>>9347731Before I pick up my dogs, I give them a verbal command, alerting them that they’re about to be lifted off the ground. I mean, imagine if someone just walked over to you, scooped you up in their arms, and took you away from wherever you were standing … without any notice. You wouldn’t like that very much, would you? For that reason, I personally taught my dogs the command, “Up.” Choose whatever verbal cue works best for you and teach your dog that whenever you say that word, he’s going to be picked up. The key with verbal cues is consistency. So once you choose a word – stick with it!