HUNTING
DON’T TAKE NAMING IN VAIN
When calling your dog, it should elicit an immediate response. This starts with a strong name your dog will recognize its whole life. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
By Scott Haugen
A
s a new gun dog puppy owner, one of the most important decisions you can make is what to name your dog. What you decide to call your pup should be based on one thing, and that’s getting a quick response from your dog when you call his or her name. To achieve a quick reaction from your dog when calling it, pick a hardhitting, one- or two-syllable name. Good examples include Jake, Sage, Cassie, Bella, and so forth, because of the hard consonant sounds each has. When raising, training and, eventually, hunting with your dog, you want instantaneous responses when you call its name. Not only is this necessary for obedience, but also for safety purposes.
Having a dog that immediately responds to your call will help keep it from running in front of a car, getting tangled up with other dogs, and even keep it from pursuing snakes, big game animals and other critters you don’t want it messing with. Their name should be so ingrained in them and should be so familiar with it, that when you sternly call or shout their name they should instantly respond. Don’t want your dog to pee on a certain spot, eat food off the counter, or jump on strangers to lick their face as they approach? A hard-sounding name can be the ticket to thwarting such behavior.
NOT LONG AGO I was at a dog-testing event. One gentleman had a great-looking dog, but it was very
disobedient. To top it off, it didn’t know its own name, which was clearly evident in its lack of response when the man tried communicating with it. “I let my little daughter name it; she liked Felicity,” the man shared. That’s a cute story, but it wasn’t the best of choices for a hunting dog name. Don’t let children name your dog, unless that name rocks a hard resonance. We chose Echo and Kona for our gun dogs’ names. It took the family a few days of getting to know Echo’s personality before we finally agreed on a name that fit her. Kona was a different story, as his name was chosen before he even came home. My dogs, as with all well-trained canines with solid names, instantly respond when I sternly say or shout
calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2020 California Sportsman
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