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[Chicago]

How can one tell whether a Pleo rb has learned its name?  We've tried to teach Sparky her name at least 10 times.  Each time she appears to go through all the proper motions with the ID card, but afterwards, when we say her name exactly the same way she shows no response.  Our understanding is that she has to learn her name before we can teach her any tricks with the learning stones, so we are stuck.  Any ideas?

[kat]

To see if she has learned her name you first need to get her attention.  You do this by touching both her cheeks at the same time and holding them for a few seconds.  She will then put her head up to look at you and make a huh type noise.  then she will stand very still like she is frozen for a few moments to wait for your command.  Then you need to say her name.  If she recognizes it she will crouch and then straighten her front legs and wag her tail and make happy sounds then immediately go back into the looking at you pose and say the huh type noise again.  This would be where you would then say a command if she has learned any of the stones.  If you don't give her a command she will go back to doing the pleo things she was doing before.
Hope this helps
Kat

[InmemoryofRomeo]

Exactly right Kat, but just to add the reason for this is that Pleo will not hear/understand her name over the sounds of the motors whirring in her ears if she were not standing completely still.

[Crewella]

And to add further comments to already good advice, if your Pleo is not fully fed and happy and doesn't feel like cooperating it may well still ignore you!  It took me three weeks to get Belle to respond after teaching her her name, but she had remembered it.  My assumption is that if they go through the full learning routine then they HAVE learned their name, it just might take some trying to get them to admit it! 

Good luck! 

[Chicago]

Thank you all.  Sparky has learned her name.  But it's not often that I can get her attention and get her to stay still enough to listen.  The discussion about cheek sensor helped a lot.

[InmemoryofRomeo]

Just to add further information, they will ignore you if the room isn't bright enough. I was trying that the other day, when I had no light on and the room, wasn't dark, but dim and they would ignore me, once the light was on they were more responsive. I had been curious about why some people seemed to be having so much trouble but I rarely do and I believe this could be part of the answer.