Here Bear is demonstrating the command "rise". Next I'll be working on "hold" so he can take a coin purse, rise up on the counter in stores, and pay the bill! I wish he had his own credit card!! Bear already uses "rise" when opening handicapped doors. It's helpful if I need to get him up higher and then give him another command. 

Balloons! We found out he hates balloons in Phoenix. So, we try to bring them home whenever we can and let him sniff them. The novelty has pretty much worn off. Any time these dogs are nervous or skittish about something - they just identified a training issue that needs to be worked on. We work on those issues over and over until they are no longer issues. 

Notice the cracker. Bear is demonstrating "leave it". He was struggling that day but he left it alone. This command gets used a lot in public. He finds everything and I have to dig it out of his mouth - people's gum, dirty Kleenex', broken glass, etc. You do not want your dog picking up things off the floor in public. It's dangerous and it's gross!

This is one of my favorites. This command is "go to your place." He knows that means he needs to go and lie down on his pillow. I've started putting him in a stay and timing him. He's at 1 minute right now without even attempting to move. I increase it by 10 seconds every day.

Here is "down". He used to have to follow a treat to the floor from a sit position. Now I only have to lean over a little. With practice, I'll just say it and he'll hit the floor. We use down a lot in public. He has to lie down under tables, chairs, and my desk at work in order to stay out of the way.

This is an excellent "down". He's not laying on his legs ready to jump back up. He's laying over on his side relaxing and has no intention of getting up fast. Perfect!