Renaming Your Greyhound Rescue

We have 2 lively retired greyhounds named Angel and Ares. We rescued 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 obtained both greyhounds from the greyhound rescue they were still employing their racetrack names, or some rehash of it anyhow. I was disappointed when we were almost finished adopting Angel a while ago to discover that her name was RC Miss Sissy Sue. I could not believe that someone would name their dog something nonsensical like that. I had given up to the fact that I was stuck with calling her that the rest of her days.

Fortunately I learned that her racing name is not fixed. In fact, she did not even remember her racing name at all. You could have called her “Tiger”, “Jumping Jehosaphat”, or even “Dog” and she would have reacted the same to all of them -which was nothing at all. Then I contrived that she did not have a name. I was amazed. I was able to name her whatever I wanted! That was when I understood that rescued greyhounds do not realize their racing names. The instructors at the track or kennel do not usually speak to their greyhounds by name, which means you can name your greyhound whatever you would like.

Your greyhound efficiently comprehends rewards for actions as a great thing. This comprehension is what she will establish as motivation to duplicate her response over and over again. You need to acknowledge that your new greyhound does not recognize her name the same way you and I acknowledge our names. Your greyhound responds to her name as a command, nothing more. When you call her name repeatedly over time during specific times, she begins to recognize that her name is a command for her attention. Think of it as if a stranger on the street says “Hey!”, or when a friend says “look over here”. That is at the heart of what your greyhound understands as her name. She acknowledges her name as a command that calls her attention.

Schooling your new needlenose her name simply takes duplication and reward. Duplicate the recipe below and you will be astonished by the fast results you will get.

Start off by using her new name whenever you are directly speaking to your greyhound. Try to use emphasis when employing her name. Reward her with a scrumptious tidbit when she responds to you speaking to her by name. Take time to pet and rub her as a very good reward as well. I have never met a greyhound that did not like being petted. It’s as simple as that. Be accommodating. It will take a while for your greyhound to make that name connection. As quick as a few days later, you will notice more response when you call her name.

While schooling your greyhound her new name, DO NOT scream, yell, raise your voice threateningly, or use her name in a negative tone. DO NOT intimidate your greyhound while calling her name, or at all for that matter. These actions will be figured out by your new greyhound as a negative thing which will regress the training that you are trying to achieve.

One aside that I would like to mention is that before you begin training your new greyhound her name, you should learn about her history. If you are obtaining a retired racer from a previous home, they most likely have a name that they identify with already. While you can certainly use the same instructions above to rename her, it would not be recommended.

If you would like more tips, tricks, and how-to information about greyhound rescues, please check out Greyhound Rescues at http://greyhoundrescues.com