Training your dog for hiking isn’t easy and will require constant upkeep. However, you can throw multiple 5 or 10 min training sessions into your day. Train when going potty, eating nom-noms, or heading to the dog park. These 19 commands will ensure you and your dog stay safe and continue to have great adventures together on and off the trails!
- SIT
- STAY
- COME / HERE / ON ME
- HEEL
- WATCH
- OFF TRAIL
- TOO FAR
- DROP IT
- LEAVE IT
- TAKE IT
- GIVE IT
- EASY
- OFF
- DOWN
- WAIT
- GO POTTY / POOPY
- YES SIR / MA’AM / YESSSSS
- NO SIR / MA’AM
- RELEASE
TRAINING AIDS
I use Liberty’s kibble as treats. When I do a training session, I do it before she eats since she’s extra motivated to work. The added bonus is that she won’t be overfed. I also started my training with a clicker. This allows you to mark the training and the behaviors you want. Remember, never abuse the clicker. If you click, you have to treat. As long as you never break the trust between your dog and clicker, training will be much easier.
SIT
The sit command is probably my most used command. I have broken up doggy horseplay, stopped Liberty from walking near a snake and prevented her from chasing wild animals. When off leash this will lock her down at a distance as well. When you are walking, if your dog is off leash tell them to sit at a distance from time to time. This will get them to focus and continue to solidify training. When you get to them, praise them and release them when ready. Don’t forget to throw in times where you walk past and don’t release them. This will keep them sharp and not assume outcomes. Then you can have them come, breaking the sit with a huge reward of YESSSS and maybe a teat if you have them.
STAY
Combined with the sit, this command is a huge cornerstone. You can do this before entering and exiting your home or when it’s feeding time. When I go to the dog park, I use the sit/stay while opening the gate. if Liberty moves I close the gate in her face, this can be done with dog crates too.
HERE / COME / ON ME
I use all of these terms interchangeably. That is more for me, so I’m not on the trail constantly saying the same things over and over. The on me has turned into a walking heel.
HEEL
I use this for when I need my pup to return to my side. She doesn’t have a perfect heel, but she knows it’s time to round-up and she needs to listen up. The heel naturally turns into a Watch.
WATCH
The watch command is used when you need your dog to listen up. I use this when I don’t want her distracted. If there are other dogs around or things that can be harmful, the watch gives us undivided attention. I started by holding a treat out where she would look at it. Then I would say watch and she should look, as soon as we make eye contact, click and reward. You do that a few times, then start holding the watch for longer duration.
OFF-TRAIL
This is a combo of SIT/STAY and ON ME. I will say it and use my hands to direct what side I want her on. I point and tell her off trail. This allows other people to pass and if they have dogs, throw the watch command in there for good measure, especially if your dog is easily distracted by them.
TOO FAR
I use this when Liberty is getting ahead. She knows to close the distance and to keep checking in. If she doesn’t, she ends up in a heel.
DROP IT
Self-explanatory. Sometimes your pupper will find something they want to bring back with them or try to take something that doesn’t belong to them.
LEAVE IT
The leave it is powerful as well. The leave it command isn’t just for food or toys etc. I use the leave it command when playing fetch. Liberty has a high retrieve drive and the leave it command overrides that. It also works wonders if she even thinks about getting off the trail to chase wildlife.
TAKE IT
This is more of a novelty, but there are times I want Liberty to carry firewood for me or other items in her mouth.
GIVE IT
Works with playing fetch or taking items out of Liberty’s mouth. Or when I need her favorite stick to put on the fire.
EASY
If you have that dog you can’t give a toy or treat to without you losing a hand or getting stitches; then you should be working on this command.
OFF
This is used when Liberty is on something I don’t want her to be on. Typically that’s me, and I need some space!
DOWN
This is used as the lay down command. If your dog has mastered the sit/stay then throwing the stay on top of down should be easy.
WAIT
I use this in different forms. Sometimes I add hot water to Liberty’s kibble on cold mornings. I’ll tell her to wait which she does as she drools everywhere. When crossing the street the wait and watch works really well.
GO POTTY / POOPY
So there are a few things at work here. There is Number I, Number II, and location. When I take Liberty out She has to urinate and poop before we can play. I keep her in the same area until she does it. In the beginning, I found out she would hold it because we would play, she would poop, and then we head inside. She thought the act of pooping was triggering us to go inside, so she stopped pooping. Once I realized this, I just reorganized the activity and used the play time as a reward after pooping. Problem solved!
SHOW ME
After going potty, the show me command can really make your day. This is where Liberty will find her poop for you and point. This is great in the woods when you are trying to leave no trace or at a dog park when she went number II while you weren’t looking.
YES SIR / MA’AM / YESSSSS
This is my verbal click. I won’t always have a clicker to trigger the behavior and rewards. Since Liberty was click trained, I needed something that would tell her good job. The YESSSS does that for us. I don’t use good girl or boy for that because I don’t want someone else rewarding behavior that I may not have approved of.
NO SIR / MA’AM
This is my bad dog command. It lets Liberty know she’s doing something wrong. This will normally roll into a sit/stay automatically where I then ask her if she’s been naughty. Her ears will drop etc. I always wrap it up with a kiss. She runs over to me, licks my face then rolls out. That’s our signal to each other we’re still cool. That is our reset.
RELEASE
The release is how I let her go on her own free will. If I brought her into an off trail, or on me – the release command erases all of that.
BONUS COMMANDS
Do you have a dog who barks or jumps? When your training has been solidified, you can teach your dog to bark on command. If they did it when you didn’t ask, tell them No Ma’am. The same thing goes for jumping. Teaching your dog to jump on command can snuff out jumping when not requested. Remember always to acknowledge your dog’s alert rumble; it’s is something I don’t recommend silencing. I tell Liberty thank you and to leave it; this lets her know I’ve got it at that point.
FOR THE LOVE OF THE TRAIL
One thing no one ever talks about is the strain in your voice. You use that excited 16-year-old sleepover party to reward and praise. If your dog is about to step on a snake how excited do you think you will be? You will probably issue an intense HERE! Your dog will look at you scared and not know how to react. I bring this up so that while you train, you can train in different tones. This will ensure your dog’s safety when panic hits. This is why I always use a kiss to signify everything is good again. When my dog is stressed, if I ask for a kiss and don’t get one, I know something is still wrong.
Hopefully, this has helped give you some ideas of what to work towards. The good news, most doctors will tell you to wait a year before you start doing any serious miles on the trail with your puppy. That gives you 10 months to get that puppy in line, assuming you got your pupper as a puppy. Liberty is my first dog and I couldn’t be happier with her. I used a YouTube channel run by Stonnie Dennis. He has about 300 videos now. Don’t get hung up on the breeds, training is training. I enjoyed his teaching techniques and philosophy. In a nutshell, it’s patience and understanding. Enthusiasm and consistency goes a long way with your puppy training too.
If this was helpful please consider sharing it on your Facebook page to get the word out. Everyone knows an adventure seeker with a dog! Maybe you have a friend that is in the research phase and this could help them out. If I’m missing something please let me know in the comments and I can revise this post for future readers.
