When I call my dog's name, it is really an attention-grabber - it would be followed by the cue I want him to follow. I use his name in conversation with him all the time. I certainly don't think it would work as an emergency recall or stop in our case - but I agree with @DebzC , instinct DOES take over and I'd probably flap and shout all sorts . At dog-school, we sometimes have the dog in a sit, step away a lead length, then give another cue like "down" (a start to cueing at distance). We are specifically told NOT to use the dog's name at distance as this CAN make the dog come to you. TBH I've not tried with Coco, I don't know whether he'd come to me or not at the sound of his name. As I was typing this, Coco was in the garden. He started to bark at something. I shouted "COCO". Nothing happened. I shouted "COME" - he ran in immediately - bingo, treat.
I just went for a walk and shouted STOP when she was trotting about some way ahead of me to see what happened and she absolutely stopped and turned to look at me! Treat. So I did it a few more times on the walk. She does the same for her name and to 'come' as well so I just think as we usually walk quietly, apart from the training parts, probably anything I shout will grab her attention (unless she's chasing something!).
My guy is just 11 weeks and he just started recognizing it. Now when we say it, he'll turn to look at us and see if we have treats for him
