How to train a puppy to its name?

“As you name your yacht, so it will sail,” – a song from a famous cartoon comes to mind when it comes to names. In this case, about dog nicknames. Everyone knows that the childhood of our four-legged friends is short, so you should choose a nickname for the puppy you are taking into your home right away. And from the very first days, try to teach him to respond to the new name. But how can you do this faster and more smoothly?

When choosing a name for a dog, you need to remember that the nickname should be short and sonorous. Such that it can be easily and quickly pronounced, attracting the attention of the pet. Of course, diminutive nicknames and various alterations of the nickname may appear later. But the main name, to which the dog will always respond, should be easy to pronounce.

You shouldn’t call your dog by people’s names: in public places, on walks, this can lead to the fact that people with the same name may be near the puppy, and the situation will not be very nice. And, of course, it is better not to exercise your imagination and not to come up with a “cool” name that will then be awkward to voice in a crowded place!

Clubs give owners recommendations on what to name their pet, but it is worth remembering that these are just recommendations. What will be written in the dog’s passport may consist of even 15 words, but this will not be the nickname your pet will respond to.

Praise!

So, the puppy is at home. And it is time to start training. Pay attention to the tone in which you pronounce the dog’s name. It is best to speak in a gentle, calm voice, reinforcing the positive perception of the nickname in the little dog.

Be sure to praise the puppy if it reacts when you say its name. For example, it runs up to you. At first, before the puppy has completely learned its name, it is better to always address the baby by its name. No “baby”, “doggy” or “puppy”, unless you have decided to name the dog that way. You should also not attract the puppy’s attention by whistling or smacking. All this will confuse it and slow down the process of getting used to its name, and can also create danger on walks and complicate training, because any passerby can attract your dog’s attention by simply whistling or smacking it.

Feed by calling

The puppy will learn to respond to its name fairly quickly if the pronunciation of the name is followed by pleasant communication or food. So before feeding the dog (and small puppies are fed up to six times a day), it is worth calling the baby’s name, attracting its attention, and only then put the bowl of food.

It is also important to develop the ability to immediately respond to the puppy’s name when it is busy with something and not watching the owner, but, for example, playing with a stick. To do this, before giving food and calling it, you should wait until the puppy is distracted. Then you need to say its name and, when the puppy pays attention to you, put the bowl down and pet the baby, repeating its name several times.