What's in a name?

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joji732
Posts: 66
Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2008 10:31 pm

What's in a name?

Post by joji732 »

I'm going to be bringing home a Jack Russell from the Humane Society in the next couple of weeks, and I'm wondering about his name. He was a stray - found on the street - so the name was only given to him at the shelter. He's been there for about 5-6 weeks now (yes, it's a no-kill shelter). You see, they've named him Noah. And I'm thinking it could be confusing for the poor dog to have a name that starts with NO. Your thoughts and feedback would be appreciated.
emmabeth
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Post by emmabeth »

You can change it if you like, tack the new name to the old one, if he actually responds to the old one... so say you want to call him Jack... start by calling him NoahJack... if he is quick you can probably drop the Noah after a few weeks, if hes less quick, move to the second sylable of the old name 'ahJack' and then finally to 'Jack'..

Stick around on these forums though - you will learn by reading through these threads that saying 'NO' is not going to be a huge part of dog training anyway - dogs dont know what No means,,, you can use any word you like but whatever you do use, you must teach them that it is a 'non reward marker'... lots of people use 'too bad'.. and using a different phrase like that can help to avoid the trap we humans easily fall into... which is pointlessly repeating the word No to a totally oblivious dog..

I would guess 99% of the canine world population have got absolutely no idea what humans mean by 'no'... most probably think its just a strange sound we make whenever they are doing something particularly fun.

I am rambling, but te point is that you wont need 'no' if you concentrate on teaching your dog what you want him to DO.... rather than putting the emphasis on what you do NOT want him to do. After all if you tell him what you dont want.... then what does he do.. hes got free choice you have given him no real guidance at all.

Say no to No!
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Nettle
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Post by Nettle »

I think that changing his name is a very wise move, because even if you don't use 'no' a lot, other people will. Good for you for thinking of it.

I know a person who used the word 'no' constantly and named his dog Bow. Then he taught it a command 'go'. The poor dog didn't know what he wanted.

At 5-6 weeks in the shelter he probably doesn't care about the name anyway. Call his new name for nice things like food and walks, and he'll soon know who he is.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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catwoman
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Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2008 9:50 am
Location: Tennessee

Re: What's in a name?

Post by catwoman »

I think changing the name is great for both of you. Give your dog a name you feel good about when you say it, you don't want to keep calling him something you feel apprehensive about; the dog gets a 'new identity' with his new name.

I brought home my newest family member on Aug.4th. He came from a local rescue organization and was rescued as a puppy with a horrible case of mange...so bad in fact, they came close to having to euthanize him. His name was Zane. I noticed that while he knew the commands 'sit' 'stay' 'come'...he did so with selective hearing. So, I changed his name. I worked with him immediately when we got home. I used treats and would say "Asher, sit" or "Asher, come" and he learned his new name in approximately 15 minutes. I never speak the old name either. His name Asher means "Fortunate, happy one." I felt this was fitting for him as well as for me...I just lost the love of my life, my black lab Parker, in June. Asher was a true blessing to my house.
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