Off
“Off” is a polite way to teach your dog to get down from people, furniture, or surfaces. This cue is especially helpful for managing jumping during greetings or preventing counter-surfing during meal prep. It ensures your dog respects boundaries while maintaining a positive interaction. Consistently using “off” also prevents bad habits from forming.
Many people tell the dog “down” which can be confusing if you’ve taught your dog that “down” means to lay down. Having clear, defined differences in cues can make a big difference in your dogs behaviours.
Note: This is taught as a back up for human error. In an ideal world, we will have set our dogs up for success which means they won’t need to be corrected with an “off”…. but we are human, after all, and, just like our dogs, we are not infallible, so it’s always a good cue to have in our toolbox of cues!