Training your puppy to respond to his name is an essential process. This will help you get his attention anytime you need and to train him to obey other commands.
When your puppy learns how to respond to his name, you can also help protect him from danger and your home will be a happy one.
However, you need to get it right from the beginning. Before bringing your puppy home, you need to pick out a suitable name for him.
Make sure that the name has distinguishable sounds and not similar to anyone’s name in the home. This will minimize confusion and your dog will respond better.
Here is a simple step by step guide on how to best teach your puppy his name…
1. Let your puppy pay attention
Before you begin training your puppy, make sure that you get his full attention. Avoid distractions and have a bag of treats that you can use to reward him every time he responds to his name.
It is advisable to start training when your puppy is not distracted, take him to relieve himself if he needs to and make sure that he is not tired or hyperactive.
Say his name once in a clear voice. Make sure the tone you use is happy and warm. Try to get his attention, if he doesn’t respond the first time, no need to panic, he probably does not recognize it yet.
2. Click and reward
Say his name again and immediately he looks at you, click and reward him with his favorite treat.
You need to give him praising remarks because just like humans, dogs like to be praised and rewarded for good behavior. This will also be a motivational factor for him.
He will know that every time he gives you his attention, he will get a treat. Positive reinforcement is very effective when learning how to teach a puppy his name.
3. Distract your puppy
When training your puppy how to respond to his name, you need to lose his attention again. You can distract him and keep him occupied with his dog toys or just anything to take their attention away from you.
Call out his name once more and immediately he looks at you, click and reward him again. Shower him with praise and let him know that responding to his name will attract goodies.
4. Repeat! Repeat! Repeat!
You need to repeat the above steps at least 8 to 10 times for at least an hour. However, this is not standard, keep observing how your puppy reacts during the training session.
Make sure that you do not make it too long because it will get monotonous and he will get bored easily.
Remember puppies just like kids have a short concentration span. Repeat the exercise every few hours every day for at least a week. Your puppy will soon begin to learn his name and will soon be giving you his full attention once you call his name.
5. Change the training location
After the first few days, you can switch the training location. Since it is still early in the training process, you still need to do this alone with him and avoid any distractions.
You can try training him how to respond to his name in a different room or take him out to the back yard of your house.
Go through the previous steps over and over until your puppy is able to give you his full attention. Then that will be good progress.
6. Hold his attention longer before rewarding
Once your puppy is positively responding to his name and giving you full attention, click when he does but wait for about 5 seconds before you give him his treat.
This will train him to give you his attention for a longer period of time. If he does not give you attention, you will then have to repeat the previous steps until he does.
7. Give him more distractions
You are progressing well in teaching your puppy his name if he can respond by giving you his undivided attention in any room of the house and even when you are out in the backyard.
Take the training a notch higher by adding more distractions. You can choose to have another person in the room or give him his favorite dog toys to distract him.
You can put him on a leash to enable you gently correct him if he ignores you. Say his name and if he responds, immediately click and reward him.
8. Try training him outside
Once you are comfortable that your puppy is able to respond to his name and give you his full attention for a longer period, you can try taking him outside and assess whether he will still respond to his name.
Put him on a leash and take him for a walk in the dog park or some nice quiet place that he has visited before. You don’t want to scare him by taking him to a place that is foreign to him because he might not respond well.
Repeat the basic steps and increase the time before you reward him so that you have his attention for a longer period. Give him his favorite treat when he does so successfully.
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9. Consider hiring a professional dog trainer
If you have taken your furry friend through all the above steps, but you still have a hard time to get him to respond to his name and give you full attention, you can check out the Doggy Dan the online trainer program.
The online dog training program has been specifically designed to help train dogs in various areas like potty training and training your dog to obey basic commands.
Doggy Dan the online dog trainer has worked with thousands of dog owners and dogs and has helped raise obedient dogs. Therefore if you want to learn how to teach your puppy his name, this course is meant for you.
In a nutshell, training a puppy to respond to his name can be a huge milestone in his growth and development. It is also a great achievement on your side because you will be a proud dog owner then. Be patient with your puppy and help him slowly learn his name.
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