Teaching my kids to use the training commands - will it confuse my dog?

bhardypr

I have always been the "trainer" with our dog - working with him on his initial obedience commands and developing other manners over the years. Currently, we are going to be doing a lot more training b/c he is not well socialized with other animals b/c of where we live. I know this will be a lot of work, but definitely worth it.

My question is this...I do the training. My kids and husband also use the same basic commands with him - sit, lie down, stay, etc. - and practice manners with him, etc. Is it confusing for there to be too many trainers? 

Specifically, I'm thinking about the socialization training. For instance, I have had to "pin" him a couple of times for getting too aggressive with my horse or other animals. It is effective when I do it right when he misbehaves. If my husband or kids are with him, can they pin him too (if it's appropriate?).

I don't want to confuse him, but I also want to seize every opportunity to train him and I want him to mind all of the family members. Thoughts?

philsergeant

I see no problem as long as everyone uses the same sounds ... for example, we use WAIT, instead of stay, but if my wife used Stay, it would confuse them.  NO is a staple, but if we expect them to understand that STOP, NANa, and DON'T are the same thing, we won't get anywhere. It is important that they recognize the commands from every member of the family should be responded to.... (Sometimes when my wife tells them something in a "non-commanding" fashion, they just take a message).