GET DOWN! DROP IT! SAFETY IN THE 'OUT' COMMAND

The ‘Out’ Command means mentally and physically disengage yourself from what ever you are currently invested in. For some dogs this could be food, a toy, the water bowl, furniture, something that drops from the table or counter, or even a person.

Even the easiest going dog can take exception to being pushed or pulled off the furniture and create conflict. So rather than creating a problem with dangerous potential by trying to physically remove a sleeping or otherwise invested dog off the couch, I like to teach all the dogs in training the ‘Out’ command which shows them how to physically and mentally disengage from valuable objects and situations and remove themselves. Once taught the command, I say ‘Out’ and add remote collar communication to help guide the dog off the furniture and over to his dog bed. We don’t want dogs helping themselves to the furniture, but should they hop up anyway, we can use our ‘Out’ command to correct the situation rather than provoking preventable conflict (bites, resistance, urge to guard, poor attitude, keep away, etc.) by grabbing the dogs collar or trying hands on ways (pushing/pulling/etc) remove him.