I love Pozy’s name.
I love that the name conjures up a little bunch of wildflowers. The two syllables and the Z make Pozy feel like Zoey to me. It is a quick and easy name to say — I love that, too.
I want Pozy to also love her name. I want her to hear it and be filled with happy anticipation about what comes next. This means her name must always be followed by something wonderful — a cookie, a game, a tummy scratch, a toy.
I do not want her name to ever be associated with anything unpleasant or negative. This means I must not infuse her beautiful, happy name with tones of disappointment, outrage, anger, or frustration.
A loud and irritated “POZY CLARKIA!” cannot ever happen if I want this puppy to love her name as much as I do.
I also don’t want her to ignore her name. This means I must not use it in a situation where distractions are bigger than her ability to quickly respond to her cheerful, fun name.
I definitely do not want to stand there repeating “Pozy” over and over, which just teaches her to ignore her name.
I love that training dogs well is really all about practicing mindfulness.
This morning Pozy got to meet the neighborhood donkey when he was out on a walk with his equine family.
His name is — appropriately — Donkey.
Please have a terrific day!