Getting your dog to stand from a sit position or stand from a down position may seem like one of those dog training commands you would contemplate skipping over in favor of something more exciting like dog training command like stay!! But to pass the dog training command stand would be a mistake. Once your dog is trained you may find that you won’t use this command as often, however, it is an important exercise for beginners to learn for a variety of reasons.
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Reasons To Teach Dog Training Command Stand
Useful Transition Command
The dog training command stand is a useful transition command when your training gets to the point of having your dog perform a series of commands in rapid succession. For example, you can have your dog sit, then stand, then watch me, then sit, then down, then stand, then sit, etc.
Useful in Dominance Exercises
The dog training command stand is also used in dominance exercises. These exercises are based on having your dog sit and stand and sit and stand and sit over and over again. So it is important that your dog intellectually understand this concept of stand.
Times When Your Dog Must Stand
One final application for this command is very practical. There are times in your dog’s life where they will need to stand for you. For example when visiting the veterinarian or the dog groomer your dog will need to stand although he doesn’t want to. He may even refuse to stand at all due to fear or stress. Knowing that you have already taught your dog to stand will be very advantageous in these situations.
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Steps To Teach Dog Training Command Stand
- Start with your dog in the sit position
- Have a treat in your command hand as a motivator and bring it to the dog’s nose.
- Pull your hand away, very slowly and in a straight line. Be sure you are keeping your hand at dog nose level when you pull away as you say the command stand. The dog should pop out of the sit position and glide into standing by taking a simple step or two forward.
- The verbal signal sequence is
- Sit – Good Sit (high pitched voice)
- Stand – Good Stand (high pitched voice).
- The Hand Signal Sequence, once the dog is in the Sit Position, is
- Command hand with the treat at your dog’s nose
- Pull smooth, straight, and slowly away from the dog.
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Common Mistakes When Teaching Dog Training Command Stand
The most common mistakes and handling errors when teaching the dog training stand command would be this notion of keeping your command hand smooth, straight and slow-moving as it leaves the dog’s nose.
- If the hand signal is delivered too high, the dog may think you want him to jump up.
- If the hand signal is given too low as it leaves the nose, the dog may interpret it to mean lay down.
- And if the hand signal is too fast, the dog may not have enough time to react. In which case he may just sit there and do nothing.
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Tips for the Dog Training Command Stand
A few training tips would be as follows if the dog is having trouble learning Stand:
If your dog won’t stand then move your command hand so slowly that it almost appears as though it is attached to the dog’s lip. If this technique does not work, then you may give a slight tug on the leash as you give the hand signal.
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Uses For The Stand Command
We have already covered the important uses for the Stand Command. It is a good transitional command when performing repetitive command combinations. And it is used in dominance exercises such as the Sit-Stand Sit exercise. These are topics we will learn in later chapters.
One final application for this command is very practical. Whether it be a frightful examination at the Veterinarian or a stressful visit to the Groomer, there are times when we will need our dog to Stand and he will not want to. He may even refuse due to fear or stress. Having a command your dog has already learned in your arsenal to get your dog to Stand will be very advantageous.
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Further Training..
Any type of dog training requires patience and consistency. If you and your canine put the effort into training it will be worth it in the long run. Having a well-trained dog will make life easier for everyone in your household and once your dog has mastered the dog training command stand you can move onto more advanced commands. For easy-to-follow instructions on dog training techniques and canine behavior check out the Secrets to Dog Training. It’s a comprehensive A-Z manual on all dog issues and easy-to-use training techniques.
