I don't think I entirely agree with the paragraph about training... Sounds a bit wishy washy to me. But, I do name my puppies so that I can identify them to customers. A lot of people keep the names, too!

I can agree to a degree. I name ALL puppies. I don't want to yell weinie baby one, two, and so on. If I want the GROUPs attention I call, " come on weinie babies" but if only ONE pup is doing something s/he shouldn't be doing I use his/her name & say no. No use in disturbing the WHOLE litter if only one pup is doing wrong. I feel once they are 6wks old & momma is no longer teaching them, it is my job to take over. And having a name helps ME train them. And my kids help a lot with the names too. As for the new owners, I use the name they have given me & even had one puppy get adopted a week before the going home date & changed his name with no problems.

And if you call "here, kitty,kitty", in my house all the dogs come! So, even in a stubborn pup in a new home call that and it'll come a running!!

Out of my last 4 dogs....3 rescue and then the doxie...I kept 3 names. The only reason I didn't keep one of the labs names, is because I had a dog in the house already by the same name. We, changed her name right away and I swear she learned it that day! Willowby was one I thought about changing...(wanted Boomer and it would have fit him) but I asked his foster why she chose Willowby (and why she spelled it that way) instead of Willoughby. She said she used to read to her daughter a book called Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree...so I got the book and decided to keep the name. Great story about sharing...I thought about changing the doxie's name Tyler to something that ended in a "y" since all my kids some how have names that end in "Y" but we liked it and hey it does have a "Y" in it so it is close enough...

Ditto.

Same here, so I chose the training process.....isn't that what we do when we name our pets, is to train them to come when they hear their names? I name every puppy by 3 wks and sometimes at birth if I find a theme that I think fits them!
I think it is sooo much more personal and they feel more like an individual I think!! But I just love puppies and I do let their new owners rename them!!

exactly what we do here.

I name my puppies, but not sure how much I agree with the self-esteem theory. Can they really comprehend it at just 3 weeks of age or less that they are an individual? Maybe... IDK. But I do give them names at birth or shortly after, although most owners rename them anyway lol. Once I find out what the new owner will name him/her, I start calling them by their new name. They are all individuals to me and I like referring to them by something better than a number!