It is your responsibility as the handler to ensure that you encourage attention, but also that you check for attention before giving a command. It is not fair to give a “sit” command when your 6 month old puppy is excitedly straining at the end of the leash towards another dog. It also is not fair to expect a 9 month old, people-distracted pup to hold a sit-stay as a guest approaches him while cooing in an excited tone. Knowing your puppy’s highest distractions, and also what it looks like when your pup has tuned you out entirely are the keys to successful training.
The protocol of saying the pup’s name before a command exists to ensure that you get the puppy’s attention before giving them a command. The way that you say it matters. It is not “Wolfiesit!” Rather, the name is meant to check for or to get the pup’s attention: in a happy tone, you would say, “Wolfie”, followed by the command “sit” when the pup acknowledges you. If saying “Wolfie” does not get a response, do not give the “sit” command. Instead, figure out why the pup is not paying attention to you. Are there too many dogs or people nearby? Is the pup drifting off because he’s had a busy, activity-filled day? Try changing the environment or giving him time to decompress before you try again.
Sometimes, just working on attention and “four on the floor” is a good way to build a pup’s confidence and to get them in a thinking frame of mind. Stand at a distance from the distraction, say your pup’s name, and when he responds, call him to “come”. Give him a treat when he responds. Repeat until you are easily able to get his attention. The rewards will motivate him and bring his attention back around to you. Once your pup is able to stand on a loose leash, with four feet on the floor, and is responding to his name, THEN you can start asking for more, like a “sit/stay” in the heel position, or a “down”.
Your pup may also look at you when you say his name, but may be slow to respond to your command. If you have attention, but not an immediate response, resist the urge to repeat the command or correct him. Sometimes these dogs operate on what we call “retriever time”: “She told me to ‘sit’… I know that means something… oh yeah, to put my bottom on the ground… oh she means right now?... OK, guess I better sit.” If your dog is looking at you and the wheels appear to be turning in his head, give him some time to respond. If we move faster than the dog does, they end up getting dependent on the leash to tell them what to do, instead of thinking through what we’ve asked them to do. If he’s looking at you and still not responding, do not give him a harsh correction; instead, give him help by lightly touching him or gently tugging on the leash. For example, if the pup is looking at you, but not responding to the “sit” command, save your correction for another time. Give him guidance rather than immediately choosing to tell him “no” paired with a collar pop. He could be confused, overwhelmed, or just not processing what you’re saying at that moment. Correcting him could potentially confuse him further and discourage his attentiveness.
The same can be said for other commands: if you call him to “come” and he looks your way, put some light pressure on the leash. Then, as he starts to move towards you, verbally encourage him. If you had corrected him when he looked at you, even if you meant to correct the lack of the recall, you would actually be discouraging his attention.
Corrections are more meaningful when they occur less often. Retrievers in particular can quickly become immune to most corrections, especially if they don’t truly understand why they are being corrected. It is important to have a good foundation of attention established so that you know the dog is attentive and thinking; we want the dog to be working too, not just the handler.
