# Do dogs know their names? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 26, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-know-their-names/635850 "2012-09-26T02:50:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-know-their-names/635850/63 "2012-09-27T18:40:45Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’m not sure where it all picks up and leaves off. I think I’ve mistaken some dog’s failure to recognize pointing as failure to give a damn instead of inability. Certainly dogs can be trained to do some very complex tasks and show the ability for rudimentary abstraction, but I don’t know if they’d recognize an arrow as pointing in a direction as opposed to being trained in a particular response to that particular symbol. I have seen clearly that hand signals accompanied by movement are very readily picked up by dogs. I’m curious about where the line between rote training and more complex thought is. It’s a good question. Dog “intelligence” is easily confused with such qualities as persistence through frustration, desire to please/work with their handler, energy level. High-energy confident dogs with a lot of willingness to please and greediness are easy to train no matter how poor they may be at problem-solving. An aloof, timid, low-energy dog might be highly intelligent but is unlikely to prove it to a human being. It is easy to attribute both human intelligence or human stupidity to animals, and both are often wrong. Dogs think and feel, just as much as humans do, but differently. Correctly understanding and interpreting the differences can only be a product of unbiased and minute observation. Which tends to be in short supply among pet owners, frankly. Dogs do know their names and the names for other things too, but they don’t think of words the way we do. To my dog, “Bonnie” is simply the sound a person makes that means “Hey, I’m talking to you or about you”. Doesn’t mean what names mean to us. ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-know-their-names/635850/64 "2012-09-27T18:54:09Z")
I don’t consider my dogs especially smart but they do know their names. I call one and that one comes. If I say Puppy Treat, Car or Outside they all come a runnin’. Sometimes I address one by the wrong name and I am sure I get a WTF look until I correct myself. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-know-their-names/635850/65 "2012-09-27T20:20:35Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Dogs do know their names and the names for other things too, but they don’t think of words the way we do. To my dog, “Bonnie” is simply the sound a person makes that means “Hey, I’m talking to you or about you”. Doesn’t mean what names mean to us. I dunno. That’s pretty much what names mean to me. Maybe I’m a dog 😕 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-know-their-names/635850/66 "2012-09-27T20:29:21Z")
My German Shephard, Kali, has a stuffed toy she carries around. We began calling it “baby”. My gf taught her to shake it. By repeatedly rewarding the behavior, if we say, “shake the baby” she will run, grab it, bring it to you, and shake it vigorously. It freaks out visiting new parents. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-know-their-names/635850/67 "2012-09-27T21:19:34Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > …Dogs do know their names and the names for other things too, but they don’t think of words the way we do. To my dog, “Bonnie” is simply the sound a person makes that means “Hey, I’m talking to you or about you”. Doesn’t mean what names mean to us. Pulp Fiction: _Esmeralda_: What is your name? _Butch_: Butch. _Esmeralda_: What does it mean? _Butch_: I’m American, honey. Our names don’t mean shit. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-know-their-names/635850/68 "2012-09-27T21:43:33Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > I dunno. That’s pretty much what names mean to me. Maybe I’m a dog 😕 yes, you are a dog. Ignorance fought! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-know-their-names/635850.md?page=3)