If you've got Borzoi, Black Russian Terrier, Samoyed, Russian Toy, Caucasian Shepherd, or another Russian dog, you would probably want to teach him/her some Russian dog commands. Russian commands for dogs are short and quite easy to pronounce and remember.
On our website, you have a unique opportunity to listen to how these commands are pronounced by a professional dog trainer, the famous Russian Dog Wizard Vladae Roytapel (you can read about Vladae at the end of this page, or on a special page devoted to the Russian Dog Wizard).
Photo Credit: Ferlinka Borzoi (Deb West)/Flickr CC
BASIC COMMANDS
First of all, teach your Russian puppy several basic and most important Russian dog commands like "Come!", "Sit!", "Down!", "Stand!", "Stay!", "Heel!" and "Out!".
Here is your initial list (capitals for stress):
COME! - KO MNE (ko MNE, "o" like in "poll", "e" like in "bell")! КО МНЕ!
SIT! - SIDET' (see-DET', "e" like in "bell", "t" palatalized)! СИДЕТЬ!
DOWN! - LYEZHAT' (lje-ZHAT', "a" like "u" in "sun", "t" palatalized)! ЛЕЖАТЬ!
STAND! - STOYAT' (sto-JAT', "o" like in "poll", "t" palatalized)! СТОЯТЬ!
STAY! - MYESTO (MJE-sto, "o" like in "poll", "e" like in "bell")! МЕСТО!
HEEL! - RYADOM (RJA-dom, "a" like "u" in "sun")! РЯДОМ!
OUT! / NO! (Let go! Leave it! Stop it!) - FU (FOO, "u" like "oo" in "book" but shorter)! ФУ!
After that you can learn and teach your dog some Russian dog training commands that he will definitely enjoy:
GOOD - HOROSHO (ho-ro-SHO, "o" like in "poll"), ХОРОШО.
GOOD BOY, GOOD DOG - MOLODETS (mo-lo-DETS, "o" like in "poll", "e" like in "bell"), МОЛОДЕЦ.
GO OUTSIDE - GULYAT' (gu-LJAT', "u" like in "put", "a" like "u" in "sun")! ГУЛЯТЬ!
GO HOME - DOMOY (do-MOJ, "o" like in "poll", "oy" like in "boy")! ДОМОЙ!
If you want your dog to bark or stay quiet you can use the Russian commands for that:
VOICE! / BARK! - GOLOS (GO-los, "o" like in "poll")! ГОЛОС!
QUIET! - TIHO (TEE-kho, "ho" like in "holiday")! ТИХО!
COMMANDS FOR ADVANCED OWNERS
FETCH! (Retrieve!) - APORT (a-PORT, "a" like "u" in "sun")! АПОРТ!
JUMP (over)! - BARYER (ba-RJER, "a" like "u" in "sun")! БАРЬЕР!
FORWARD! - VPERYOD (vpe-RJOD, "e" like in "bell")! ВПЕРЁД!
GUARD! - OKHRANIAY (o-khra-NYAJ, "o" like in "poll", "ay" like "uy" in "buy")! ОХРАНЯЙ!
ATTACK! - FAS (FAS, "a" like "u" in "sun")! ФАС!
RUSSIAN HERDING DOG COMMANDS
Russian herding dog commands are a bit different from commands in English-speaking countries.
1/ DRIVE! - GONI! (go-NI) ГOНИ!
To return an animal to the stock.
2/ AROUND! - KRUGOM! (kru-GOM) КРУГОМ!
To gather the stock into a group.
3/ FORWARD! - VPERYOD! (vpe-RJOD, "e" like in "bell") ВПЕРЁД! Audio above
The direction depends on the location of the shepherd.
4/ GUARD! - OKHRANIAY! (OkhraNIAY) ОХРАНЯЙ! Audio above
To keep the stock where they are.
5/ SEARCH! - ISHCHI (ish-CHI) ИЩИ!
To search for a missed animal.
6/ BARK! - GOLOS! (GO-los, "o" like in "poll")! ГОЛОС! Audio above
SEARCH AND RESCUE COMMANDS
And finally, some dog commands that are related to SAR:
SMELL! - NYUKHAI (NYU-khai) НЮХАЙ!
SEARCH! - ISHCHI (ish-CHI) ИЩИ! Audio above
To find something/someone around you.
TRACK! - SLED (SLED) СЛЕД!
To find someone by following the traces.
Russian commands for dogs sound unusual and will attract additional attention to your dog. Another reason to learn them is to make your dog more secure because he won't obey English commands from strangers.
Learn some more "dog words" in Russian!
About the Russian Dog Wizard
Known as the Russian dog training wizard, Vladae Roytapel is Chief Executive of SoCal Dog Training, Inc., which has served Newport Beach and other Orange County communities since 2008.
Vladae Roytapel’s firm provides in-home and group training for canines, focusing on common issues such as jumping up, destructive chewing, disobedience, and housebreaking problems. Vladae Roytapel is famously known in America for his incomparable knowledge on how to rehabilitate aggressive dogs. He explains that understanding how a dog feels leading up before they attack is paramount. His enterprise also offers a full range of training toys, pet supplies, nutritious canine food, and instructional books and DVDs.
For Vladae's biography please view The Russian Dog Wizard
Rick Leal says
Really appreciated your article and the voice sound for the commands. I am an EDD Handler and my K-9 is a GS originally from Holland, trained in Dutch. Gonna work the Russian commands with him.
Thanks!
RussianDog says
Thank you for your kind comment. Good luck to you and your K-9!
Ashley Benson says
KENJI AKITA INU
I think this is fantastic
Linda Marie says
Hello and Good morning
I want to say thank you for this absolutely amazing site on teaching our Kato commands in Russian. I absolutely love how you have the written as well as the audio of the commands. Thank you for taking time to make this site. I purchased two learning books for myself to better familiarize myself with the Russian language. Absolutely fascinating. Enough thanks can’t be said for your site. Have a wonderful day.
RussianDog says
Thank you so much, Linda, for your kind words. We wish you and Kato the best results in learning Russian dog commands and we are happy that you find our site useful. Have a nice weekend too!
Jim says
Our GSD is only a puppy, the main reason we’re training him in Russian is that my wife and sons are from Kyiv, Russian and Ukrainian are their native languages. I’ve been learning Russian for 12 years, I doubt I’ll ever be fluent, but in our household Russian and English are both commonly used. Besides, everyone else trains their dogs in English or German, we wanted to personalize Fritz to our family.
I have to reply to some of the people who posted here that made negative remarks about American Shepherds. Saying that American breeders are breeding for the sloped back is just as stupid as saying that all women have blonde hair. There are a LOT of breeders that breed working dogs, service dogs, and Schutzhund dogs from German, East German, and Czech bloodlines. I think there are 5 specific types of Shepherd in the US, and only 1 is Show and Confirmation. My pup is a mix of German (dam) and Czech (sire), but born in the US by an American breeder. Only the GSDs that are bred for show are bred with that sloped back.