| Does your puppy know his name? Does he respond | | | | when you call his name, as you will be certain then that |
| immediately when you call him? If he doesn't, try | | | | you have his complete attention. To help reinforce this |
| training him this easy and fun exercise, and in no time | | | | behaviour, put the food treat or toy up to your face |
| you will have him responding to you immediately each | | | | when you call his name, and make eye contact with |
| time he hears the sound of his own name. | | | | him when he looks towards the food treat or toy. |
| The usefulness of teaching your puppy to respond | | | | Timing here, as with any training you are giving your |
| positively and immediately to the sound of his name is | | | | puppy is important; therefore, try to reward him when |
| obvious; for example, training him other basic | | | | you have his attention. This may be difficult at first, as |
| commands, such as to sit, stay, or lie down will be | | | | a puppy's movements can be quite erratic, and on |
| much easier if he has his attention upon you, and not | | | | occasions you may reward him at the wrong times, |
| on other things. | | | | but stick with it and you will improve your timing, and |
| Teaching your puppy to respond to his name should | | | | you can put this skill to good use when training your |
| be one of the very first lessons he learns, however in | | | | puppy new behaviours. |
| reality many owners fail to do this effectively early on, | | | | The next step you need to take is to 'proof' your |
| and as a consequence problems often develop. The | | | | puppy's behaviour. By proofing your puppy's behaviour |
| analogy I would use would be learning to drive; you | | | | you will test his new skills, and hone them, using |
| need to learn to drive forwards, before learning to | | | | different environments, and adding distractions, for |
| drive backwards, learning to drive backwards, requires | | | | example, when the house is busy, or taking him to the |
| a bit more skill, and you need to learn the basics, | | | | local park. A thing to remember here is when you |
| before you can confidently move on. | | | | change the environment in which you are reinforcing |
| By taking advantage of your puppy's natural | | | | your puppy's skills, you may encounter some problems |
| exuberance, and curiosity, it will make teaching him this | | | | initially; for example, he may not be as motivated to |
| exercise a piece of cake! | | | | look at you when you call his name as much as he |
| When you are teaching your puppy this exercise, | | | | was when you trained him this behaviour in the house. |
| please try and always remember to teach your puppy | | | | Try to remember, he is not being willful, the new |
| to associate this sound with good things only. Don't | | | | environment along with its added distractions will divert |
| scold your puppy for example, by using his name, as | | | | your puppy's attention from you, to help counter this, |
| doing this too often will cause him to build a negative | | | | remain patient, and build his concentration gradually |
| association to the sound, or to become confused, due | | | | again, try not feeding him before you give him session, |
| to the tone you use when saying his name, the latter is | | | | and using small tasty food treats, such as sausage, |
| more likely to get you the response were your puppy | | | | meat, or cheese, as a reward for his correct |
| moves away from you, rather than towards you. | | | | responses. |
| To train your puppy this exercise, first gather some | | | | To recap then, only use your puppy's name along with |
| things together your puppy enjoys as treats; some | | | | a positive tone. Never punish, or scold your puppy while |
| puppies are more food motivated, whereas, others | | | | using his name. Begin training your puppy this exercise |
| prefer toys to play with, workout before hand what | | | | in an environment with no distractions, and build in |
| your puppy likes best. My advice would be to attach a | | | | distractions slowly. Keep your session's short, say for |
| long training lead to your puppy at this point, but only if | | | | example, no longer that five minutes, and spread them |
| he is first used to wearing a lead and collar, and take | | | | out throughout the day. Give your puppy plenty and |
| him to a quiet area with zero distractions. Next, lay | | | | plenty of praise for his correct responses, and |
| down on the floor and call his name; call his name in | | | | remember to keep things fun for him, and last of all, |
| one of those excited kind of ways puppies love to | | | | always end on a positive note, in this way, your puppy |
| hear, and if he looks in your direction give him a food | | | | will look forward to his fun and rewarding sessions |
| treat or his toy. The objective of this exercise is to | | | | with you. |
| eventually have your puppy look directly into your eyes | | | | |