When giving commands do I use "come" or "come fido" I was told that you dont use the dogs name when giving a command. is this true? does this make training harder?

I use my dogs names only when they are both together n I only want the attention of 1 dog. In trial for Schutzhund it's also common for people with stubborn dogs to use the dogs name in the blind search so its kinda like a double command without being penalized for the double command I prefix the command with the dogs name... i.e. "Fido, Come!" not "Come Fido".

I do not but as Mike said it is a way to beat the system in sport.

That's cool Mike, for some reason I always assumed that one would be penalized for using the dog's name in schutzhund (double command).

You learn something new every day on this forum

Robert, people in AKC obedience tend to use their dog's name in front of commands (especially the come). I've also seen this done a lot in French Ring, but so far not in schutzhund.

Personally I skip the name in formal obedience because I prefer using simple one-word commands. Inserting a name clutters things up.

If you're not doing formal obedience, using your dog's name before giving the command is a good way to get his attention.

(Also, like Mike, I also use the dog's names when I work both my dogs together and I want only one dog to follow a particular command).

Connie, your posts are disappearing again

Too funny, I can only imagine a training session with multiple dogs! I hope you don't get too many headaches

I also don't have the patience and/or time to take my dogs on individual walks/training sessions so I always take them together to the park.

However, to maintain efficiency and effectiveness in my training sessions, I only work one dog at a time.

The second dog is tethered to the fence away from the dog in training.

No confusion that way (and the dog being worked doesn't have the excuse of pretending that he thought the command was meant for the other dog. "What? Oh you were talking to ME??"). Hehehehe.

My male won't out fast unless I use his name in the out command
"yaggo, out!" If it works use it
Yaggo got his Schut1 in March, and thank god I could use his name on the out..

 Quote: yuko blum

Connie, your posts are disappearing again

Too funny, I can only imagine a training session with multiple dogs! I hope you don't get too many headaches

I also don't have the patience and/or time to take my dogs on individual walks/training sessions so I always take them together to the park.

However, to maintain efficiency and effectiveness in my training sessions, I only work one dog at a time.

The second dog is tethered to the fence away from the dog in training.

No confusion that way (and the dog being worked doesn't have the excuse of pretending that he thought the command was meant for the other dog. "What? Oh you were talking to ME??"). Hehehehe.

I know. I was rewriting and lost the text on the clipboard and said "&*$# it."

Yeah, I work one at a time, but there are always other dogs around. If it's someone else's dog I'm working, mine are somewhere around, and if it's my dog, ditto.

But the *idea* of just one dog and me is delightful.

So I always have the habit of the dog's name and then the command.

Hello,

I am really glad this came up. The obedience I do is for our SAR standard, and for myself and my dog for fun. I personally like to train "in drive" and have used many sch books for ideas. Dog works for jute roll or ball on a rope. I like snappy obedience the dog enjoys doing.

I was taught to use the dog's name and then the command(or hand command), our obedience certifications (done by RCMP) are done mostly off lead with many dogs, most unknown to my dog. Problem is that I now see my dog trying to anticipate my next command when I say his name. I always vary the routine, but still get some anticipation (mostly for commands at a distance). I have found that if I just use the one command without his name, I don't have that issue. Now occasionally I NEED to use his name to get his attention (looking elsware on his down under heavy distraction for example) If I do use his name to get his attention, he often anticipates the come command,even though I want a sit for example. SO, do I work using his name or not? Do I go back and just practice saying his name while he is at a distance, and reward for looking at me but not moving? What would the timing and reward look like for this excersise? What would a correction be?

This leads into a question about hand command anticipation, but that I should save for another time and thread I suppose.

Thanking you in advance for any ideas/advice,

Whether to use a dog's name or not depends on the dog. I will use the name before a moving command like heel, but not before a non-moving one like stay. Some people don't want to use the name when they have a very up dog as they will get a lot of anticipation. In the ring, you would want to use a name if the dog isn't fully paying attention.

For your recall anticipation, I would suggest you break this up. You need to break up the routine of if you leave the dog, turn, and say his name, he knows you want a come. You can go out and just return to the dog and then release him. You can go out, say his name and then say good boy, and if he breaks, you can go back and correct him gently back into a sit - you don't want to correct too hard for a dog that wants to come to you. You can go out, say his name and tell him a different command like down. I do a lot of just going out, returning, and then releasing.

For the hand signal anticiation, make sure you use big, full arm movements when you do use hand signals. To proof for this, you can get in postition for a command and then just dance around in position, keeping your arms moving in random but closer to the body dangly movements, and then return to the dog and release him. If he breaks you can correct him.

The whole point is to get your dog to pay better attention, that's their job, and for you to make sure you give very clear commands so the dog doesn't have to guess.

I forgot to add that as your dog gets better with the anticipation you can do harder things like say their name and then just talk to them - do not use command tone or try to sneak in the command - and then go back to heel position and release. This makes them listen better for the command.

For the more advance hand signal anticiation, you can get in position and then just twitch. Shrug one shoulder, both shoulders, lift a leg, and twist at the waist. The smaller the movement the harder it is. Then go back and release the dog. He needs to watch for the hand signal and not move just because you twitched or rubbed your nose. Make sure you don't twitch in any way that would resemble a hand signal though. That's not fair.