Eeeww!

Back in the beginning of the breed, keeshonden were used as ratters, both on the farm and on barges.  My dogs have always had a bit of prey drive, but I have never actually witnessed any actually catching anything.

Cooper and Sadie work well together. Cooper is a natural herder and Sadie is a natural born eater!  So, you can see how this ends, can't you?  

Four ears perk up.  Two noses twitch. And they're off!  Each one circles from opposite directions. Cooper moves back and forth herding the critter in front of him, until it runs right into the waiting Sadie. Saide does not have the natural herding ability that Cooper has, so she lets the gopher go right between her legs!  And, the race is on again. Who knew those little guys were so fast?  First, there was zig zagging clockwise around, then a fast u-turn and zig zagging counter-clockwise. 

The two dogs have different styles based on their expected outcome. Cooper believes that since it is moving, he should chase it or herd it in front of him. Sadie only saw a fast food lunch.  She was content to let Cooper wear the critter out while she followed at a leisurly pace  or circled the other direction. Finally, Cooper herded it right to her feet.  She ate the gopher and didn't share. Cooper would have dropped it if I asked him to, (I hope). But, Sadie would never willingly let go of a food source. When she saw that I wanted it, she took it and ran, then ate the whole thing. 

First, let me say that I did tell her to drop it.  Second, I am not sure what I would have done with the thing if she had.  Lastly, and most important, I did not accept any kisses from either one of them for a long time. 

Most important command is...

People ask me all the time, "I don't have a lot of time to train.  What commands are the most important?"  No easy answer. Some commands are fairly easy to train so would take less time to master while others are more complex and require more training time. 

There are certain commands that are important for safety reasons. The dogs got out of my mom's yard. Strange town, strange neighborhood, strange smells. It could have been disastrous. I heard the neighborhood dogs barking and something told me to go outside. I saw one fuzzy butt disappear around the corner of a house and panicked!  I called, "Cooper, Sadie!  Come!"  Both came running. Whew!  So glad we practice that at least once every training session. Relatively easy command

Sometimes, though, I wouldn't want the dog to "come". If they had run across a busy street and tried to come to me, they could have been hurt or worse. 

So, back to giving commands from a distance. The dog needs to learn that a command is to be followed immediately. It doesn't matter where he is. If I say "down", for instance, I don't mean, "come to me and then lie down". I mean "lay down, now, where you are."  Not an easy concept especially if the dog is used to taking food or training treats from your hand. So, training early on to catch the treat that is tossed can help. Popcorn is a good choice since it has a longer "hang" time. But, you have to have fairly good aim. If the dog goes down, then has to get up and chase down the treat, you have defeated your purpose. 

So, back to the original question. Which is the most important command?  It depends a lot on the dog and the owner's needs. If jumping up on people is a problem for a particular dog, then sit might be more important.  However, if the dog is a runner, then come might be more important. The commands are as individual as the dogs themselves and their owners.