The answer
On film the trainers give three rules for saying a command: say the dog's name first, say the word before you do anything with your hands or the leash, and say it in a voice that is clearly different from the way you talk to people.
The voice first. Dogs learn sounds, not language. Clark Kent's trainer, Evan, puts it most fully: 'right now i'm speaking in a casual monotone conversational voice ... if clark kent were with me right now um and i said the words come and sit ... he wouldn't bat an eye because he all he's hearing is blah blah blah ... because even though i'm saying the word come i'm using it in the same monotone voice as all the the other words before and after it, so it doesn't stand out.' The fix is 'a higher pitch, you know, more enthusiastic', the voice most people already use with dogs. His test for an owner whose dog won't come: 'ask yourself am I saying Clark Kent come like I would say that to a relative or a friend ... or are you saying it like you're calling a dog over.' He calls it the second most common reason owners fail, after using a word the dog never learned. Mazi's trainer makes the same point while working a recall: 'you really want to get hyper ... the tone of my voice is very like dramatically different now', because dogs 'don't know what the words actually mean'.
Then the name. 'I say the name first. Okay. So because the name tells him I'm talking to him ... and it also makes it where like random people can't try to say the commands because they don't know his name' (Max, Christian). Oscar's trainer gives the same reason: the dog knows 'they're talking to me instead of thinking oh they're just saying a word', and he can tell commands meant for him from those meant for other dogs or people. In a two-dog house the name decides which dog moves. With Roxy and Ramsey, Kelton uses their names and the place cot 'to help them to discriminate between who is being called and who's not', and releases one dog by name. The name alone is also a gentle reorient: with Max, Christian says 'his name is just his reorient like reorient him to me' when the dog hasn't done anything wrong.
Then order. 'So they respond whatever the first thing is' (Oscar). A dog who is always helped with a tug, a treat or a hand before the word learns the help, not the word. So: 'verbal first ... and then just reinforce with like a leash or something else um if he doesn't do it'.
Our inference, not stated in these words: all three rules make the command easy to pick out of everything else the dog hears (other talk, other dogs' names, the handler's body), which is why the trainers treat them as one habit.
What to do
Say his name first, then the command (watch 14:51). Say it in a higher, livelier voice than you use for conversation ('are you saying it like you're calling a dog over', watch 08:55). Say the word before you touch the leash or reach for a treat, and use the leash only if he doesn't respond (watch 62:42). If your dog ignores you, check your tone and your order before you blame the dog.
What the trainers say
because even though i'm saying the word come i'm using it in the same monotone voice as all the the other words before and after it, so it doesn't stand out. It just becomes part of the white background noise
so make sure that you don't just use the right words but you use correct pitch so if you're telling Clark Kent to come and he's not ask yourself am I saying Clark Kent come like I would say that to a relative or a friend
you really want to get hyper to kind of be like hey like listen like the tone of my voice is very like dramatically different now
recall and stay kind of just in an area that I do my here. Okay. Right. Um, but either way I say the name first. Okay. So because the name tells him I'm talking to him.
also makes it where like random people can't try to say the commands because they don't know his name
So they respond whatever the first thing is
always say the thing first and I normally say their name okay yeah reason I normally say their name is because it makes it easier for the dog yeah they know oh they're talking to me instead of thinking oh they're just saying a word
i will use the place tot as a way to help them to discriminate between who is being called and who's not right by using their name
How it looks, dog by dog
Clark Kent
The fullest statement, recorded by Evan as a go-home monologue to the owners without the dog. He explains that Clark Kent learned sounds by association, so 'come' in a conversational monotone is 'background white noise'. The fix is a higher, more enthusiastic pitch. He gives it as the second common owner failure after using the wrong word (come, not here; nope, not no), and he gives owners a self-check: are you saying it the way you'd talk to a relative, or the way you'd call a dog?
On film
it but um though that's simple in principle uh the fact is they are listening to very specific
because even though i'm saying the word come i'm using it in the same monotone voice as all the the other words before and after it, so it doesn't stand out.
white noise. We want it to stand out in the foreground. So using a higher pitch, you know,
and see what the problem is for ourselves we find that a good chunk of the problem is people are using the wrong word like maybe instead of saying come they say the word here
Mazi
On Mazi's first real recall day, the trainer stops to comment on his own voice: he should have put more energy in, and the recall voice has to be 'dramatically different', because dogs know that a sound means do something, not what the word means.
On film
as animated as possible actually probably should have thrown a little more energy in there because
more apparent with dogs than people because dogs don't actually know the words like they know the
Max
At Max's owner lessons, Christian sets out three name cues. The name alone reorients him without disciplining him. 'Let's go' means walk on. Name plus 'here' means come back and stay in my area. Either way the name comes first, because it tells Max he's being spoken to and because strangers who don't know his name can't command him. He reminds the owner and her mother to say the name first when they take over.
On film
anything wrong right so i didn't discipline him but his name is just his reorient like reorient
recall and stay kind of just in an area that I do my here. Okay. Right. Um, but either way I say
also makes it where like random people can't try to say the commands because they don't know his
Oscar
At the go-home, the trainer explains the order rule with a fetch example: dogs take off at 'go get it' before the arm is cocked, because the word comes first. Likewise, a handler who touches his hat before every sit gets a dog who waits for the hat. So: verbal first, name first, and the leash only after. He adds that a dog called by several names will answer to all of them if each is used and reinforced, but should be trained with one.
On film
So they respond whatever the first thing is
So if you have a tick where you like touch your hat before you ask him to sit every time yeah
Right, so the point I wanted to make is verbal first.
yeah right it makes it easier and it also makes it where they can distinguish between commands given to other dogs or other people
Roxy
The two-dog version, with Roxy and Ramsey. Kelton uses each dog's name, plus the place cot as the spot for the dog not being worked, to teach them which one is being called. Releases are named too; he catches himself having trained 'Ramsey, okay' rather than plain 'okay', and calls that good. When he releases one dog he expects both might get up, and the name is what separates them.
On film
i will use the place tot as a way to help them to discriminate between who is being called and who's not right by using their name
ramsey okay see i keep forgetting that i trained that okay to be a ramsey okay not just okay which is good
I'm going to give him a release, because they'll probably both get up.
Why it works
As stated on film: dogs learn sounds by association, not meaning (watch 06:52; watch 08:02). A command said in the same voice as surrounding talk doesn't stand out from it, so it isn't heard as a command (watch 08:14). The name marks what follows as addressed to this dog, so he doesn't treat every spoken word as possibly for him, and he can tell his commands from those for other dogs and people (watch 62:50; watch 01:57). Dogs respond to the first thing in the chain, so any physical help that comes before the word becomes the real cue (watch 60:10). Stated benefit of the name: strangers can't command the dog (watch 15:04). Inferred, not stated: all three rules raise how easily the cue can be picked out from background noise.
Where the trainers differ
Loud and lively, or quiet?
One view
Commands in a higher, more enthusiastic, animated voice that stands out.
On film
white noise. We want it to stand out in the foreground. So using a higher pitch, you know,
Another view
Train quietly; very loud training made it hard for clients to reproduce, and loudness is kept for when the dog is far away.
On film
Come here. Yeah. So, one other thing is just like um I uh I used to uh Christian
How to read it
Probably not a real disagreement: pitch and distinctness against volume. Evan asks for a different voice, not a louder one; Kelton's point is that the owner must be able to copy the voice. Nobody on film puts the two together.
Common owner mistakes
- Giving commands in the same flat voice you use for conversation.
On film
because even though i'm saying the word come i'm using it in the same monotone voice as all the the other words before and after it
Watch at 8:14 ↗ - Using a word the dog was never taught (here for come, no for nope).
On film
and see what the problem is for ourselves we find that a good chunk of the problem is people are using the wrong word
Watch at 6:02 ↗ - Moving the leash, a hand or a treat before the word, so the dog waits for that instead.
On film
So if you have a tick where you like touch your hat before you ask him to sit every time yeah
Watch at 1:01:10 ↗ - Skipping the name, especially in a house with more than one dog.
On film
yeah right it makes it easier and it also makes it where they can distinguish between commands given to other dogs or other people
Watch at 1:02:57 ↗
Questions owners ask
Why does my dog listen to the trainer and not me?
One common reason given on film is delivery: a command in your conversational voice blends into your talk. Say it in a higher, livelier voice, the way you'd call a dog, not the way you'd talk to a friend.
On film
so make sure that you don't just use the right words but you use correct pitch
Should I say his name before every command?
Yes, the trainers say. It tells him the command is for him, lets him tell his commands from those for other dogs or people, and means strangers who don't know his name can't command him.
On film
the name first. Okay. So because the name tells him I'm talking to him.
yeah right it makes it easier and it also makes it where they can distinguish between commands given to other dogs or other people
Can I just say his name to get his attention?
Yes. With Max, the name alone is used as a gentle reorient when he hasn't done anything wrong, as distinct from 'let's go' or a recall.
On film
anything wrong right so i didn't discipline him but his name is just his reorient like reorient
Should I help him into the sit while I say it?
Say the word first, then help only if he doesn't respond. Dogs respond to the first thing in the chain, so help that comes first becomes the cue.
On film
Right, so the point I wanted to make is verbal first.
The lesson
The goal
Deliver a cue the dog can pick out: name, then word, in a distinct voice, before any physical help.
Learn first
The drill
Evan's self-check: say 'Clark Kent, come' as you would to a relative, then as you would call a dog over, and use the second (watch 08:55). Oscar's order: name, word, pause; the leash or other reinforcement only if he doesn't respond (watch 62:42). Two dogs: name the dog for each cue and each release, with the other dog on the place cot (watch 01:57).
Watch out for
- Conversational monotone.
- Help before the word.
- No name in a multi-dog house.
- Words the dog never learned.
Check yourself
Your dog sits for the trainer on the word but waits for your hand to move. What's the cue he actually learned from you?