The 4 Commands Your Livestock Guardian Dog Must Know: Come, Leave It, Off, and Look at Me
Whether you have a Great Pyrenees or another livestock guardian dog (LGD) breed, you’ll need to do some obedience training with your dog. It doesn’t matter if you’re raising your dog as a pet or as a livestock guardian. All LGDs are large and powerful dogs, so you need to teach them to listen to you.
You’ll first want to start your training with very easy commands, such as “sit,” “down,” and “shake.” To learn how to teach these basic commands, check out my article, Training Your Livestock Guardian Dog to Sit, Lay Down, Stand, and Shake.
Next, you’ll need to teach your dog what I call the “safety commands.” These are the commands that will keep people safe and also keep your dog safe.
For example, you don’t want a 100-200 pound dog jumping up on you or guests, so you need to teach your dog the command “off.”
You also want to make sure to keep your dog safe from predators or other dangerous situations, so a good recall (i.e., the “come” command) is a must. For example, check out the video below where a Great Pyrenees (Wynny) is trying to take on a bull moose against the wishes of the owner.
This dog has terrible recall. Thank goodness Wynny ended up being okay, but not every LGD is so lucky. Teaching your dog the “safety commands” is a must!
In this article, you will learn the following safety commands:
Look at me
Leave it
Come (i.e., the recall command)
Off (i.e., no jumping)
Before you start training, make sure you prepare your dog for success with these steps:
Make sure your dog has had plenty of exercise before training so she’s not too hyper.
Make sure you are training your dog in an environment that has no distractions so she is able to focus on the training tasks.
Make sure your dog is having fun so she will want to listen to your commands.
You’ll also want to take frequent breaks and gradually increase the level of distractions in the environment as your dog progresses. For detailed information on all of these steps, check out my writing, How to Start Obedience Training with Your Dog.
How to teach the “look at me” and “leave it” commands to your livestock guardian dog
The easiest safety command to teach your dog is “look at me.” This command is necessary to get your dog’s attention. The command is important in preventing unwanted behavior. If your dog looks like she is about to do something you don’t want her to do, you can say “look at me” to get eye contact. Then you can give her another command to distract her from her previous thought.
“Leave it” is also an important command. If your dog is getting into something you don’t want her to get into, or if she is bothering another animal or person, you will want to use the “leave it” command.
These two commands, “look at me” and “leave it” can be taught separately or at the same time. Below you will first find instructions that teach the command separately. After that, you will find instructions on teaching the commands together. Pick your favorite!
The “look at me” command
Step one: Set up and use a lure
Sit on the ground so you’re on your dog’s level.
Give your dog a treat (preferably something high value, like chicken) to get her motivated and to let her know you have something she wants.
Hold the treat between your eyes.
Say “yes, good” when she looks. (Note: If you are having trouble getting her to look at you, make a sound to get her attention.)
Step two: Remove the lure
This time, instead of holding the treat between your eyes, hold the treat in the other hand and hold your finger between your eyes. Ultimately, you don’t want your dog’s attention on the reward—you want your dog to be looking at your eyes.
Practice this a number of times until your dog has it down.
Remember to say “yes, good” when your dog displays the behavior you are looking for.
Step three: Teach the words “look at me”
Hold your finger between your eyes.
Say “look at me” as soon as your dog makes eye contact with you.
After some practice, your dog will know what you want from her every time you say the command.
Step Four: Reinforce the command
Practice, practice, practice. Just because your dog has mastered the task on the first day of training does not mean it is a solidified behavior.
Make sure to increase the length of time you’re asking your dog to look at you, and also gradually move to a standing position. Eventually, you should be able to simply use your hand signal or verbal cue to get your dog to look at your eyes and get her attention.
The “leave it” command
Step one: Teach your dog to leave your closed hand
Hold a treat in your hand, palm up.
As soon as your dog tries to get it, shut your hand.
Once your dog moves away on her own, say “yes, good” and give her the treat. The first time it may take your dog several minutes to leave your hand alone and this is completely normal. Don’t give in—she will eventually become distracted by something else.
Repeat multiple times.
Step two: Teach your dog to leave a treat on the ground
Place a treat on the floor in front of your dog.
As soon as your dog lunges for it, cover it up with your hand and say “no.”
Wait until your dog backs off then say “yes, good” and give her the treat.
Repeat multiple times.
Step Three: Teach the Command
As soon as you are sure that your dog will show self-restraint and leave the treat when you drop it, say “yes, leave it.”
Give your dog the treat. Do not let your dog eat the treat off the floor. Pick it up and give it to her
Repeat multiple times and continue to practice daily.
Increase the time you ask your dog to not go for the treat over time.
The “look at me/leave it” combination
The first few times practicing this, you’ll want to reward for “look at me” and “leave it” individually (see instructions above). This will get your dog in the habit of practicing those behaviors side by side.
Step one: Practice “leave it”
Drop the treat on the ground and say “leave it.”
If your dog does not go for the treat (or backs away after they do go after it) say “yes, good” and reward her with the treat.
Step two: Practice “look at me”
Move your finger to between your eyes and say “look at me.”
As soon as your dog looks at you, say “yes good” and reward her with the treat.
Step three: Combine “leave it” and “look at me”
Drop the treat and say “leave it.”
Move your finger to between your eyes and say “look at me.” Hopefully the dog will pull her attention away from the treat and look at you - it might take a few times, especially if your dog is particularly food motivated.
Remember to say “yes, good” every time your dog performs the behavior correctly.
Step four: Change the environment and context
Move outside if you were previously practicing inside or vice versa.
Your dog will likely need a quick refresher session in the new environment (she might immediately go for the treat, whereas in the previous spot, she had mastered the skill).
It is important to change up the environment and context so your dog understands what is expected of her in many situations. Practice with items besides food (favorite toys, a bone, a stick, etc.).
Below is an excellent video demonstrating the steps above:
How to teach the “come” command to your livestock guardian dog
Step one: Teach the command at a short distance (inside the house is best)
Place your dog between you and another person (preferably)—if you are training alone, a long lead leash will suffice.
Start with a short distance between you and your dog—just a few feet.
Show your dog that you have a treat.
Call your dog to you using an enthusiastic, positive voice.
As soon as your dog takes a single step in your direction, give praise and say “yes, come” as excitingly as you possibly can.
If you’re able to practice this with two people, training is easier as you can just call your dog back and forth between you.
Step two: Teach the command at a longer distance (still inside the house if possible)
Once your dog realizes it’s a good thing to listen to you and she is consistently coming when called, it’s time to increase the distance between you and your dog. During your training session, if your dog stops coming to you, reduce the distance and work back up to a longer distance.
Step three: Teach the command outside
After your dog has proven she can consistently come when called inside, it is important to change up the environment so she can learn to come when called in a variety of situations.
Put your dog on a long lead leash.
If your dog is having trouble coming to you in the new environment, run away from her (i.e., make it into a small game of chase).
When your dog catches you, say “yes, come” and give her a treat.
Again, if you have two people it makes this easier so you can call your dog back and forth between you, versus playing chase to get her excited.
Step four: Teach the command in an even more distracting environment (like the park)
Follow the same steps above in a new and exciting environment. This will just provide an extra test to make sure your dog will still come with increased distractions.
Remember the video above with the Great Pyrenees and the bull moose? You need to practice your dog’s recall in distracting environments so she knows she still needs to come to you, even with an exciting bull moose nearby.
I’ve included two videos below that both demonstrate how to train your dog to come. This first video shows a trainer working with a Great Pyrenees. The second video is another from my favorite dog trainer, Zak George.
How to teach the “off” command to your livestock guardian dog
Step one: Teach your dog proper greetings when no one is around
Slowly approach your dog. If she jumps up at all or shows that she might, say “no” in a nice, quiet voice and take a step back.
If your dog hesitates at all and does not jump, praise her enthusiastically and reward her with a treat. This will teach your dog that when she does not jump, she gets what she wants.
Step two: Challenge your dog with distractions
A second set of hands is very helpful in this situation.
Have a friend try to get your dog to jump up on them. You may want your friend to tempt your dog by squeaking a toy.
Tell your dog “no” and make her do a “sit and stay.” Do not expect your friends or guests to do this for you. They may just push the dog off or give her affection – make sure you intervene.
Gradually increase the number of distractions to try to get your dog out of her “sit and stay.” You may want to try throwing a bunch of toys around, jumping around her and being goofy, and getting excited. This will help minimize (and eventually eliminate) your dog’s jumping, even in especially exciting situations.
See the video below for a demonstration of how to complete this training:
