Does your pup know his name? Does he answer immediately when you call him? If he doesn’t, try training him with this fun and easy exercise, and in no time you’ll have him responding immediately every time you hear the sound of his own name.
The utility of teaching your puppy to respond positively and immediately to the sound of his name is self-evident; for example, teaching him other basic commands, such as sit, stay, or lie down, will be much easier if he has his attention on Youand not on other things.
Teaching your puppy to respond to his name should be one of the first lessons he learns, however in reality many owners fail to do this effectively from the start and problems often develop as a consequence. The analogy she would use would be learning to drive; She must learn to drive forwards, before learning to drive backwards, learning to drive backwards takes a bit more skill and she must learn the basics before she can move forward with confidence.
Taking advantage of your pup’s natural exuberance and curiosity, teaching him this exercise will be a doddle!
When you are teaching your puppy this exercise, try and always remember to teach your puppy to associate this sound with only good things. Do not scold your puppy, for example, by using his name, as doing so too often will cause him to build a negative association with the sound, or to get confused, due to the tone you use when saying his name, the latter being more likely. that you get the answer if your puppy moves away from you, instead of towards you.
To train your pup in this exercise, first gather a few things your pup enjoys as treats; some puppies are more food motivated while others prefer toys to play with, train beforehand what your pup likes best. My advice would be to put your pup on a long training leash at this point, but only if he gets used to using a leash and collar first, and take him to a quiet area with no distractions. Next, lie down on the floor and call him by his name; call his name in one of those excited ways puppies love to hear, and if he looks your way, give him a treat or his toy. The goal of this exercise is to make your puppy finally look you directly in the eye when you call him, since then you will be sure that you have his full attention. To help reinforce this behavior, hold the treat or toy close to his face when you call his name and make eye contact with him when he looks up at the treat or toy.
Timing here, as with any training you’re giving your pup, is important; therefore, try to reward him when you have his attention. This can be difficult at first, as a pup’s movements can be quite erratic and you can sometimes reward him at the wrong times, but stick with it and you’ll improve his time, and you can put this skill to good use when training. Your puppy new behaviors.
The next step you need to take is to “test” your pup’s behavior. By testing your pup’s behavior, you’ll be testing her new skills and honing them, using different environments and adding distractions, such as when the house is busy or taking her to the local park. One thing to remember here is that when the environment in which you are reinforcing your pup’s abilities changes, you may encounter some problems initially; For example, he may not be as motivated to look at you when you call his name as he was when you taught him this behavior around the house. Try to remember, he is not being stubborn, the new environment along with its added distractions will divert your puppy’s attention away from you, to help counteract this be patient and gradually regain his concentration, try not to feed him before giving him the session. , and use small tasty treats, such as sausages, meat, or cheese, as rewards for correct answers.
To recap then, just use your pup’s name along with a positive tone. Never punish or scold your puppy while using his name. Begin training your pup this exercise in a distraction-free environment, and incorporate distractions slowly. Keep your sessions short, say for example no more than five minutes, and spread them out throughout the day. Give your pup lots of praise for his correct answers, and remember to keep things fun for him and lastly, always end on a positive note, so your pup will look forward to his fun and rewarding sessions with you. .
