August 19, 2002
Monday

I know that this is going to sound silly, but you have to make sure Rover learns his name. I can hear you all now, saying 'But of course he knows his name'. And in some cases, this is true.

But then I watch owners in the park, calling 'Rover . . .Rover . . .Ro-oo-oo-ver' to a dog paying

--- Misty Digital photo by Dan & Ruth Hart ---

not the slightest bit of attention. And I wonder if someone needs to inform the owner that the dog's name is actually 'Sally'.

So let's begin at the beginning. You have an eight week old pup, and you decide to name him 'Rover'. You have to remember that the combination of sounds that ends up as Rover, has absolutely no meaning at all to your pup. You're the one who has to give that name some meaning.

You're also going have to make an important training decision here.

While, at first glance, you want Rover to mean 'Hey you, little dog, pick your eyes up off whatever you're looking at, and give me your attention. NOW', you may not actually want that every time. If you really train for that response, you rule out the possibility of using his name casually. So you can't have a phone conversation with your mom, telling her about your wonderful new dog, Rover. Because Rover, calmly napping a moment ago, is now expectantly sitting up and looking at you, waiting for a training command.

But you do want to have a command that means 'Look at me right now'. That's what the 'Watch' command is all about I promise it'll come in handy later, for instance, when he's about to run in the road, and a car is coming. But if you have a command entrenched in his psyche, that automatically brings his attention to you, you now have his attention, and can get him involved in some other, more constructive activity. Like coming to you. Or even just sitting.The essence of good training. Distract and reorchestrate.

So I recommend that while you're teaching him his name, you concurrently teach him a command called 'Watch'. It's the same training pattern, and the payoff can be tremendous.

Next: How to Teach 'Rover' to 'Watch'

E-mail Dr. Good your comments & pet questions.

E-mail your dog's photo for publication on Pet Talk/Pet Health. Include your dog's name and the name of the photographer.

Submit an Opinion - Letter

Sitnews
Stories In The News