Constructor Calling Constructor

We just started learning about class constructors in my Java programming class. In the past, we just did the new operator without knowing what was going on. Now we are getting a little more information on the subject. There is one specific constructor issue of interest to me. That is the case where a constructor calls another constructor. My book instructed me to use the “this” keyword to accomplish it as so:

public Class Pet
{
public Pet()
{
// default constructor code
}
public Pet(String name)
{
// call the default constructor
this();
}
}

I found this syntax to be a little strange. Yes I understand the “this” keyword refers to the current object. But we are talking about making a call to a method in the class. Why not use the name of the method like so:

public Class Pet
{
public Pet()
{
// default constructor code
}

public Pet(String name)
{
Pet(); // This does not work!
}
}

It seems logical to use the actual method name when making a call to it. However the Java designers must not have agreed with me. Calling the constructor by its name results in a compile time error. Oh well. It was worth a try.