Wednesday, July 22, 2009

What's my name again?

Still on the subject of names, one of the things we were taught in puppy class was how to teach your dog his name. Dogs don't understand English so it's not like you can go "Your name is Rover, okay? Geddit?"

They have to learn that a certain sound is their name by association.

Step 1: Have some treats nearby and call your dog. Just one time. The reason is because if your dog hears "Rover! Rover! Rover!", he thinks his name is "Roverorverrover". There's a good chance he won't respond, so after that...

Step 2: Make a lot of noise. Clap, tap something, whistle. Stuff that would attract his attention. If that still fails...

Step 3: Walk up to him holding the treat. Push it in front of his nose so he can smell it. Lead him back to where you were and then give it to him.

And repeat.

Danny, being the greedy, bottomless pit that he is, took very well to the treats. A very good thing, too. Remember how he's this hyper-active dog? Now, whenever he's tearing up the house and driving us crazy, hubby and I will go get a handful of treats each. I'll head to the basement and we'll start calling him.

The first time I called him, he dashed down the stairs so fast he rounded the corner, skidded, crashed straight into the door, shook his head a couple of times and made a beeline for his treat.

By the fourth of fifth time, he was down to trotting. By the time we were done, so was he.

I love training, don't you?

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