently immediately flee back to behind their owner in the hopes of protection. The only drawback is that, if the bear has already been triggered by the dog, they lead an angry frightened bear charging at the owner... So let's just say you intend to use the command when your dog has just spotted a woods kitty. Or if they are ambling obliviously towards the neighbour who is so scared of dogs they carry pepper spray.
If it isn't abusive you might want to use an air horn or some such to help train your dog, so that they hear the cry ME! and then something loud and unpleasant happens a short distance ahead of them, whereupon you immediately make a strategic withdrawal with the dog, at a jog, or do the frozen on the spot thing tensely looking around while gripping their collar in a death grip. Treats and praise comes after the assessment of threat or removal from danger is completed.
posted by Jane the Brown at 6:48 AM on April 12 [2 favorites]
"HOLD!" means stop exactly where you are and don't move or something seriously bad is going to happen. The cry was something I learned in the SCA for when someone's equipment broke during combat, or for when a child was putting a full glass of milk halfway onto the table, or if one of the newborn kittens had just blindly groped underfoot. I still yell it, and I still respond to it by freezing, not putting anything down and not changing the position of my feet until I know what the danger is. It looks absurd as hell when one foot is in midair, especially in an entire feast hall full of people.
It shouldn't be too hard to teach a dog to do this, as that is exactly what pointers are trained to do, so they won't flush game, although they use visual and olfactory cues rather than a verbal one.
Back in medieval and pre-medieval times when kings fought on battle fields, when the king's retinue was either no longer thick enough to protect him, or if the vanguard was in danger of getting cut off, the battle cry to regroup around the king in French was "A moi!" and in English it was "To Me!" But both of those are two syllables, so I suggest you make your urgent recall cry "ME!" But sometimes it is easier to yell two syllables than one that ends in a vowel, so test it out when the dog isn't around and see which one sounds more like your dog's health and well being are at stake. "ME-E!" is an option too.
Again, I think it should be quite possible to teach a dog this, as it is in fact a dog's natural reaction when they see a bear. A dog will frequently immediately flee back to behind their owner in the hopes of protection. The only drawback is that, if the bear has already been triggered by the dog, they lead an angry frightened bear charging at the owner... So let's just say you intend to use the command when your dog has just spotted a woods kitty. Or if they are ambling obliviously towards the neighbour who is so scared of dogs they carry pepper spray.
If it isn't abusive you might want to use an air horn or some such to help train your dog, so that they hear the cry ME! and then something loud and unpleasant happens a short distance ahead of them, whereupon you immediately make a strategic withdrawal with the dog, at a jog, or do the frozen on the spot thing tensely looking around while gripping their collar in a death grip. Treats and praise comes after the assessment of threat or removal from danger is completed.
posted by Jane the Brown at 6:48 AM on April 12 [2 favorites]
suggest looking for words in a language not spoken at/near home. alternately, give your dog “second names”— something else you would name a dog (but sufficiently unique) and only used in these special instances. examples: my dog has a special search command with “allez” (french for “go”) and “blue” as a second name.
posted by tamarack at 6:51 AM on April 12 [2 favorites]
posted by tamarack at 6:51 AM on April 12 [2 favorites]
I know folks who use a second language for important commands- so day to day commands are in English, but important commands (in this case for competitive dog sports) are in German. This means the the words pretty much only come up in the context where they are meant to.
posted by rockindata at 7:03 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]
posted by rockindata at 7:03 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]
Best answer: My dog trainer uses "echo" for emergency recall. When training it, do it LOUD since you'll probably be yelling when you need it.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 8:00 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]
posted by Sparky Buttons at 8:00 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]
Lowering your voice and shouting makes it an emergency command.
posted by ponie at 8:55 AM on April 12
posted by ponie at 8:55 AM on April 12
Best answer: How about "pivot" for the turn around and come to me command and ground for the stop and drop one? Or something like turf (alternatively soil or dirt)? The words will have meaning for you, so they're easy to remember (or instruct somebody else to use) and not really common enough to be heard in everyday speech.
posted by sardonyx at 10:01 AM on April 12
posted by sardonyx at 10:01 AM on April 12
Best answer: I was thinking about this question while my dog and I were out walking in the woods this morning. I get where you're coming from. You probably already use "down" and "come" in slightly different contexts and/or don't want cues your dog may often hear other people shouting at their own dogs. And of course you know you could use any random word, but I think most people like to use one that feels somewhat natural for the situation. It would just feel silly to shout "hippo" at your dog, especially out in public. I think I get what you mean about "freeze," too. It's a drawn-out word that sort of slowly peters out, instead of having a quick, definite ending like "stop."
Here are the ideas I thought of for "flop down and stay." I included a few 2-syllables ones that are so quick and easy to say that you might find them acceptable.
Lock
Park (or "park it," which is what I use to mean "Get off the trail/road and wait.")
Timeout (or just "time")
Zap
Boom
Bang
Belly
For "turn around and run to me":
Return
Recall (emphasis on the first syllable)
Bingo
Jackpot
Party
Race
Zoom
Fly
Zip
Rip
posted by Redstart at 10:25 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]
Here are the ideas I thought of for "flop down and stay." I included a few 2-syllables ones that are so quick and easy to say that you might find them acceptable.
Lock
Park (or "park it," which is what I use to mean "Get off the trail/road and wait.")
Timeout (or just "time")
Zap
Boom
Bang
Belly
For "turn around and run to me":
Return
Recall (emphasis on the first syllable)
Bingo
Jackpot
Party
Race
Zoom
Fly
Zip
Rip
posted by Redstart at 10:25 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]
My elderly, blind best dog in the world is no longer running much of anywhere, but in her wilder days her recall “word” was, thanks to my husband, SOOOOO-iiiEEEE! Which has the benefit of being easy to say loudly, carrying over long distances, and being a source of great amusement for anyone else present in the area. I take no responsibility for any wayward pigs you may acquire using this call.
posted by Missense Mutation at 11:11 AM on April 12 [4 favorites]
posted by Missense Mutation at 11:11 AM on April 12 [4 favorites]
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Then for me, easy to recall words in the moment for both scenarious: could be something like:
1. dog's name 'danger'
2. dog's name 'come here'
posted by many-things at 1:53 AM on April 12