Are you Giving your Puppy the Right Dog Name?

In fact, getting the right dog name can give you a lead on training your puppy successfully.

Usually novice dog owners are so consume with excitement of having just bought the new puppy ignore the fundamental fact of establishing a good dog name for the puppy. This is quite understandable however extra attention should be given before your new puppy begins his training.

Let me begin by telling you a short story about myself.

My full name is Snowball Sableminks, it’s not my title name. More on this later on. Anyway, my mommy usually calls me Snowball; only occasionally she’d call me Mr. Ball when she’s in high spirits. I remember when I was much younger; she’d articulate my full name after the word “No” with great emphasis when I did something I wasn’t suppose to do - like piddled on her loafers. I was still at my adolescent stage - the trial and error periods. In due respect for my mommy, she should be glad that I didn’t chew her Prada to ease my teething problems.

On retrospect, it’s not very wise to call your dog’s name when he’s caught doing a wrong act. A simple word yet firm “NO” will do. Occasionally, a “Grrrr” is even better. “How to establish yourself as the Alpha Dog” shows you effective ways when dog name is best omitted during training and/or corrective dog behavior.

The vast majority of dogs can identify their names extremely well; based on its frequency of use and the variety of situations in which it occurs. Of course most dogs, if you asked what their name is, would tell you that they are called “No!”

One thing I’d like to stress is NEVER to call your dog some obscure dog names with more than three-syllabus. For example, MacoZoro and Armageddon. They may sound clever or cute to humans but 90% of the dog’s capability to process in their brain is one word syllabus. And 20% of the minority can comprehend simple short phrases. So now you know why all the dog training commands are one word syllabus. And even in clicker training, it takes one to two clicks to get your dog to perform a task. Certainly, you don’t want to have a mouthful of words to call your dog to you neither do you want to confuse him.

Single syllabus dog names are also good only if they don’t rhyme with the training commands. For example, Sit and Sid. Ideally, a two-syllabus dog name is most preferred. This helps your dog to differentiate between a command and addressing or praising your dog eg. good boy, good girl and good dog.

And if you’ve more than two dogs, avoid having similar sounding names. For example, Fido and Fifo. If your dogs are introduced to your family members at the same time or close intervals, they’re unlikely to distinguish who you’re addressing.

If you must, then you need to have good solid training during their puppy stage. Successful rate maybe slow but it’s still possible if done consistently. What my mommy did was reward my children with treats when they responded according to their names. As said many time before, not all treats have to resort to food. They are many other forms of treats that work just as good or even better.

Currently, I’m compiling some dog names into an ebook (free download). They are about few hundreds dog names so it might take a little while for completion. These aren’t just some “recycled” dog names you found online. I’ve categorized them into four categories. Not to let the cat out of the bag too much, you just have to stay tune.

Next issue will be on Prefix Dog Name.