What’s in a name? Well, this legendary quote may be true for we humans. But if we connect it with dogs, it’s not really true, because for a dog, her/his name is the only most important word he would learn. Let’s learn why dog names are important.
Pet dogs live in an ocean of human sounds; but how can s/he decide which words are for her/him and which are not. So, if you say to another human – your friend, family member or neighbor – “come on, sit down on the couch”, how can the dog understand whether the words like “come”, “on”, “sit” and “down” have been used to command him? It’s only when you look directly into her/his eyes and utter those words with your hand pointing towards the couch, s/he can understand it mainly because of your body language and gesture. However, if you clearly call her/his name and give instructions, s/he will understand it clearly that it is for her/him. So, the dog’s name is like a signal which makes her/him alert that the next sounds that will be uttered by you will be for her/him.
In short, we must be pretty exact when we talk to the dog. Every time when we want to tell her/him something to do, we should pronounce her/his name first. Thus, “Comet, sit” is a correct way to talk to the dog, but “Sit, Comet” isn’t, because you made him alert but uttered the command before evoking his interest, so it was lost. Nothing meaningful was said after his name and so, he may be confused about what to do, and you may feel that he is not obeying you; the fact is that, he simply didn’t get your command.
Dogs are pretty flexible about accepting the name you give to them. And they even are willing to change it time and again. The legendary writer of “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and “Treasure Island”, Robert Louis Stevenson had a Skye Terrier whose name was firstly Woggs, then Walter, then Watty, then Woggy and finally Bogue!
You may give your dog a name; but remember that the word your dog hears most of the time from you instead of the name becomes her/his name for her/him. For example, if you are trying to control her/him by saying “No” again and again, without uttering her/his name, s/he considers the word “No” as her/his name, though you mean something else by the word.
In short, you should name your dog and use it first while talking to her/him. When you utter the name, you drive her/his attention and your communication with your dog becomes effective.
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