If you’ve been looking for the best list of German dog commands, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, I have listed the most important German commands for dogs, including pronunciation and translation.
I also prepared for you an infographic that you can save directly to your phone to have the most important dog training commands in German always at hand.
Keep reading to discover them all.
What are the best German dog commands for police dogs?
Police dogs are trained to obey commands in German. This is because the commands are short and mean what they say, nothing more, nothing less.
This is the list of the best German commands to use to train your dog:
- Back up: Züruck (Zu-ru-kh)
- Bark / speak: Gib Laut (Gheb Laout)
- Bite / Attack: Fass (Fass)
- Blind search: Revier (Re-fieer)
- Come / Here: Hier (Heeee-ar)
- Crawl: Kriechen (Kri-khen)
- Down: Platz (Plah-tzz)
- Eat / take your food: Nimm Futter (Nim Futter)
- Fast: Schnell (sh-nel)
- Fetch: Bring (Bring)
- Find narcotics: Such Rauschgift (Sooo-kh Raush ghiift)
- Go inside: Geh Rein (Gay rine)
- Go out: Voraus (For-owss)
- Good (praise): So ist Brav (zo ist braf)
- Good Job: Gut Gemacht (Goot ghem-akht)
- Good dog (praise word): Braver Hund (Braffer Hoond)
- Growl: Brummen (Broomen)
- Guard: Wache (Wa-khe)
- Heel: Fuß/Fuss (Foos)
- Howl: Heul (Hoo-el)
- Jump / up: Hopp (Hooop)
- Kennel: Zwinger (zwingher)
- Leave it: Lass es (Lass es)
- Left: Links (Links)
- Let go / out: Aus (Awuss)
- Look at me: Schau mich an (Shao mikh an)
- No / stop that! (correction word): Nein, Pfui (Nine, Pfoooey)
- Ok / everything alright: In Ordnung (In Ordnungh)
- Outside: Raus (Raus)
- Paw / shake: Pfote (Fote)
- Quiet: Ruhig (Roo-hig)
- Right: Rechts (Rekh-ts)
- Search / find / track: Such (Sooo-kh)
- Search lost article: Such Verloren (Soo-kh Ferloren)
- Sit: Sitz (Ziits)
- Slow: Langsam (lang-zam)
- Stand: Steh (Sh-teh)
- Stay calm / Stand still: Bleib Ruhig (Blibe rooegh)
- Stay: Bleib (Bliibe)
- Stop: Halt (Halt)
- Take it: Nimm (Nimm)
- Touch: Berühren (Be-ru-ren)
- Treat: Leckerli (Lek-erli)
- Wait: Warten (Varten)
- Walk / Run: Lauf (Lauf)
- Watch – pay attention: Achtung (Akh-toongh)
- What is going on?: Was ist los? (Vas est Loos?)

There are lots of other dog commands in German, but these are the most common.
Why I use German commands with my dogs?

When it comes to training your dog, there are some German commands that seem to work better than others. This is likely due to the fact that German commands are not as arbitrary as their English counterparts.
I personally use the German commands with my dogs during all training sessions, and also during walks.
I use (and prefer) German for 3 main reasons:
- Because I lived in Germany for six years, and I started my first intensive dog training courses there.
- Because German is a more severe and authoritative language.
- Because if another person calls his dog with a (come), my dog does not react, precisely because I speak with my dog a language that most people do not speak.
Obviously you don’t have to learn this language, but you can simply take a cue from these German commands and use the ones you prefer.
Frequently asked questions about German dog training commands

Why Do Police Dogs are trained in German language?
One of the most common reasons for police dogs to be trained with a different language is because their job requires them to be able to communicate with an unknown environment. Another reason behind this is that they are required to respond to requests from people who don’t speak the same language as them.
What is the German command for attack?
The German command for attack is is FASS, pronounced “fahss”.
What does Zook / Such in German mean?
Zook is the English pronunciation of the German dog command “Such” which means to search for something or someone. Such is a common german command for protection dogs and k9 police dogs.
What language are police dogs trained in?
Police dogs are trained in German, but they are also trained in many other languages. Some of the most common languages police dogs are trained in include Dutch, French, Spanish, and even Czech.
What is the german dog command for quiet?
The German command for quiet is is RUHIG, pronounced “Roo-hig”.
Do dogs respond better to german?
The answer is no! For example, K9 police dogs are trained in German not because they understand it better or faster, but so that random passersby cannot give commands and confuse them (even by using the words on accident in the area).
Conclusion
And these are most of the commands in German that are used to train protection and police dogs.
In this article, I’ve collected a list of German dog commands that are sure to help you train your dog, as well as a few others that I think might be great for you to learn.
German | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
Sitz | Ziits | Sit |
Platz | Plah-tzz | Down |
Bleib | Bliibe | Stay |
Aus | Awuss | Let go / out |
Hier | Heeee-ar | Come / Here |
Steh | Sh-teh | Stand |
Bring | Bring | Fetch |
Hopp | Hooop | Jump / up |
Voraus | For-owss | Go out |
Such | Sooo-kh | Search / find / track |
Wache | Wa-khe | Guard |
Gib Laut | Gheb Laout | Bark / speak |
Fass | Fass | Bite |
Such Rauchgift | Sooo-kh Raukh ghiift | Find narcotics |
Revier | Re-fieer | Blind search |
Geh Rein | Gay rine | Go inside |
Was ist los? | Vas est Loos? | What is going on? |
Braver Hund | Braffer Hoond | Good dog (praise word) |
Lass es | Lass es | Leave it |
Such Verloren | Soo-kh Ferloren | Search lost article |
Bleib Ruhig | Blibe rooegh | Stay calm / Stand still |
Nimm Futter | Nim Futter | Eat / take your food |
In Ordnung | In Ordnungh | Ok / everything alright |
Nein, Pfui | Nine, Pfoooey | No / stop that!(correction word) |
Fuß/Fuss | Foos | Heel |
Fass | Fahss | Bite / Attack |
Nimm | Nimm | Take it |
Achtung | Akh-toongh | Watch – pay attention |
Warten | Varten | Wait |
Rechts | Rekh-ts | Right |
Links | Links | Left |
Berühren | Be-ru-ren | Touch |
Pfote | Fote | Paw / shake |
Kriechen | Kri-khen | Crawl |
Züruck | Zu-ru-kh | Back up |
Brummen | Broomen | Growl |
Heul | Hoo-el | Howl |
Halt | Halt | Stop |
Gut Gemacht | Goot ghem-akht | Good Job |
Leckerli | Lek-erli | Treat |
Zwinger | zwingher | Kennel |
So ist Brav | zo ist braf | Good (praise) |
Schnell | sh-nel | Fast |
Langsam | lang-zam | Slow |
Ruhig | Roo-hig | Quiet |
Nimm | Nim | Take it |
Shau mich an | Shao mikh an | Look at me |
Lauf | Lauf | Walk / Run |
Raus | Raus | Outside |
If there is any other dog training command in German you want to know, please let me know.
REMEMBER: Training a dog means understanding how to communicate with them. This is the most important part of training any dog, and it’s about learning how to speak their language, not the other way around.
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Thank you for reading and have a great day!
Until next time!
A big hug.