New Name

To teach George his new name we got a treat, showed it to him and then put it up to our eye saying his name. As soon as he made eye contact with us we gave it to him. As he begins to learn his name he also learns that he needs to make eye contact and engage with the next command. As he became familiar with this, we replaced the treat with reassuring him he is a good boy, telling him he’s good and giving him a fuss. Like most dogs, George likes to know he is good and he gets lots of contact & fuss when he displays correct behaviour.

George has done well in a short time of less than a week, especially as he has been working intensely to learn some good basic behaviour training so that he knows what is expected of him. As of yet however, he is quite aloof when walking and chooses not to respond to his name very often when on a walk. This is fine right now, maybe we’ll find something more tasty than sausage to lure him. He is walking to heel quite well so he is nearby to get reassurance and hear commands. 

It is really important not to try and teach a new dog too much at once, don’t set them up to fail, they love it when they get it right and it really builds a positive respectful bond with you.