Have a Break
We ask a lot of our dogs. We expect them to be completely in tune with us — but they’re still animals. They need clear instruction about what we actually want. Without it, we end up creating confusion.
That’s why having a break (or free) command is essential. Otherwise, how do we tell them they can do what they do best — just be a dog?
Why It Matters
Let’s take a sit, for example.
When I ask for a sit, it’s implied they also need to stay there until told otherwise. So I need two things:
A reward marker that ends the behaviour and earns a treat or toy, or
A break command that ends the behaviour with freedom as the reward.
This makes things clear. Otherwise, your dog might sit until they get bored and wander off — which kills reliability — or, in theory, stay there forever and find the whole thing unpleasant.
Now, we’re not talking Greyfriars Bobby levels of commitment here — most dogs will just get bored long before that. But if they’re deciding when to break position, you’ll struggle to build any real stability.
Freedom as a Reward
Being able to say “break!” and have your dog understand that they can move, sniff, stretch, or go be a dog again is ideal.
It also means you can start practising obedience without always needing to hand out food or toys. The release itself becomes rewarding.
That said, don’t get lazy with it. Freedom’s great, but it’s not always as valuable as play or food. Mix it up. Use both systems. Don’t try to cut corners and rely on “break” as your main reward — that’d be like your boss saying the reward for a hard day’s graft is that you get to leave at the end of it instead of getting paid. Freedom’s nice, but it’s not currency.
And if you always break your dog from a position, you’ll just create anticipation for the break and lose reliability. You still need to make sure your dog understands that rewards can come to them to end a behaviour. Have a look at my previous post on Markers if you’d like a bit of light shone on how that works.
How I Taught It
When I first introduced it with Sam, I’d ask for a behaviour she already knew — like sit. Once completed, I’d say “break!” and then encourage her out of position.
Remember: the word comes first, then the action. Otherwise your dog will rely on movement instead of the word predicting movement. (Again, check out my post on Markers for more on that.)
Simple as that.
I’d then start to build a bit of duration, but this didn’t replace teaching her to hold positions and not anticipate being released. The two go hand in hand — stability first, freedom second.
One Last Tip
I’d personally steer clear of using “OK” as your break word. We say it far too much in daily life.
If your dog’s holding a down stay and you say “OK” to someone mid-chat, say goodbye to your down stay. Ask me how I know.