Rename your Greyhound Rescue

We have 2 rescued animated greyhounds named Angel and Ares. We adopted Angel from Greyhound Friends of North Carolina. We are in the middle of finalizing the adoption of Ares from Northeast Ohio Greyhound Rescue. When we got the two greyhounds from the greyhound rescue, they were still using their track names, or some rehash anyway. I was disheartened when we were in the middle of adopting Angel years ago to discover that her name was RC Miss Sissy Sue. He couldn’t conceive of someone giving his dog such a strange name like that. I’d given up on the fact that I’d been stuck calling her that for the rest of her days.

I happily decided that his career name is not set in stone. In fact, he didn’t even perceive his career name at all. You could have called her “Tiger”, “Jumping Jehosaphat” or even “Dog” and she would have recognized the same to all of them, which was not an answer. So I managed so that it had no name. I was impressed. I was able to name it whatever I wanted! That’s when I learned that greyhound rescues don’t understand their racing names. Instructors at the track or kennel don’t usually speak to their greyhounds by name, which means you can name your greyhound whatever you want.

Your greyhound easily associates rewards for actions as a good thing. This understanding is what she will establish as the catalyst to clone her actions over and over again. You must understand that your new Greyhound does not recognize your name in the same way that you and I understand our names. Your greyhound responds to his name as a command, nothing more. When you use his name repeatedly for a short time during particular moments, he seems to recognize that his name is a command for his attention. Think of it as someone on the street saying “Hey!” or when someone says “look around here”. That is basically what your greyhound associates as its name. She perceives his name as an order requesting her attention.

Instructing your new needle to say your name simply requires repetition and reward. Take the recipe below and you will be amazed at the quick results you will get.

Start by saying your new name every time you speak directly to your greyhound. Try to speak emphatically when using his name. Reward her with a tasty bite when she responds by speaking to her by name. Take the time to pet her as a nice reward too. I have never met a greyhound who did not like to be petted. It’s as simple as that. Be understanding. It will take time for your greyhound to make that name association. As soon as a few days later, you will discover more response when you call her by name.

While teaching your greyhound his new name, DO NOT yell, yell, raise your voice threateningly, or use his name in a negative way. DO NOT intimidate your greyhound while using his name, or at all. These events will be discovered by your new greyhound as something bad that will set back the training you are trying to carry out.

One thing I would like to acknowledge is that before you start to educate your new greyhound, his name, you must understand his history. If you are rescuing a retired broker from a former home, chances are he already has a name to identify with. While you can certainly use the same ideas above to rename it, it would not be recommended.

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