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The Seven Cues — a free puppy training wall chart
A puppy who hears five versions of “sit” is learning that none of them are real. This chart fixes that: one word and one hand signal per cue, written down so the eight-year-old and the grandparent give it exactly the way you do.
Three pages, US-Letter, designed to be printed and stuck on the fridge. Page two is the chart itself. It is a page out of The Whole Family Puppy Training Book, and it is yours free.
You’re on the list — here it is.
Save it somewhere safe — and I’ll write when there’s a new guide or book worth knowing about.
- All seven cues — sit, down, come, wait, off, leave, trade
- The one word for each, so nobody in the house invents their own
- The one hand signal — works in wind, across a field, and for a child too shy to shout
- How to teach each one, in a line you can read while the kettle boils
- The two rules that make every cue work — ask once, and mark the moment
- A family scoreboard — two minutes a day, ticked off, kids included
Why one word per cue matters
Puppies don't learn English; they learn patterns. If one person says “sit,” another says “sit down,” and a third says “bottom!”, the puppy has three different sounds to sort out and no way to know which one counts. Pick one word per cue, write it down, and make sure everyone in the house uses it the same way.
The chart uses seven: Sit, Down, Come, Wait, Off, Leave, and Trade. That's enough to run daily life with a young dog — at the door, at the table, on the couch, and when something precious ends up in a mouth.
The two words families collide on
“Down” only ever means lie down. Getting off the sofa is “Off.” When one person uses “down” for the floor and another for the couch, the puppy stops trusting the word. And “Trade” is always a swap, never a fight — wrestle something out of a puppy's mouth and you teach her to run off with it and swallow fast.
The method behind all seven
Every cue on the chart is taught the same way, so once the family knows the pattern, each new cue is easy.
Lure, mark, pay — then drop the lure
A treat at the puppy's nose guides her into position. After three or four reps, make the same hand movement with nothing in it and pay from your pouch afterwards. That empty-handed movement becomes the hand signal. Add the spoken word only once the signal works.
Rule one: ask once
Say the word one time, then wait. “Sit, sit, SIT!” teaches that the first one isn't real. If nothing happens, don't repeat and don't scold — make it easier and pay her for getting it right.
Rule two: mark the moment
A short, bright “yes!” the instant she does it, then a treat within a second or two. A treat that arrives five seconds late rewards whatever she was doing five seconds later — usually wandering off.
After the kitchen: the three D's
A cue that works in a quiet kitchen is only the start. Real training means building duration (two seconds, then five, then fifteen), distance (one step back, then across the yard), and distraction (kitchen, hallway, yard, then the beach).
Turn one dial at a time. If you add distance, drop the duration back down. Two misses in a row means you've pushed too far — go back, get two wins, and stop there. Always end on a win.
Two minutes a day
Short daily sessions beat one long weekend session. The chart's family scoreboard lets everyone — kids included — tick off a two-minute block per cue, so practice gets shared instead of falling to one person.
For Toller-specific training help, see the Training Center and brain games for Tollers.
Where the chart comes from
The chart is one page. The book is the rest of the first year.
Positive reinforcement training to raise a calm, well-behaved puppy the whole family can enjoy — in just 10 minutes a day. Potty training, crate and alone time, biting, jumping, chewing, socialization, leash work and emergency recall. Built on the C.A.L.M. Framework™, with real stories from raising Tollers Crosby & Ember.
In Canada? Amazon.ca · or see the full book page.
Your five printable bonuses — the Family Training Agreement, Potty Rota & Log, Puppy-Proofing Checklist, Jobs for the Kids, and the Family Puppy Gear List — are waiting on the bonus page. No email needed.
My Puppy & Me: Our First Year Together — the illustrated keepsake companion for ages 6–10. Kids learn the same kind training, then record every milestone of the first year.