Puppy names:
Puppy names - there are thousands of them out there and it can be just as hard to name a puppy as it is to name a child! Use these simple puppy training tips to get your puppy's undivided attention.
Choosing the right name out of thousands of dog names is one thing - and we give you hints below on how to do that - but don't forget that your puppy will need to learn his own name. It doesn't just come naturally! You can even use the techniques shown here to rename an older dog - very handy if you re-home a rescue dog. On this page: Choosing a name for your puppy What's in a name? Short and sweet is best for puppy names! Teaching puppy his name How to train your puppy to know his name Choosing a name for your puppyAfter choosing what breed of
puppy you want from all the
puppy breeds and deciding where to buy puppies, your next most important
decision is your puppy's name. Ideally, dog names should be short - no more than one or two syllables - and easy to say. For example, Spot or Rover.
Got your name chosen? Great - now it's time to teach your pup to know it. Teaching puppy his nameNow that we've learned about positive reinforcement training techniques, and rewards in Puppy Training Tips and clickers or marker words in Clicker Puppy Training , we're ready to give our puppy his first lesson. This handy lesson will not only teach your puppy his name but will also teach him to respond to marker words or clicks and will teach you how to use rewards effectively. In other words, we will charge the marker word or click so it's ready to fire during all our training sessions! You can use this technique to give an older dog a new name too. Some people think that a dog will become confused if it doesn't have the same name throughout its life. But a name is just a sound to a dog. Unlike humans, a dog doesn't tie its identity to its name. With the right training, an older dog will happily learn to respond to a new sound or 'name'. Paying attention and coming when called - not the same thing!When we call our puppy's name, we don't necessarily want him to come towards us! We just want to get his attention. This sounds very odd but there is a good reason for using puppy names just to gain attention. Let's say your puppy has slipped his collar and has managed to get across a busy road. He is now running about on the other side of the road. The last thing we want is for the puppy to run towards you, across the busy road, when you call his name. Instead, we want him to stop what he is doing and pay attention to you. Then you can give him cues, such as 'sit' and 'stay', so that he waits patiently for you to cross the road to him and put his collar and lead on. To get our puppy to come when he's called, we would use the word 'come'. We will learn about training a puppy to come when called in another lesson. Before we start teaching puppy names
Step 1Have your treat ready in your hand but hidden from your dog. With your dog near you but not looking at you, say its name clearly just once and wait. Step 2As soon as your dog looks at you, say your marker word (or
click) and immediately reward. If the puppy doesn't respond, don't keep saying the name over and over again. The puppy will simply learn that it doesn't have to respond until you've said the name several times. Just wait a few seconds and try saying the name once again. As soon as the puppy responds, mark and reward (or click and treat). Step 3Very soon, the puppy will be looking at you all the time - especially at the hand it knows has food in it. So leave the lesson at this point and wait a few minutes or even longer until the puppy is no longer looking at you. Then repeat. The puppy will also quickly start to target the hand you have the food in so swap the food to the other hand when the puppy isn't looking or put the treat somewhere within your reach. Remember to put the treat in different places so he can't predict where it will be. Repeat this exercise just a few times a day for only a minute or so. Remember that with any dog training, including teaching puppy names, short, frequent sessions are best. Step 4Once he is responding reliably, you can start to treat less frequently. But always mark the right behaviour! So: Say the name, get the response and mark. For example (assuming your marker word is Yes), the exercise would go like this: Rover! (The puppy
responds.) Yes! (Wait until he looks away.) Then try to vary when he actually gets the treat. It might be on the first occasion that he responds, or on the sixth or the third, or the eighth and so on. This way the puppy learns that the marker word or click is like a promise of a reward to come later. He knows he's done the right thing and in good time a reward will reliably appear. But remember that you need to keep your end of the bargain! You must always mark the right behaviour and eventually you produce the reward. It doesn't always have to be a food treat, of course, when teaching puppy names. Sometimes his reward for paying attention to his name will be a game or a rub. Here's a great video that shows teaching puppy names using a clicker. You can find out more about these fantastic training devices at Clicker Puppy Training. More training at PuppyPrimer.comA last word on teaching puppy namesAlways end each lesson on an 'up'. End the lesson with something positive. If you have tried something new and the puppy has had a hard time grasping it, don't leave the lesson on a negative note. Ask him to do something you know he can do well - even if it's just paying attention - and give him a big reward. Next training session, he'll come into class looking forward to learning some more! That's our first simple lesson in puppy training. Now that you know all about puppy names, and your puppy is responding reliably, you can graduate to more tricky lessons such as housetraining a puppy, controlling chewing and puppy biting, and leash training a puppy, among many others.
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