Playing The Name Game

Teaching Your Dog His Name
By Amber Jackson, Preston’s trainerOne of the most common things I hear from my training clients is that they are unsure if their dog knows his name. The new owner usually uses it so often especially when they first bring them home so they should know it by now right? Some dogs who do respond to the name we give them may be bit confused as to how to act when they hear it simply because the owners have been using it improperly. Sometimes they get food plus petting and love and sometimes they get yelled at for pottying on the floor then banished to their crate. It is similar with us humans. Sometimes our boss calls us to congratulate us on something or give us a raise. Most of the time it is to tell us what we did wrong. How many of us get really excited and run straight to his office when we hear that Mr. Boss wants to speak with us? If you say yes then I would love to work with you!

To begin teaching the new dog how to quickly respond to his name you need to pair it with something awesome like a small bite of treats. Take him to a room with no distractions and have a seat near your dog, with a sandwich bag of tasty tidbits in your lap. Say his name and then offer him a treat. Do not worry about getting his eye contact or anything along those lines. He also does not need to sit or look at you. He just needs to realize that when he hears his name he always gets a reward. I do encourage you to only use your dogs name before something positive, something he will enjoy like a treat or walk or petting. Do not use it to take him away from something he is enjoying like playing outside, Remember only positive associations when using his name! Stay consistent and in no time when he hears his name he will come running.

If you have multiple dogs in your household you can also practice this technique . Start just like above with your dogs and a bag of treats. Say each dogs name and hand him a treat. Ignore the other dogs pawing at you for attention no matter how big and cute the puppy dog eyes they are giving you. Try and resist given them treats until you say their name. Make sure the order is random so the dog knows to only respond when he is prompted with his name and not his pals name. You do not want them to realize their treat is always the second treat.

Good luck and always stay positive when training!