The Name Game
So I made a video about how to play this game. I didn’t invent the game but it’s a super useful way to train your dog to come when called!
This is classical conditioning (like Pavlov): you are teaching the dog to associate their name with something good. They don’t have to DO anything to get the reward, they just have to hear their name, and then eat a cookie!
Here’s how I play this:
- choose a boring (to the dog) and small room in your house (the bathroom is perfect)
- take a handful of kibble or treats (literally no more than 10-15 per session is enough)
- take the puppy and the food into the room and close the door
- say the puppy’s name, feed a treat
- say the puppy’s name, feed a treat
- not “come”, not “sit”, not “down”, this isn’t teaching the dog a command, it’s simply building an association between their name and something good
- do this twice a day for two or three weeks, until you can tell the dog is looking for the treat when they hear you call them
- periodically just walk up to the dog, call their name, feed a treat (I still do this with my 13.5 year old dog!), this keeps putting money in the bank that the one time you really REALLY need them to come when you call them, they’ll think it’s worth their while
- try your best not to “poison” their name by using it for negative things (baths, nail trims, end of playtime, just go get them).
- occasionally call your dog to you, take their collar, feed a treat, and let them go back to what they were doing (so they learn that coming when called doesn’t mean playtime is over necessarily, sometimes it means snacks!)
- it is NEVER a bad idea to play this game at ANY point in your dog’s life!
I have Orange boy Timber on my lap for this video, but in a bathroom you can just let the puppy wander around (remember, he doesn’t have to come to you, he just has to hear his name and eat a treat, even if you have to follow him around and say his name and feed him like a crazy person!)