April 28, 2020
QA
Full Question:
Dear Cindy,This might have been obvious to some, but I missed it watching the "8 Week" stream. The way to teach a dog their name and "charging the mark" seems to be the exact same process.
If they differ, how do they differ?
Should you do one before the other?
Can it be done around the same time?
Do they get combined at some point?
Hopefully you can provide a little clarity.
Thank you,
David C
Cindy's Answer:
they are the same in that it's basically just building value for a word ( the name and a marker)
I play the name game from the moment I get the puppy and have a name picked out, I may or may not charge the mark right away. I may wait a week or more, depending on the puppy. You can do them around the same time but since your marker is used as the predictor of a reward event in later training I separate the two and usually from the beginning make sure that the puppy knows when we are training and when we are done using our markers of Ready, Yes, No and All Done. You don't necessarily want your puppy explosively running to you just because you mention his or her name. (of course, that depends on your training goals)
the goal is for the puppy to recognize their name and using food to reinforce that at first is the easiest way. I hope this makes sense
I play the name game from the moment I get the puppy and have a name picked out, I may or may not charge the mark right away. I may wait a week or more, depending on the puppy. You can do them around the same time but since your marker is used as the predictor of a reward event in later training I separate the two and usually from the beginning make sure that the puppy knows when we are training and when we are done using our markers of Ready, Yes, No and All Done. You don't necessarily want your puppy explosively running to you just because you mention his or her name. (of course, that depends on your training goals)
the goal is for the puppy to recognize their name and using food to reinforce that at first is the easiest way. I hope this makes sense
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