I've tossed around what to do about using the same commands for both my dogs or having a different language for each. I know not to train them together at this stage with puppy being only 8 months old but it happens accidently. I do a lot of random bits of training when out and about so it's part of everyday life. Even when my 2 YO is 50 feet away with his nose in a bush if I try to covertly do a down stay with the pup I invariably see him horizontal in the fields. Or I ask her to sit in the kitchen only to find him in a sit-stay in the living room when I walk in a minute later. Poor boy, he's so good most of the time.

Long winded! So, do you experienced trainers use the same commands for all? I also train to a whistle so do you use the same whistle for all or a different pitch for each dog?

wow ! wish I could get even one of them to obey! LOL
I do find that Maddie is the first one to sit or down when I am talking to the others, they ignore me but she will do it - bless. :D :D

All our family dogs are trained with the same commands and the same whistle instructions that way when any of us look after the others they all understand exactly what is being asked.

It is very easy you just say the name with the command, if you just want one of the dogs to do it, dogs are very clever, if a name is called they understand the instruction is not for them and for another dog, ours have also learnt if no name is called before or after a command or whistle it means all of them!! :-D

Occasionally I do some group work with my 4, I have a handful of treats and give commands to specific dogs - so, I would say "Remy, sit" if everyone's standing.  If he does it he gets a treat, anyone else that does it gets ignored - in theory it's teaching them that when i say a specific name a different dog won't get anything.

Having said that, I've not done it much so no joy yet but, I do recall reading another owner having success with her two dobes - she had one stay in a sit while she recalled the other.

Occasionally I do some group work with my 4, I have a handful of treats and give commands to specific dogs - so, I would say "Remy, sit" if everyone's standing.  If he does it he gets a treat, anyone else that does it gets ignored - in theory it's teaching them that when i say a specific name a different dog won't get anything.

That does work. I have done it with our lot and they love this sort of thing.

Vera

Lori, it also helps immensly if one of your dogs has a one syllable name, and the other a two, even from a distance they can recognise the sound.

So if you have a Sam and a Tom, call one Sammy when training,

If you have a Sammy and Tommy call one Sam when training. ;-)

I did intentionally give them very different names; Milo and KEE-va (not spelled that way but easier). I'll keep on as I have been with the commands and working them separately. I think my boy is just playing me for some extra treats :-D It's early days as they're only 2 YO and 8 months. Maybe in a couple years... ;-)

I have two the same age and did a lot of their trainig together.  I just use the name before the command. This way I  can ask one to sit and  stay and the other to come. But I also train them one to one so they learn also at times to just respond to the commands ... sometimes they can ignore comands like sit if their name isn't used first..the then give the 'what? Who me?' look. To work them side by side I say 'dogs' for the name..they seem to get it.

Yes I always use the name first followed by command. It works in the garden when I want one of them in, but if I tell one to sit, then the others run up and join in just in case there are treats about :D :D When I want them all to lie down I give voice & hand signal, Maddie will down straight away, looking at me. Followed slowly by Molly who looks at us both in turn with that 'oh if I have to' look on her face. Last but not least Mikki - who has probably had one more sniff around the room, or a last bark or play jump then realises its gone quiet, sniffs the other two, looks at me, then.........................goes off into the garden :rolleyes:

Always precede the command with the dogs name and ignore the dog that does what you say if it isn't them you commanded.

If you are going to compete I think your dog will have to learn to ignore commands addressed to other dogs in the ring or adjacent rings, so needs to know when it is being spoken to.

When my pup was around 6 months old, I moved into a house where there were 3 other dogs, all the dogs had some basic training, and one was very advanced, but would only do basics for other people.  I was messing about one day and managed to get one of them to lie down and the other to jump over that one. while the other two were in down stays because they kept getting in the way. was thinking if they broke their down stays I was going to put those two outside out of the way, but they were very good and I gave them lots of rewards for staying, at shorter intervals then they were use to. 
wish I could of done more with the four of them together, as by the end of the afternoon they were understanding that their name meant individual and dogs meant all of them. However, we always used dogs to call them all back in from the garden, so I think that was already in place. but until that day, they were always been trained individually by their individual owners.

I did alot of training with my dog in group situations after this day, but not with the other dogs interacting with each other, I use a clicker, and she soon learnt which click was hers and ignored all the other dogs clicks.

so do people actually think it is possible to get just one dog to come to you if both dogs are playing in a field together. even if i just shouted del my mags would come to. the only way i could get around that was by using a whistle with different peeps for each dog.

If I'm actually training mine and leave them staying I can just call one and it will come, the rest will stay. I trained them to do this after watching a gundog display at the Highland Show where the man said most dogs don't know their names! I now know that my dogs do :)  However, if they're just running around playing and I shout one of them they will all come to see what's happening :rolleyes:

yeah mine are like that . if they were playing and i shouted del. they def would both come.  however when i use a whistle even if they are playing i can get just one to come, because i use a different peep and trained them separatly the other does not recognise the other ones peep. but im not sure if you shouted sit or down you could get just one dog to do it even by using the names.

With my two border collies I often tell one to down while flinging a ball for the other, I had to use a slip lead to train it first though as the lure of the other chasing a ball was just too much. I would down one dog and loop the lead over them just in case then throw the ball for the other - when the other dog brings the ball back he is treated then the lead is looped over his head and the other gets to chase the ball. It took only a couple of days of doing this and now I can tell either one to down stay and the other to fetch. I'm using the same commands for all my dogs but using their name first lets them know who has to obey. The only time this fails is as I've said when all 4 are free running. Its my practise to call them back every now and again for a treat so when I call anyones name they all come racing :D

I use the same commands for all of them without problems. If I train with the others around me, then I say the name of the dog that I want to do training and then just continue normally. The other dogs know that I am working with that one dog... the only problem is with the retrieve as they all want to go and get the dumbell...

Outdoors, I can actually recall each individual dog by putting their names in front of the command. That works very well. Sometimes another one comes back too and they all get rewarded (the recall is the only exercise where I reward each one that comes back whereas with all the other exercises I will only reward the one that was asked to do it). I have sat them all in a line before now though and recalled each one... On walks, I tend to call each one by the name and they only turn back when I mention their name...

Vera