Training a Name

 If you are questioning what a Name is you are probably overthinking it! ;) A name, of course, is whatever you chose to call your fur baby after going through a list of names you didnt like! or maybe even a name your dog had when you adopted him. Training the dog to know his name is important and even though you call your dog this on a daily bases may not mean they know what it means. 

Have you ever called your dog by just his name and gotten completely ignored?
Yep thats probably why.

This usually pertains to the younger dogs that arent use to 5+ years of being called the same thing over and over again

Also some dogs that dont listen to their name may be just simply ignoring you just because they dont feel like listening, we call this being stubborn.

   
Quick Tip: When Training a name I just say the dogs name (in a normal tone voice) and whenever they look at me right after I say it I give them a treat, ball, or whatever is in reach that they like. Whenever training a dog to sit, lay down, etc. use his name before the cue to teach him that you are indeed telling him what to do.

  

It is important your dog knows their name for a couple reasons.

1. It gets their attention - say youre out in public and your dog is looking at a squirrel and you want them to look at you and/or listen to the cue you are about to tell them, saying "Bingo, " the dog would look at you and know that you were about to continue with a cue or just look at you wondering what you wanted, then you can continue with "leave-it" and the dog would understand that you were telling him that he needed to leave the squirrel alone, assuming he also knows what leave it means. Another example would be while you are out at a dog park or open field, if you wanted to get your dogs attention while they were a good distance away you would be able to say (yell) their name and they would know that it was them you were talking to.
- Please be sure to use leashes/long lines while in public non fenced areas, if another dog passes by that is on leash and your dog runs up to them and you think it is fine because your dog is dog friendly, the owner of that on leash dog might not feel the same and get nervous with your dog coming up to them and how their dog may react especially if their dog is not "dog-friendly", please take caution of where and when you let your dog off a leash and make sure that the area you are taking your dog to would be safe from busy streets and highways. Also remember to train your dog with a good recall (come cue) if let off leash in any place that isnt your own home.  Training their name simply gets their attention to let them know you are talking to them not to sit, stay, come, etc., the aforementioned were just used as examples.

2. If you have multiple dogs they will know who you are talking about - for instance, I have two dogs and if I say "rusty come" and both of my dogs come it can be incredibly annoying when I didnt ask for both, and of course when I say "molly (our lab) go lay down" and both dogs go lay down I bet you can imagine how frustrating that can be too especially if you think your dogs should know what they are doing and/or if you have ever been in a similar situation. Like any other training cue you will have to continue to maintain the dogs knowledge of what their name is but this is of course incredibly easy and is another thing that is usually trained without the owner even knowing theyre training them!

Has your dog ever ignored you when you said their name? Let me know in the comments.

Visit me on Facebook @: www.facebook.com/trainingwithalysia