Recall

REFLEX TO NAME

Remember what was shown in the seminar in regards to making the response to the pup's name a reflex? We need about 2500 repetitions of the classical conditioned name calling for it to start working. So, please repeat this all the time.

What to do? Have a bunch of treats on you and randomly throughout the day (whatever the pup is doing, standing, laying, sniffing, sleeping, sitting) say their name in a recognisably fun way and within 2 seconds after deliver a treat to their mouth. VERY IMPORTANT EXERCISE!

First Name - Treat After! Max 5 at a time.

Reflex to Name vs. Recall:

Technically a RTN just requires a turning of the head, so when doing more advanced training, you may shout the name to the dog on a far distance and they look at you (without moving towards you) and you ask them a cue like 'Down' or 'Sit' (which would be performed on the distance) or 'Come' or 'Touch' (which would return the dog to you), so there is no need for the dog to come running to you on the RTN. We do however want to work towards close to a 100% response to this, so whatever it is they are doing, when they hear the reflex word, they stop and look at you. Remember, some families choose a different word as they can't guarantee to be consistent with not using the name in a non-training context.

A lot of people train the reflex word as part of their recall cue though and that is perfectly fine as well, we would however always suggest to still use a recall cue rather than just the name. So, you'd shout "Fluuuffyyy, Touch" and Fluffy may already be on their way to you after you shouted their name, but the 'touch' or 'come' or whatever word you use gives them a clear indication of what exactly you are after.