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I talk to my dogs conversationally too, and people are mistaken if they don't think dogs can understand (except for a new puppy,or a dog that's new to you who hasn't been talked to much before). My dogs know "go pee" but sometimes if they don't really need to go,they won't. But if I'm going to be going out for a long time, and they don't go when I tell them, I say "Go pee because mom's going out and you'll have to wait" and then they do their business even though they weren't going to before I said that. The key is breaking things down with lots of words they already know, so they learn.
Besides the usual sit, stay, down, heel, come, leave it, kennel, etc..
"Watch your tail" when I don't want a wagging tail clearing the coffee table.
"Brace" when we're in the car and I need to brake suddenly
"Wait" for the trick of balancing something on the end of his nose (followed by "skit it" to toss it up and catch it)
I used to have a dog that would dive to the bottom of the pool to retrieve. I used "dive" to tell him to go wait on the diving board.
And just for my German friends.
I taught my male a parlor trick.
When I drop my empty can of beer he gets me a cold one out of my cooler and brings it to me.
More folks want him just for this one trick.
(sorry, to say he passed not to long ago)
god I miss that dog...
Find it! (Dogs will keep looking and gathering all of their toys and bring them to me. Useful for getting toys off the floor before vacuuming) About Face! (Used on a walk when I want all 4 dogs to make a u-turn to the right. VERY useful since they get turned around without me getting tangled in leashes) Swim Time! (Kodi will do a flying dive into the pool everytime with this command. He knows he is only allowed to swim when we say its alright) Where's Daddy? (sends all 4 dogs running up to the second floor to DH's home office. Useful if he has headphones on and "can't hear me" calling him. DH knows if all 4 dogs come piling into his office at once, he is needed downstairs)
When my kids won't wake up easily, I send my hound to wake them up. I say, "X needs your help" and he flies upstairs, jumps on the bed and starts nudging and licking. I think the only reason this happened is because I only do it when it's super important to wake the person up for an appointment. I used to go get the hound and take him up with me to help. As time went on, I started just telling the dog to help and he would go on his own. I think the reason he is so enthusiastic about helping is because I always let him come for the ride in the car wherever we are going. In his mind, when he heards "X needs help" he knows if he wakes up X, he gets to come along for a ride in the car too.
fennec2009, your post reminds me of my childhood dog and cat. If I called either of them, they came individually. If I said "come girls" they both would follow me.
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DH knows if all 4 dogs come piling into his office at once, he is needed downstairs)
