Learning his name...

fdsjr · Post by **fdsjr** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 7:10 pm

I have a 8 week old Vizsla im trying to get him to learn his name. Hes been pretty good, picking up on it quick. Im trying to get him to come to me, athough sometimes he doesnt come right away. I know hes young... but i'll say his name, BONHAM followed by COME shortly after. Then he'll look but not come and just look away or get occupied by something else. I know he knows his name cause he looks but he doesnt come all the time or right away. Is this a problem?? How can I fix this?? I give him a treat and praise him alot when he does.

Ive heard this selective or late response can be a problem in the field, or anytime. So id like to work on it but need to know how. Thanks in advance.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 10:52 pm

At that age dont use come bad idea he is disobeying you every time he doesnt come and that isnt good. Just use his name with everything dont use anything else. Eventually he will learn his name. Like when he comes to you when you are sitting praise him say hello all that good stuff. But he is so young dont try to handle him with commands in anyway. Let him learn his name first.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 10:55 pm

Sorry forgot to mention. ANother reson why nt to say come is that your are using 2 commands that are both new to him. He is will get confused. Give him time he will learn. :thumbright:

Casper · Post by **Casper** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 11:06 pm

Ditto Ryan, his name should come first. My dad just got his first pup he has had him for about 2 weeks and this little brittany is just starting to respond to his name.

If he likes to be near you than when he is occupied call his name. He knows your voice so he should perk up and listen say it again than he should look in your direction. Call his name again and bend over inviting him to come to you. He should come running if not try it again when he is wandering and not looking at you or in your general direction.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 7:55 am

Casper wrote:If he likes to be near you than when he is occupied call his name. He knows your voice so he should perk up and listen say it again than he should look in your direction. Call his name again and bend over inviting him to come to you. He should come running if not try it again when he is wandering and not looking at you or in your general direction.

I wouldnt do that. He will get used to the fact that he can ignore the first 2 commands. YOu need to call his name when you know he comes like when he is already coming to you or is in your lap. I did this with my setter and now she could be downstairs and come when I call. The trick is not use use the command more than once and use only his name. Once he knows his name then incorperate come into it. Once he has that down pat you can teach him to just come on his name or to look at you when u call his name. The last one is good for when you are in the feild and are trying to get him to change directions or what not.

Post by **Greg Jennings** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 7:59 am

Nothing to add except to remember that his name is actually a command for his attention. It does not have the many functions that a name serves in human speach

Best,

Post by **Ayres** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 10:12 am

Quick tip from the amateur:

Get near him and say his name. When he looks at you, praise him and pet him. If he doesn't look at you, no praise or petting. He'll quickly learn that when you say his name it means "what do you want, dad?"

Rinse and repeat.

As for disobeying a command, I don't think that's much of an issue at 8 weeks old when a pup is learning its name. It is an issue if you're giving the "come" command though. Anytime you say "come" you should have a leash/checkcord on the pup and pull it towards you so it has no choice but to obey the command.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 3:18 pm

No matter the age your dog need to listen to you. They are learning at 8 weeks in my opinion it is one of the stages in their life that they learn the most this is when all the "ground work" need to be layed in. Such as name calling and family bonding.

Post by **ezzy333** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 3:41 pm

I'm reading this and thinking when I speak to Rush he isn't saying "What's up Dad" but probably "What now Stupid".

Also I have always corrilated puppy training with raising a child and I never got up tight about calling a baby by name and being ignored. I agree at some point you will want the pup to know his name and more importantly comply with what ever command you are giving it. But 8 weeks isn't the time to get worried about compliance. 8 weeks should be about learning to walk without tripping, where is the feed dish, and what can I play with around here. Use the name and the pup will learn. I found the best time is when you have its food ready. Remember one of the very few stimuli that a pup has at that age is hunger. Its a wonderful time to train and give a reward for good behavior without giving treats for normal behavior.

Ezzy

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 3:55 pm

ezzy333 wrote:I'm reading this and thinking when I speak to Rush he isn't saying "What's up Dad" but probably "What now Stupid".

Hahha my dog looks at me the same way.

Post by **Ayres** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 12:28 am

ezzy333 wrote:I'm reading this and thinking when I speak to Rush he isn't saying "What's up Dad" but probably "What now Stupid".

Ok, ok... busted. It happens.