Responding to us?

[Kim Ledoux]

Hi All!

Well our 12 wo Maddie has been with us for just 4 days now and is totally sweet!  She came from a breeder and had a dog pen there inside the house, used a doggie door to get outside and has been eating Purina Proplan (we plan to switch her off in a few weeks).

 

She has been great about her crate.  She whines for a minute, maybe 2.  We get up once a night to take her out and she is doing great with it.  A few accidents here and there in the mornings but we are working on it.  I work from home and have been crating her sporadically during the day and she is doing great!  She couldn't even walk up and down stairs on Saturday and I was able to teach her yesterday along with the "Come" command so she is willing to learn.

 

My biggest concern so far is that she doesn't really respond to our voices.  How long do you think it will take her to respond to us?  We use her name a ton but she rarely even turns to acknowledge us, even if we are speaking excitedly or sharply.  I swear I am worried that she is having a hard time hearing us!  Though we can get her attention if we do some loud kisses, which is how the breeder got her attention.  Will it take a few weeks?

 

Any other tips you have would be great!

 

Thank you!

Kim

[Katie & Charlie]

Hi Kim! 

Maddie is absolutely PRECIOUS!  :)

It sounds like she's doing awesome!  I wouldn't worry yet about her not responding to her name.  We've had Charlie for over a month now and it took him about 2 weeks to start responding to his name.  Even now, I swear sometimes he has the selective hearing thing down, because he'll ignore me even though I know he knows his name.  :)  Just keep using her name and talking to her a lot and it'll click before you know it.  Best of luck to you and your precious little pup!

Katie

[Dos Doodles--Sam & Luke]

LOL  I'm only laughing because I freaked out when I first got Luke.  I was convinced he was deaf.  I made my husband take him into the vet because I was just sure this puppy couldn't hear!  

I know it's not an answer to your concern...I don't know how long it took Luke to really start responding, but it clearly did happen.  I'm just chuckling because I feel silly at how I was really freaking out, and here you are having the same concerns.  Makes me feel *just* a tad less crazy!  :-)

Sounds like you are doing everything right...and that puppy is cuuuuuute!

I think she'll continue to learn and delight and amaze you...you'll probably soon  forget (as I did) that you thought the hearing was an issue!  :-)

[Cathy w/Shiloh~Cody]

Congratulations on the new puppy! It may help to get a training clicker, click it-when she looks over at you, say her name

and call her and give her a small tiny treat. She will get more attentive when she thinks there is a reward. She just has not

learned her name yet. They say in training just to say a few words, like "Maddie", then "come"

[Pattty Oehrlein]

I am nervous puppy mom too!

We have had Quincy for almost two weeks and at first I was concerned by her lack of response, but the vet assured me it is a puppy thing and she will learn by repetitive training. Good Luck Maddie is a sweet looking puppy.

[Adina P]

Dogs don't really understand the concept of 'names' the way we do so basically you just have to teach them how to respond when they hear their name--just as you teach any command.  The way I learned to teach a dog his name is to close yourselves off into a small room like a bathroom and wait till he looks at you.  Mark that look with a "Good" or "yes" -- meaning the moment they do the 'right' thing you say that word.  Then after you mark the right behavior, toss a treat onto the floor.  That treat tossing will give the dog a reason to break eye contact so that you can then do it again.  After a few times when they anticipate that looking at you will result in a treat, then call their name before they look at you and reward the same way when they do.  Repeat this exercise JUST by calling their name through the day and giving them a treat at least half the time, but not every time and then gradually treat less and less often so they don't expect it each time.

You don't have to follow this to a tee, but hopefully this gives you an idea.  You just have to teach them that their name means to look your way.

[Bella]

We actually had the exact same issue with our puppy-I thought she couldn't hear me either; she was pleased to see us, social but not really excited. I think it was that she was with the breeder until she was 11 weeks old so while she was well socialized to people, was fine being held etc., she was used to playing with other dogs and saw people as these slightly less-interesting beings that are just there. That changed over the first few weeks. We kept playing with her, spending time with her, handling her and she gradually started to see us as more of a pack I guess. She is now fully engaged in what we are doing (she is 5 and a half months now). Having had other breeds I do notice that this breed seem to be a bit more reserved; playful, happy, bright but with our dog anyway, slightly more aloof. Hope that helps.