Hi friends. Once again this is Singam Pradeep Singh and for those who are newly visiting my blog I'm a dog training enthusiast and very firmly belief in positive ways to train dogs based on scientific approach commonly known as positive training or clicker training.In this blog I'm back with some good tips and insight to train your dog to be more attentive and obedient around you.
Those who understands dog psychology would agree with me that it is best to teach your dog its name. But many inexperienced trainers or owners might think its not that important or not even necessary at all as it would start responding to its name eventually.
But i would say its the foundation while training your dog for obedience and I'll explain why.
We give names to our dogs and when called they respond either by wagging their tails or coming near you.According to many trainers and dog owners its just a name that we think the dog recognises as its own.But lets first understand what a dog's name mean to a dog. To a dog its a command thats reruires it to respond by giving attention to the caller.. As a trainer I'd say its really necessary to get your dog to pay full attention to you before giving any other commands.So before you give any command to your dog you call your dog by its name and once you have its full attention you can add other cammands like sit,fetch etc . It is also very useful to divert your dog's attention from unwanted behaviours and distractions while training which in the long run would be a useful tool in real life situations other than in training sessions like potential dog fight situation or while showing agressive nature. So now that the importance of a dog's name has been established lets get on to the methods which you can use while training your dog to give full attention when called...
While dogs of all ages can be trained to give full attention when called it is best to teach this comand right from puppyhood.. The steps are well too easy but requiring only that you follow it consistenly..
Here are the steps:-
1.Call your dog's name and when it looks at you, click and treat and never forget to make it exciting from your part n always be playfull and make it an enjoyable experience for your dog.
2.Repeat this step in different situations starting from no distraction to light distraction to heavy distractions.
3.Also call out your dog's name right before you take it for a walk or right before feeding time.This helps them associate their name with fun things which makesthis training process easier and more effective.
3. In the early stages of this training never call your dog for things that they are not really fond of, like taking baths or before leaving them alone in their crate for a long time.
4.Dominance is not the key for this particular training.This is why you should never punish your dog when you don't get the desired result right away. The final result is truly worth the effort you put in. So be patient about it.
If you follow this simple steps carefully you would get a dog who listens to you everytime you call its name and ready to follow your next command after you call its name. This is how I establish the fact that teaching a dog to respond to its name is the foundation of obedience training.
This is all for now.I'll be back in my next blog wit some new training tips which would greatly improve your dog's skills and your relationship with your dog. Hope you find this information useful while training your dog to be more obedient and is always happy to be in your company.
