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
John says
My local police department has some K9s and I wondered what language they used for commands. At first I thought that it would be German, Dutch, or Czech, considering that most departments use those languages for commands. I was actually surprised when I found out that they used Russian commands instead of the aforementioned ones. Pretty smart choice considering most people in the United States don’t know Russian.
RussianDog says
Thank you for your interesting comment!
B says
With kids in the house, this makes training so much easier. Kids aren’t shouting different English terms for the same commands, and dogs aren’t confused when we tell the kids to sit at the table, or to come, or to go outside. We keep a white board list w pronunciation and Cyrillic. It’s also much nicer at the dog park! There is no downside.
RussianDog says
Thank you for your nice comment. We’ve published it on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RusDog.
Ayanna says
I have four brothers and a sister, so im training my puppy in Russian so that it only listens to me.
RussianDog says
Good luck with your training :)
Kelly says
I am looking to adopt a Russian German Shephard and need a reputable breeder. Can you recommend someone?
RussianDog says
In the U.S., there’s probably only one breeder of these dogs: http://www.russianshepherd.com/
Otherwise you have to import from Russia or Eastern Europe.
Женя says
Hi, is there any way to see this in cyrillic? It is easier for me to read that way. Im training my service dog in Russian, but I never learned dog commands when I learned to speak Russian.
RussianDog says
Done!
Madison says
I love thesea thank you so much. my black Russian terrier will be arriving from Moscow next Sunday and I’m so excited! she will be my 2nd BRT. My last one I trained in German, but it will be so exciting to continue her heritage here in the United States
RussianDog says
Congratulations!