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Service Dog Goals and Basic Commands

Becoming a service dog is not easy. Typically it takes 2+ years for dogs to acquire the requisite skills and training to become certified. Below is a basic outline of the training and skills most service dogs will need to learn.

What Are the Goals for a Service Dog in Training?

We have three main goals as puppy raisers:

  1. To learn good house manners
  2. To be socialized in a variety of environments
  3. To learn basic obedience commands

What Commands Does a Service Dog Learn?

Future service dogs will learn most if not all of these 30+ skills. Depending on the program, the specific command word may vary. However, the commands must remain consistent within each program and within each dog:

  1. WATCH – to get the dog’s attention.
  2. WATCH ME – to make eye contact
  3. SIT – to sit on her rump
  4. DOWN – to put her entire body lying down on the floor
  5. STAND – to stand on all four legs
  6. COME – to advance to your side and sit in a heel position
  7. HERE – to advance to you in no specific position
  8. STAY – to freeze in her current position
  9. WAIT – to stop moving forward
  10. RELEASE – to be done with work
  11. NO – to get the puppy’s attention and tell her she is not doing the correct thing
  12. DON’T – to refrain from commencing with a bad behavior that is not wanted
  13. OFF – to remove herself from whatever item or object she is on and place all her feet back on the floor
  14. LET’S GO – to start to move
  15. HEEL – to be in position on your left side
  16. SIDE – to be in position on your right side
  17. LEAVE IT – to move her head away from whatever she is touching or about to touch and making eye contact with you
  18. GET BUSY – to go to the bathroom
  19. SETTLE – to calm down
  20. GO THROUGH – to move ahead of the person turn around and position herself to be able to back up through a narrow doorway or passage
  21. BACK – to step backwards
  22. FOLLOW – to move behind you as she moves forward through a door or passage
  23. GO AROUND – to move around the person or object
  24. MOVE – to physically move her body in any direction
  25. CLOSER – to move closer to within inches of you
  26. GO TO – to go over to another person
  27. UNDER – to crawl into a space and bring in paws in tail out of the way
  28. THAT’S ALL – to stop the behavior
  29. CAREFUL – to approach carefully
  30. GET A DRINK – to get a drink of water
  31. QUIET – to stop barking, whining, howling

For a more detailed explanation of these commands, read more at: Puppy in Training