Comments on: Your Labrador’s Magic Word!

By: Edie

Edie — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 18:41:36 +0000

There are two dogs. Does each dog get a magic word?

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 18:54:35 +0000

Great idea, I will give this a go with my Labrador

By: Roger Harrison

Roger Harrison — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 15:21:20 +0000

I don’t have a magic word but I’m going to give it a shot. I’m going to use Gomer Pyle’s word “ Shazam “. I’ll let you know how it goes. Sardines? Really?

By: holly schelleman

holly schelleman — Mon, 28 Jan 2019 18:23:43 +0000

I think this is a great idea …. however how do you give him a treat that’s special without carrying it around with you all the time …. he may not need it on that day or the next etc… so I don;t think I would want to carry stinking sardines or warm chicken around in my pocket .. LOL …. I’m wondering if there is something else that you have an idea for when walking outside …. My Lab is 8 months old ( almost 9 ).. I would think that to use this word would be when he picks up something in his mouth that is dangerous or runs …. so most likely wouldn’t happen in the house … does this make sense?

By: Sam

Sam — Mon, 26 Nov 2018 10:38:13 +0000

Great idea. We’ve worked with our lab Ted on doing an emergency stop so he stays where he is but this is only really effective when he’s at a distance. Definitely think a command to focus him in the situations the article describes is important so we will be starting the shaping behaviour today. MAGIC!

By: Marisol

Marisol — Mon, 02 Jul 2018 11:29:10 +0000

We have a beautiful black yearling who is very athletic. We use a couple of words in Spanish and French. Dogs can certainly learn foreign languages. 🙂

By: Dan

Dan — Fri, 08 May 2015 02:29:28 +0000

In reply to Dan.

I have commenced training my pup (Milo) with his magic word now. I actually chose the word “magic” for two reasons:
1) It doesn’t pop up in conversations very often.
2) It should be easy to remember as in “What is his magic word?” Oh yeah it’s magic!”

Milo really loves his sardines dripping in oil.

I am ready to progress to the next step of waiting until he is a few steps away and saying his magic word. The trouble is, I’m having difficulty getting a few steps away from him when I have the smelly treat in my hand. He has already associated the sound of me opening the container with his special treat—the snap as I open the plastic container brings him running from afar. Not that he is ever really far away form me. He is my little shadow.

I think I’ll need to wrap the sardines in separate plastic bags or something.

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 02:01:44 +0000

What an absolutely wonderful idea.

I have a six month old, male, blonde Labrador who is very obedient but I think I need a Magic Word for those once-off emergencies. My heart skips a beat every time a distraction causes him to deviate toward something unsafe. Getting him to stop and turn on the spot is exactly what I need.

Thanks heaps for this advice.

By: Kalya

Kalya — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 00:25:30 +0000

Sounds like an excellent idea. I will try it at once. My Apollo is a 3 yrs old choco uncastrated lab. Loves sport, a Frisbee pro, a great ball player and retriever and an enthusiastic swimmer and a great companion jogger. His only problem which I assume probably has something to do with being non castrated is that if given a chance he will roam to find scent of female dogs to lick and also of male dogs to pee over it. Often enough he will also find some poo to chuck it down before I get a chance to chase him away. Sometimes if I happen to be near enough and with a stern word NO, he will back off. I already have made a peace with myself to accept this gross behavior of him and not to make a big fuss. (He is dewormed every 3 months). But now the bigger problem is once he eats poo and he understands that he is not allowed. He knows that he does something wrong. Then he is afraid to come back to me because of being afraid of consequences. He will run off even further and I have to often get other dogs walkers nearby to help me recall him back to me. That is the biggest problem I am having with Apollo. I hope this trick of magic word will help. It is worth a try. I will let you know if it works

By: Cindy

Cindy — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 07:37:31 +0000

Yes we made the mistake and our dog’s magic word is biscuit. The problem comes in when we are having biscuits and I ask my husband if he wants a biscuit my dog comes running. So now you have two mature adults going around the house asking each other if they want the B word so as to not get the dog going. LOL