Teaching a dog to recognize his nameis basic so that he can respond correctly to our signals. It is a basic exercise to be able to train the other canine obedience exercises, and to capture his attention in different circumstances. If you can't get your dog's attention you won't be able to teach him any exercises, so it's helpful if this is the first exercise in dog obedience training.
In this article on our site we will teach you how to choose a good name, to capture the dog's attention, to prolong its attention and we will give you useful tips so that it responds positively in the different circumstances in which you you can find.
Remember that teaching the dog to recognize his own name is a very important task that any owner should take into account. All this will help you strengthen your bond, prevent escapes in the park and create a base in their level of obedience.
Choose a suitable name
Choosing a suitable name for your dog is essential. You should know that excessively long names, with difficult pronunciation or those that can be confused with other commands should be discarded immediately.
Your dog should have a special and cute name, but at the same time easy to relate to. On our site we offer you a complete list of original dog names or a list of short dog names. This detail is very important to take into account.
Get the dog's attention
Our first objective will be to capture the dog's attention. With this criterion you seek to achieve a basic behavior, which consists of your dog looking at you for a moment. He doesn't really need to look you in the eye, but he does need to pay attention to you so that it's easier for you to communicate with him after you say his name. However, most dogs end up looking you in the eye.
If your dog is a shaggy breed and his fur covers his eyes, you won't know where he is really looking. In this case, the criterion will be that your dog turns his face towards yours, as if he were looking you in the eye, even if you don't know if he is actually doing it.
To get your dog to pay attention to you we will use food that is appetizing, be it treats, skacks or frankfurter bits. Show him a small piece of food and then close your hand, protecting the food. Keep your fist clenched, and wait. Your dog will try to take the food in different ways. He will slap your hand with his paw, lick your hand, nibble you, or do anything else. Ignore all those behaviors and just keep your hand closed. If your dog hits or pushes your hand hard, keep it flat against your thigh. This will prevent your hand from moving.
At some point your dog will get tired of trying to carry out behaviors that do not work. Pronounce his nameand when he looks at you, congratulate him with a "very good" or click (make the clicker sound) and give him the food.
During the first few repetitions don't worry if your dog doesn't seem to properly relate to the process. It is normal. Repeat this exercise and click or praise him when he pays attention to you and responds to his name by looking at you. It is important not to reward him if he does not do it properly.
Repetitions Needed
It will depend on the mental capacity of the dog if he learns sooner or later to correctly relate his name and the prize he receives later. Don't worry if he doesn't seem to get it, some dogs will need up to 40 repetitions and others however, 10 will suffice.
Ideally, you should repeat this exercise daily, dedicating about 5 or 10 minutes to it. Prolonging a training session can overwhelm your dog and take his mind off of training him.
On the other hand, highlight the importance of carrying out training in a quiet place, free of distractions, so that our dog can concentrate fully on us.
Prolong the dog's attention
This procedure is very similar to the one detailed in the previous point, with the intention of increasing the duration of the behavior up to three seconds. Start the first session of this criterion by doing two or three repetitions of the previous exercise, to get your dog into the game.
The next step will be (as in the previous process) to get a treat, close it in your fist, say his name and wait. Count three seconds and click or congratulate him and give him the food. If your dog did not hold his gaze, you can try again by moving around so that the dog keeps his attention on you. He will probably follow you. Repeat the same procedure but waiting a shorter time before rewarding him. Gradually increase the time your dog looks you in the eye, until you get at least three seconds in five successive repetitions.
Do the necessary number of sessions until you get your dog to look you in the eye for three seconds in five repetitions in a row. Keep increasing the duration during those repetitions, even if it exceeds three seconds. The intention is that the dog is attentive for a time minimally prolonging your instructions.
As we have mentioned before, the ideal is not to overwhelm the dog, so he dedicates little time to training but with an intense level.
Dog's attention on the move
In general, dogs tend to pay more attention to us when we are in motion, however not all of them respond in the same way. Once our dog is relating the treats, the name and the subsequent prize when looking at us, we must go a step further by training him to pay attention to us when we are in motion
In order for the exercise to be easily related you should start with light movements that you will gradually increase . You can start by moving the arm you're holding the treats in and then walking away a step or two.
Increase the difficulty
After spending between 3 and 10 days repeating this exercise your dog should be able to relate his name very well as a call for his attention. However, it may not work as well indoors as it does outdoors.
This is because the dog, in front of different stimuli, cannot avoid losing concentration. However, this same situation is what we must work actively so that the dog responds equally well wherever it is. Remember that teaching a dog basic obedience is a great help for his safety.
As in all learning processes, we must practice with our dog in different situations that increase the difficulty gradually You can start practicing the answer to the call in your garden or in an empty pipi-can but progressively you must instruct him in busy places or places with elements that can distract him.
Possible problems with teaching your dog to recognize his name
Some problems that can occur when teaching your dog to recognize his name are:
- Your dog your hand is hurting when trying to take food: Some dogs bite or forcefully hit the hand that is holding the food, potentially hurting the trainer. If your dog hurts you while trying to take the food, hold the treat at shoulder height and away from your dog. By not being able to reach the food, your dog will look at you and you can begin to reinforce that behavior. On each repetition lower your hand a little more until you can keep your arm straight down without your dog trying to take the food from your hand. Another option that some trainers use, but which I don't like very much, is to wear thick gloves that protect your hand from the dog's scratches and bites. If this problem affects you, it would be ideal for you to review our article about bite inhibition.
- Your dog is very distracted: If your dog is distracted it may be because he has recently eaten or the training place is not be calm enough. Find a different place to train and hold sessions at a different time. It may also happen that the prize you offer him is not appetizing enough, better get some bits of frankfurt. If you think the time and place are right, do a quick sequence of handing out bits of food to your dog before the session begins. Just give him five bits of food quickly (as if you were charging the clicker, but as fast as possible) and start the training session.
- Your dog doesn't stop looking at you not even for a second: If your dog doesn't stop looking at you for a moment, it will be difficult for you to enter the order. To distract your dog and be able to use his name, you can throw the food on the ground after each click. This way, you'll have a chance to say his name right after your dog has eaten, but before he spontaneously looks at you. As if it were a crop.
Precautions when using your dog's name
Don't use your dog's name in vain If you say your dog's name in any circumstance and for any reason, without reinforcing his behavior when he looks at you, you will be extinguishing the appropriate response and your dog will stop paying attention when you say his name. Rewarding and congratulating him whenever he responds positively to the call will be essential
