According to Dale Carnegie, ‘Names are the sweetest and most important sound in any language’.1 He’s talking about humans and even has courses helping people to learn others’ names,2 because names are that important to our entire being. The things is ~ why should we imagine that dogs are any different? I find that helping to teach very young puppies their names and basic commands isn’t that dissimilar to teaching young babies the beginnings of swimming, baby signing or teaching small classes of young children. Young puppies and sometimes older puppies and even some dogs remind me very much of young children, so, I can easily imagine that puppies and dogs hold dear their names in the same way we do! To be honest – why wouldn’t they?!
Choosing a Name for Your Puppy
Are you thinking about names and can’t find anything to fit your puppy? The American Kennel Club has a really useful article about names that don’t go out of style,3 with ideas for trendy, cute, unique and top names for dogs. 1000 ideas for baby names are shown by Nameberry, which is aimed to help with naming babies, but could help get your creative juices flowing when naming your puppy.4 Maybe you have a happy name from your childhood, or would like to keep a name from your grandparent alive in your new puppy. The choice really is yours, but there are a couple of elements to keep in mind when choosing.
Important Things to Consider when Choosing a Puppy Name
Stick to the Puppy Name
Spend time choosing your puppy’s name if you haven’t yet got one. The last thing you should do is name your puppy & start using it with puppy, then a friend or family member comes up with an alternative ‘better’ one & you change puppy’s name to that. How confusing! This would be unfair to your new family member. Instead, get a pen and paper or notebook and start jotting names down as you think of them. This could take a good few days or a couple of weeks. Then look at the names & get rid of the ones that don’t feel right or that are too long or you don’t really like anymore. With your now much shorter list of names you can try them out! Try calling out these potential puppy names for a pretend recall, share them with your family and friends and see which fits. That name, the one that just feels right, is the one you should use.
Length of Puppy Name
Many websites may tell you that you can’t select a long name. That’s because it would be difficult to call for training purposes. I’m not going to dispute that because it’s totally true. However, what I will add is that you can still use a long name providing that a shorter version is what your puppy will understand as their name. The longer name can be given to your vet, written in birthday cards for example, and even used for posting on social media if you’re that way inclined.
But, the shorter version would be used for your puppy to learn as his or her name. For example: We chose to name one of my dogs (when he was a puppy) Philippe; he’s named after the Duke D’Orleans since he would grow beautifully-long black ears (being a Tricolour Cavalier King Charles Spaniel), not dissimilar to the long wigs and huge hats with plumes of feathers they wore in that time period we’re told. Clearly Phil-ippe is fairly long to call so he’s regularly known as Phil instead. Similarly, I have another gorgeous Cavalier called Anastasia, which is An-a-sta-sia = so many syllables long, but she’s known as Ana. However, it’s good to know that when you do say their entire longer name they still understand it’s them because the beginning part shares the same sound as the shorter version. My guess is that it goes back to that quote at the beginning of this blog post about names being the sweetest sound ~ so anything that follows is A-okay.
Pick a Name that sounds NOTHING like any Basic Commands
If you call your puppy let’s say Brown for arguments’ sake – then when you start to teach puppy the basic command of ‘down’ they could then make the association with the action of doing a down with their name & when you call them they go into a down! That’s not what we want. Try & steer clear of any names that sound similar to any commands. A short list of basic commands includes:
– Down – Sit – Stay – Come – Paw – Give – Drop
– Off – Take it – Leave it – Bed – Stand – Wait
If you know you’re going to be using specific other commands (because your puppy will help as an assistance dog for example) then be sure to include these commands in your thinking when ensuring names don’t sound anything like them.
Only Positive Associations with Puppy’s Name
As mentioned by Pat Miller in her article about ‘The Importance of a Dog’s Name with Regards to Training’,5 the name should always be associated with good things, and the importance of protecting your dog’s name from anyone who could poison it. You want for their name to only be surrounded by activities like fun play, enrichment and interesting learning. Their name can be said alongside food, treats and cuddle time. But – you should always keep their name as the precious gift it is.
Ensure your Puppy Breeder Knows Your Puppy’s Name
Communication is key as the saying goes. The earlier your puppy knows his or her name the better for training. We always ask for the names as early as possible. Puppies are born with their eyes closed and ears sealed. Once the ears start to open at around 2 to 3 weeks old, it’s ideal for puppy to start hearing their name when they’re being cuddled and kissed as an element of sound training.6 If your breeder offers weekly bonding and training visits, as we do, then this can be done during your time with puppy before he or she even comes home. But, during the times when you’re not with your puppy (because they’re not old enough to leave their dog Mum and littermates) your breeder can start using your puppy’s name. If families know their chosen names at the start, we can start using them even before the little ears open since we talk to them during cuddles with them touching our cheek or chest so they can feel the vibration of us talking to them and speaking their name even before they can hear it being spoken.7
Names are important to us all. Your puppy’s name is the first and most precious gift given to them. Make it a good one.
Happy reading, until the next time,
Suzie
Responsible & Ethical Puppy Breeder, Elemental Cavaliers.
