The “Call me once and Grab my collar” game teaches the puppy to answer swiftly to its name and to be comfortable being grabbed by the collar or harness so you can make contact with your puppy in any situation.

• Position yourself no more than a meter away from your puppy
• Call your puppy once
• Use your clicker and Click as soon as your puppy turns its head toward you to acknowledge you
• Show your puppy that you are holding a reward (you can lure your puppy a little bit)
• As soon as your puppy comes near you to get the reward, gently grab its collar
• Reward your puppy

I like playing this game with two people with the puppy in between so that the game can be repeated many times over a short period. It is also a good setting for the puppy not to be distracted by the surrounding environment.

Remember:

• Click as soon as your puppy turns its head towards you, so your puppy understands that it made the right decision by acknowledging you (instead of ignoring you)
• To grab your puppy’s collar: your puppy needs to associate having his collar grabbed with a good experience.
• Aim to call your puppy only once and no more than three times. If your puppy is unresponsive after the first call, call your puppy for a second time, but if you need to call your puppy more than twice you are teaching it to ignore its name.

If your puppy is ignoring you when you call its name STOP – THINK- ADAPT to your setting.

• Are there too many distractions?
  If so, consider a change of environment so there are fewer distractions.
• Are you too far from your puppy?
  Reduce the distance between yourself and the puppy to re-establish focus.
• Does your puppy find the session exciting?
  Make the game more fun for your puppy or provide more rewards.

With time, you can increase the distance between you and your puppy.

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