Are you all set to get a puppy or you’ve already got one? Now that your pup is home, you have to give him a nice name that he likes. As everyone gets used to his name, the puppy will also get habituated with it. This is how you have to teach your puppy his name.
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How to Teach Your Dog Their Name
Well, while there is definitely some truth in it, there are definitely other ways in which you can win this name game in a better way. Once you start spending dedicated time with your puppy where you teach him his name and also ask everyone to use it, this can act as an incredible tool for helping him get acquainted with his name.
If you’ve been wondering about how to familiarize your puppy with its name, you’ve clicked on the right post as we’re going to tell you in detail about this process. Read on to know more on this.
A dog’s name – How it should be used
To make the best of your dog’s name, you have to use it in such a manner that it means, ‘I’m speaking to you and I expect you to pay attention to what I’m telling. Whatever you say should mean this or else your words won’t work.
Whenever you call your dog by his name, it should be a clue to him to stop by and turn to you to acknowledge that he heard his name. Then he should give you his undivided attention and wait for your future instructions. When you’re able to attract the attention of your dog in a reliable manner, this will help him form a solid foundation for enhanced success in training later. It is much easier to ask a dog to perform something when he is totally focused on you.
It is extremely tough to command a dog that fails to acknowledge your call. Calling a dog can also be for safety reasons as your dog might be heading towards danger and hence you have to call him. For instance, if he chases a ball that will instantly take him to a busy road, if you call him and he stops by, this will ultimately save his life.
But how are you going to achieve this? Well, the secret lies in conditioning your dog to the sound of their name. This will cause them to focus on you and also spark enjoyment and joy within them in the form of natural response. However, in order to do this, you only have to use the name of your puppy in a positive way, give him constant rewards whenever he responds back and never use his name in a negative way.
Mistakes dog owners make while using a dog’s name
There are many dog owners who use the names of their dogs as correction, shouting it out angrily in the form of giving punishment. Whenever the dog disobeys him or does something scary, the owner may shout out at him to stop doing and call him a bad dog. This is when your dog will, much to your ignorance, start associating his name with all sorts of negative ideas.
He will automatically learn that whenever his name is called, he will be told off. This is something you will never want to happen. After you do this, he will start ignoring and not responding to your calls. He won’t give you attention. If you want your dog to stop chasing a squirrel and call his name for it, he won’t stop by as he’ll know that his name will mean being told off.
If he learns this that calling out his name will mean being rebuked or scolded, he will never again feel the urge of stopping by in order to pay attention. So, you have to make him stop by and focus on what you’re saying.
Moreover, there are many who use their dog’s name as a recall command where they repeat and shout by calling out their name. This is totally wrong! If you wish to get the best results, you should use the name of your dog only for gaining attention. That is a command and hence that shouldn’t have two different meanings.
Call your dog’s name in a positive tone and calmly. Pause after that, then give a second command. ‘Jackie… (pause)….come!’ You have to make him understand that his name isn’t a command to come back to you as you have a different command for that.
Try not to use several names of other nicknames for him. Though it is fact that they will learn to respond to all the names that you call him by but that will just water down the impact of responding to just one name always. This also leads to confusion in your dog.
Dogs get confused as the meanings of their names
In case you seem to be guilty of all the above listed mistakes whenever you call your dog by his name, this could have three different meanings:
- Stop and give your attention to me
- Come to me. You won’t come? Now come, or else I’m angry!
- You’re being too naughty and I’m scolding you
So, now you see that your name has got three different meanings. There is no other word that has got three meanings attached to it and hence it is natural for the dog to get confused about the actual meaning. They don’t know the power of their name.
Dog owners should eliminate to use their name for numbers 2 and 3, that relate their name with all sorts of negative things. It is always better to only focus on No. 1 using it only for attention and a positive and calm voice. The ultimate goal is to make them know that their name has one meaning which should spark the thought, “YES! My name!”
Does that seem like a lot of work to teach your dog his name? Even if it does, you have to master the art of making him learn and get accustomed to being called by his name. Follow the dos and don’ts given above to make the process simpler.