Building Leadership: Make Your Pup Move

There are some nice handy words you can utilize to tell your pup to "Be Somewhere Else."

Many owners say "Move" while others prefer "Shoo." When I was growing up in New England, the expression we used was "Go on, get. Get, get!" An odd expression, yup, but serviceable!

There are no tips or tricks to teaching this, it's so simple. Just pick a word or phrase, and combine it with a natural shooing/waving motion of your hand, plus spatial pressure  (discussed in this article. Basically you just do whatever it takes to make your pup move away. When he does so, praise!

It's a handy skill to teach. In fact, when it fits the situation, it comes immediately to mind.

• Dog standing in your prized flower bed. "Move!"
• Dog lying across the doorway blocking you when you're carrying a plate of food into the dining room. "Move!"
• Dog wandering into the garage where you're repairing the lawnmower, with sharp tools on the concrete. "Move!"
• Dog poking his head into the bedroom where you and your spouse are engaged in...um... "Hey, go on, get!" As I said, it comes immediately to mind when it fits the situation!