How Do You Teach a Puppy its Name? A Step-by-Step Guide

Just like human beings, dogs are also given a unique tag, a verbal sound that they will identify and stay with throughout their lifetime. Your dog will ultimately live and play with the name that you give it for the rest of its furry life. A spoken word becomes a dog’s name if that dog responds to it with the familiarity and eagerness of a child being called by his first name.

A dog’s name can make a dog sit up, or look up to its owner and pay attention. It can also be used as verbal praise to reinforce your dog’s identity for a job well done. It is a tag that is unique to your dog only, separating him from other dogs to avoid any confusion. A two-syllable word that uses hard consonants and long vowels for better retention and recall.

How to Teach a Puppy Its Name

Since this could be one of the first-ever commands that you will have to teach your puppy, there are certain factors and things that you will need to prepare before training. As follows:

Basic Commands and equipment

• Your Puppy’s Chosen Name (Example: “Chester”) The name “Chester” is a cue for your puppy to turn his head towards you and pay attention, and whenever possible, make eye contact.
• Verbal cue “Good girl”, “Good boy”, or “yes”: Verbal reward/marker for your puppy for responding to his name.
• Treats: His favorite snack is to be used as both a lure and a reward.
• Clicker (optional)

Step 1: Choosing a Name for Your Puppy

Try to spend time with your puppy and get to know him better. Does he have certain unique physical traits that are obvious on his face or body? You may call her “Amber” if she has those cute light brown luminescent eyes, or you can call him Chase if he loves to run after the cat. The idea is to make the name more significant by relating it to some cute traits of your dog.

Some other questions that might help you get a name for your dog:

• What are his likes? What are his dislikes?
• What kind of activities excites him?
• When are the times when he is sad or lonely?
• Does he have a special personality that is unique from your other pets?

Generally, we would recommend a name that is easy to remember for both you and your dog. A two-syllable name is best. While a short name encourages your dog to respond quickly, a nice familiar sound with a ring to it would not leave you breathless trying to remember or repeat it a few hundred times for your dog to listen. Try getting some suggestions from your kids, and you’d be surprised how spot-on they can be.

Avoid all too common names that may sound similar or may rhyme with some other household members’ names. Crisp-sounding consonants like “Chip” or “Pretzel” may help to get a snappy response from your dog. Conversely, you would also want to avoid a name that is so commonly used even daily that your dog might get confused.

Some Suggested Puppy Names

Source: American Kennel Club

Step 2: Find a Good Place to Train

A good place to train your puppy would be right inside your house. You can start with your living room or any other empty room where you don’t have to worry about knocking things over. Your backyard will also suffice provided that there are not too many distractions or very loud sounds that can prevent your dog from hearing your voice.

Try not to have your other pets hanging around while you train.

Step 3: Getting Your Puppy’s Attention

Begin training by calling him with the name that you chose. Use a cheerful happy voice as you speak and wait for him to turn his head upwards and look at you. If he doesn’t respond, try again by calling him and making small clicking noises with your lips.

Step 4: Using Lure and Reward to “Charge” the Name

As soon as he looks at you, quickly reward his action with a “yes!”, or click your clicker (if you are using one) to mark the action. Give him a small treat and some verbal praises. Repeat the process until he gets used to reacting to his name with that quick snap of the head while he gives you his full attention.

Quick Tips:

1. Be consistent with your reward and try not to lose a moment to give him a treat when he responds correctly.
2. Build value for his name by equating it with food rewards.
3. Reward him close to your legs so he sees the value of coming close to you.
4. Maintain a happy excited voice to make it sound like fun (after all, he is just a pup)

Step 5: Lose His Attention, Then Try Calling Him Again

Give your puppy some space and wait for him to do something else and not pay any attention to you. At the moment he is on to something else, (maybe with his back to you) call him again. When he responds correctly, mark it, and reward him.

Step 6: Practice Through Repetition

Repeat steps 4 and 5 about 8-10 times within 2 minutes and try not to overdo it. Your puppy might lose interest and might forget about the whole thing. Exercise this command until your puppy gets used to the sound of his name and alertly responds to it.

Step 7: Delay the Reward

Create a gap between the time your puppy gives his attention to you and the moment you give his reward to him. Call your puppy’s name and when he looks at you, mark with a click or “yes” and hold the treat for 2 seconds before giving it. Adjust the number of seconds of the gap according to your puppy’s ability to hold his attention. Add increments of 1 second until you reach at least 5 seconds of time gap.

Try to observe your puppy before making any changes, this is so he doesn’t get confused.

Step 8: Try Other Locations in the House and Add Some Distractions to Proof Your Dog.

Once your puppy has acquired the skill of recognizing the sound of his name and responding to it, begin training from different locations. Train him from your living room to the kitchen. and then, from your kitchen to the corridor. Do it at whatever time of the day when he is playing, upon waking up, sitting, and generally just about any normal situation you can find him. Except maybe when he is eating and/or pooping.

You can measure your progress by noticing how reliable your puppy’s name is in getting his attention. Test him by throwing a toy in front of him while calling his name. If for a moment he gets distracted, try it again. Repeat this last exercise until he learns to ignore the toy.

Step 9: Moving Outside of the House

Begin training in the yard where there are normal distractions from the immediate surroundings like a car passing by, a bird, or maybe other people and other dogs. Remember: You would like to set up your puppy for success by doing these in stages. From no distractions, to with distractions. Do a gradual increase until your puppy gets accustomed to it.

Step 10: When Outside and Distracted, Increase the Time Gap Between Cue and Reward

Assuming that your puppy has already mastered his name. With all the reasonable distractions applied, increase the time gap between the mark and the reward. Again, start from 1 second and gradually increase in increments of a second, until he can hold it for 5 seconds or more.

Step: 11 Call Out His Name In Random Places

Repeat this exercise until he becomes consistent with his responses wherever you two might be. Be it at the park, on the sidewalk, with other people, other dogs, and so forth.

Read also: How to Teach Your Dog to Ask to Go Outside: A Complete Guide

Why is it Important to Call Your Dog by its Name?

Naturally, your dog becomes a beloved member of the family once it is given a name. Apart from giving her or him an identity, it also strengthens the bond between pet and owner which is important along with other reasons such as:

To Get Your Dog’s Full Attention

Calling your dog by name gives him a unique cue that only he will respond to. The first and primary reason for him to learn social skills is his ability to respond to you, his owner, “mommy”, “daddy”, whatever the case may be.

Makes Follow-Up Training on Basic and Advanced Commands Easier

When your dog is well-trained in responding to his name, it becomes a reliable skill that is the foundation of learning other more advanced training commands. Imagine trying to teach specifics to your pet by just making clicking sounds with your mouth to get his attention, not only is it confusing to your dog, but he might also wonder if there is anything wrong with your speaking voice.

May Potentially Save Your Dog’s Life

You could be in a scenario where a ball bounces across the street and your dog is in hot pursuit. You shout out your dog’s name, and he in turn (assuming that he already knows his name) slows down, and looks back at you as if to ask, “What’s the matter?” In the meantime, only the ball gets run over by the speeding vehicle. Now that is a relief.

Keeping Your Dog Under Control

You might be surprised to find out that it is a legal requirement for an owner to be able to keep his dog under control in certain emergencies. Training your dog to respond to its name and to pay attention to you promptly could help you maintain safety and avoid any potential legal hassle.

Read also: How to Teach Your Dog to Ask for Permission

What are the Things that Owners Should Not Do When Training Your Dog for a Name

• Do not use your dog’s name when you are angry, or when you are trying to correct him with a frustrated voice. When this happens he will assume that when he hears his name he is being told to leave or to get out. Soon he will be ignoring you when you call him thinking that he is being told to go away.
• Avoid using his name for recall. For example, using “Chester, come!” will get your puppy confused and he might not be able to respond properly to any of the two individual commands. Understand that you only use his name to get his attention and not for recall.
• Use only one name, so as not to further confuse your dog.

How Long Does It Take to Train Your Puppy to Respond to Its Name?

Most experts would agree that it takes about 2 weeks for your dog to master a basic skill such as responding to its name. It also begins to recognize and respond within 2 days into the training.

Breeds

Some breeds learn faster than others, but this doesn’t mean other dogs aren’t teachable. Some just adapt faster.

Here are a few examples of breeds that are easier to train:

• Border Collie
• Poodle
• Labrador Retriever
• German Shepherd
• Bearded Collie

Puppies have a short attention span so it takes more time and effort for it to be trained compared to an adult dog.

How Many Sessions and How Long Per Session Should I Train My Dog For?

A least 15 minutes a day broken up into three to five-minute sessions is ideal for a puppy, with the short attention span all factored in

How do I train my dog its name without treats?

Training your puppy without treats is possible, but it can be incredibly difficult to get your little dog’s attention without any tangible rewards that you can offer. We recommend the use of treats to make it easier for you the owner and to make it more enjoyable for your pet too. Food rewards can greatly affect the effort-to-results ratio which usually results in an upward trend.

How Soon Can I Teach My Puppy Its Name?

You can begin to train your puppy to learn its name at 3-4 months old. Most of them would be able to pick it up within 1 to 3 days.

How Do You Teach Your Puppy to Come?

Teaching your puppy to approach you or come near you is basic. And, it is also as important as asking him to “stay” or “sit”. This can be done whether he already knows his name or not.

1. Start day one of training at a place with zero to low distraction which could be in the living room, or somewhere inside your house.
2. Stand a few feet away from your dog and show him a treat in your hand
3. As he goes towards you, praise him to mark the action and give him the treat as he reaches you.
4. Repeat the exercise a few times then gradually include a verbal cue such as (“come” or “here”) as he moves toward you.
5. Remember to mark the “moving toward you” action as the correct behavior and reward him accordingly.

We’ve written a more in-depth article on the subject: How Do You Teach a Dog to Come When Called?

How Do You Change a Dog’s Name?

Changing a dog’s name may have something to do with adoption, or maybe a change of ownership for various reasons. You will have to be observant of how the dog reacts, especially if it’s already an adult. The key is to add value to its new name by initially using treats heavily as the primary reward. This goes back to “charging” the name and adding value to it with food.

Follow the steps of this article while temporarily relying on the treats for attention purposes. Be patient, your new pet or puppy might not respond immediately. Sometimes it could depend on your dog’s adaptability as it might take a day or two, or, maybe even a week before he makes the association between food and the name.

What Are the First Things You Should Teach a Puppy?

• Housetraining: Teaching your puppy at an early age to urinate and defecate at a designated place outside of the house are some of the things that will help him become a well-behaved member of the family, even as he grows older. A house-trained dog is necessary for sanitary and sociability purposes.
• Train to Respond to His Given Name: Teaching your dog his name is his first lesson in obedience training.
• Prevent Mouthing: Do not tolerate it when your puppy starts to bite on any of your body parts, otherwise, he will think it’s okay and keep on doing it. This puts you at risk of being bitten. Stop it by immediately removing your hand and separating yourself from your puppy.

These are just some of the many things that you can first teach your puppy since they will serve as his stepping stones to the next advanced tricks that he will eventually learn.