Rachel's Guide to Puppies

You should start on this soon after you've chosen a name for your dog. It's important for two reasons. First, your dog needs to know his name so he knows you are talking to him. Second, teaching your dog his name this way will help when you are trying to get his attention in the future.

You'll need treats for this first technique. I would recommend getting very small treats- no bigger than your dog's food. There are also low fat ones available so your pup doesn't end up with diarrhea from too many treats! We use the multi-colored ones from the "make your own treat bag" section and Petco. Koopa will do anything for those.

• Say your dog's name in a high-pitched voice that gets their attention
• When your dog gives you eye contact, give them a treat and say, "Good ____ (their name)"
• If saying their name isn't getting their attention, you can make interesting noises (anything that gets their attention), say their name excitedly as soon as they make eye contact, and then reward them with the treat
• Key points:
• Never say their name with an angry tone or they will associate their name with punishment
• This is VERY bad and the opposite of what you're trying to achieve. You want your dog to want to give you their full attention when you say their name
• Make sure that you aren't rewarding half attention. You want your dog to make full eye contact with you after you say their name. If they don't make full eye contact, try again. 
• This is best done in an environment with no other distractions- no loud noises, children playing, etc

The second technique is done without treats. All it involves is saying their name excitedly and giving them praise ANY time they look at you. They do still have to make eye contact. One point about this technique: puppies are somewhat like babies when they're young- they don't really focus on much of anything. This can be very frustrating at first because it seems like they're never paying attention you, but just stick with it. They will randomly look at you, and if you reward them by saying their name happily and praising them, they'll start looking at you more and more.

In the future when your dog is running away from you and you yell their name, chances are (if you trained them on this well enough) that they will turn around and look at you. Let me know which technique works best for you.