How to teach your dog a release command?

To start, offer your dog one of its favorite toys, saying, "take it." If your dog is highly excited to see the toy, you might want to let it have a minute or so to play before you start training. Swap the Toy for a Treat While the toy is in your dog's mouth, hold a treat up to its nose. As soon as your dog releases the toy, give it the treat. Repeat steps this several times until you feel your dog is responding well. Add the verbal cue, such as "drop it." Say the cue firmly and clearly while still holding the treat near the dog's nose. After a while, try holding the treat farther away. Gradually increase the distance if your dog still responds to the verbal cue. Then, try the command without the treat, praising your dog if it complies.

We must begin and end all commands we teach our dogs, otherwise there is almost no value in the command itself. The clicker not only marks, but it ENDS the behavior. I always make sure my students know the clicker is not forever. After we teach the dog that the release is part of the command with the clicker, we can then start to make the transition to using a release word instead. Then, I like to teach the dog that the release is actually a reward in itself. I will teach a release that lets them satisfy their prey drive and pair it with a specific word or phrase that is just meant for the dog. With repetition, we build the association of the release word with the reward, and voila, we have a dog who wants to wait for it, therefore holding the command. Varying the length of time between some quick releases and working up to more challenging ones will teach your dog that the time they hold it may change, but the sequence does not: we give the command, they obey, we release, we reward. By teaching them from the start that they need to wait for us to release them, we can then hold them accountable.

To teach the release cue, choose a position that your dog already understands well, such as “sit” or “down,” and give the cue while the dog is in position. The cue can be anything you like, such as “let’s go,” “release,” or even a hand signal. Then entice the dog to get up and come toward you. Click and treat as the dog gets up. When your dog is waiting in position reliably, challenge your dog by doing random things while your dog remains in position until you release him. Once your dog understands the release cue, the opportunity to participate in the next activity becomes the reward. Use a release cue before going over a threshold, like through a doorway, out of a crate, or out of a vehicle. A release cue is also extremely useful for dog sports, as it builds a solid start line as well as clarity and confidence for duration behaviors.

When teaching stay, you should have already chosen a release word. Commonly used release words are okay, break, and free. Reward your dog in place for staying and after rewarding your dog in place, say your release word, and encourage him to move. Reward him for moving when you use the release word so he starts to understand the word’s meaning. If your dog already knows stay, but doesn’t have a release word, simply follow the steps above but keep in mind you may need to move away and entice your dog to move with you after you say the release word. Some dogs may think you’re tricking them by trying to test their stay command. But once they understand the release word, they actually will have a better understanding of stay.

I believe if you teach your dog behaviors that have a duration like sit, down, and stand, you should always release the dog afterward. In other words, give the dog a signal that he can get up after it is complete. You can release your dog from a maintained behavior by saying a cue to get up like “Free”, telling the dog that you are ready to move forward on a walk by saying a cue like “Let’s go”, or by telling the dog to do another behavior like “Down” or “Come”. Always remember to release your dog. I do believe dogs can learn a complex cue like “Stay”, meaning continue doing the behavior you are doing, but it is a much more complex idea for a dog to learn than simply teaching a dog from the start that “Sit” means keep sitting until the release cue is given.