We all get used to saying our dog’s name 1,000,000 times a day, however, it can sometimes mean nothing. So we want to strip that right back to basics and teach them that their name means looking at you and giving you attention.

All we want to do is have 10 small, easily digestible, treats in our hand and get your dog in front of you. All you need to do is say your dog’s name and then give them a treat super fast. (We don’t need our dogs to sit or do anything for this treat) What we are doing is teaching our dog that their name means paying attention to us and getting a treat. For a week or so I would do this twice a day at least.

Avoid using their name unnecessarily over the next couple of weeks until we know that they fully understand that their name, means look at me.

Once they are responding well to their name, we want to introduce a marker word. Now this is whatever comes naturally to you when praising your dog, most people use ‘good girl’ or ‘good boy’ some people use ‘yes’, and it can even be ‘carrot’ or ‘potato’ it doesn’t matter as long as it is a word you use consistently.

We introduce this word so that when we are training our dog and they do a nice behavior that we like we want them to look at us so we can reward them (whether it be a treat, a fuss, or anything else they enjoy). We do this in the same way that we teach their name. Get your dog in front of you and have ten or so treats in your hand, say your marker word then give your dog a treat straight away. Continue this until all the treats are gone and practice this a couple of times a day for a couple of weeks. You should notice that if they do something nice and you tell them their marker word they look at you straight away expecting a treat – perfect!

You should find that having done this focus work for a couple of weeks when you initially begin your training session your dog is fully focused on you. For training sessions, we would advise using nice high-value human food such as hot dog sausage or cheese, in super small pieces. As this food is quite unusual for the dog they are super eager to learn and will give you their attention.

The dog’s name should always mean ‘ Hey, look at me ’. That is what we want when we say our dog’s name, so as we said previously, avoid using their name unnecessarily to avoid devaluing their name and the work that you have put in.

As you do your training with your dog your dog’s name should be said, followed by your command. E.g.; ‘Louie, come’, ‘Louie, sit’, ‘Louie, down’ then follow up with your marker word and reward.

Shortened down the chain of words should be:

Dog’s name – followed by command – followed by marker word – finished with a reward.

Ask for your dog’s attention – ask them to do something – say well done – reward for this behaviour

Hopefully, by the end of the next week or two, you should have a nice, well-focused dog!