The Third Time is the Charm

A lot of great things come in twos; twins, grandmothers, and even flip-flops. There are also a lot of great things that come in threes, fours and other multiples. However, obedience commands are not one of them. Repeating obedience commands to your dog sends the wrong message and can quickly erode good behavior.For example, you are out walking your dog through the neighborhood and he is heeling alongside of you, just as he should be when all of a sudden you see your neighbor heading toward his mailbox. So you decide to go over and say hello. You have worked diligently to teach your dog obedience and you are so proud of what you have accomplished. You determine that this may be a good time to “show off” a bit. You are talking with your neighbor and your dog becomes a bit restless, you tell your dog to sit…he refuses. Again, you tell your dog to Sit! Again, he refuses. On the third attempt you tell your dog to sit and promptly correct him. Your dog sits promptly and looks up at you confused. Now let’s think for a minute. What has your dog learned? Your dog has learned over a series of commands to sit patiently until you tell him to sit three times and that if he does not sit after the third time he will be corrected. Therefore, he will generally anticipate the correction and sit promptly after you tell him…..for the third time. This method however, defeats our purpose.Unfortunately, I have seen a great number of pet training clients as well as police dog handlers make this, all too common, mistake. If our dog does not sit the first time, we automatically say the word again and sometimes even again. Then, you complain that the dog is lazy or stubborn when really the dog is simply doing what he has been conditioned to do. The most ironic part of this entire exchange between you and your dog is that both participants are convinced that the other is wrong.Sit means Sit! Sit does not mean sit after I tell you twice, three times or even four. Sit means that I will tell you once, very clearly, to sit and then you will sit. Sit is not optional. Unfortunately, I find that the dog is often trained incorrectly and the dog will respond “inappropriately”. We view sitting after the third command “inappropriate” but this is the response that we have conditioned our dog to. Repeating obedience commands is a very difficult habit to break. It is much easier to never start. If you already have this problem have a friend, or better yet, a professional trainer listen observe while your train with you dog. You will often be surprised to find that they will notice you repeating commands even when you thought you only said it once. One of the most important principles of training a dog, whether it is a personal pet or a police patrol dog, is consistency. We must be completely consistent in everything that we do with our dog. If we tell our dog to sit once and correct him if he does not he will soon understand that a correction soon follows after “Sit” is said the first time. Then our dog will promptly sit after our command in order to avoid the correction. After all, having our dog sit after we give the command is the result that we are all looking for.

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