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Naming Your Dog

 So you just bought a dog?  Congratulations!  Dogs make great pets, and first-time most owners end up being dog owners for life.  There’s just one problem: what do you call it?  If you don’t have a name already picked out, this article will help you name your dog.

First, avoid "gag" names.  It may seem funny to name your dog "Old Smeller", but it’ll probably be considerably less funny when you have to mention him in a serious social situation.  Even if you’re not worried about the embarrassment factor, think of the joke itself -- will it still be funny in a year?  Five years?  Ten?  Can you think of any joke that’s still funny after having been told every day for a year?

Keep the name to two syllables or less.  Dogs, while they make great pets, don’t have nearly as good memories as humans.  Most dogs will have trouble learning any name that’s over two syllables -- and naming your dog something that he won’t answer to will be the cause of a lot of frustration later on.

Avoid human names.  I know, I know -- there’s no obvious reason for this, but it’s a good idea nonetheless.  First off, they’re kinda generic.  Short human names are common, and the dog may get confused if it hears its name mentioned all the time.  Even more importantly: short human names are common, and the last thing you want is to have a boring, unoriginal, common name for your special pet.

Likewise, avoid naming the dog after someone you know.  If you feel you really must name your dog after a friend/family member, at least ask them first.  After all, they might not like their name mentioned in the same sentence as "flea drops".

If you stick with the above guidelines, you’ll be able to pick a fun, unique name for your new pet.  Hopefully he/she will provide you with many (human) years of enjoyment.
By: Mr. U
Published: 10/01/08


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4 Posted Comments:

@ 11:47 am 10/08/08 by Willow Sidhe
Great advice! My dog's name is Siouxsie and this really confuses people. Strangely enough not many people have heard of the band she was named after. Usually people just call her "Suzy" and I don't correct them anymore. It's too much hassle to explain it every time someone mispronounces it, which is every time. Lol.
Your advice is sound...but also give your dog a name people can understand or be ready to do a lot of correcting. Unless you just don't care, like me, then be creative! :)
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@ 9:51 pm 10/08/08 by Ette_Rual
wow. i think id be classified as the worst dog owner ever. i didn't really think that much when i named our dogs. one is named choco due to the color of his hair (or is it fur?) and the other one is named fluffy because of her fluffy hair/fur/covering.

not much thinking happened there :D
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@ 9:37 pm 10/14/08 by Vasantha
Very thoughtful of you to write an article on this subject. If we name the dogs sensibly, we can really avoid embarrassment and boring and repetitive corrections later on.
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@ 11:31 am 11/02/08 by Topper
I think the only valid point you made was to stick with a two syllable name, but not for the reason you stated. I recently read that dogs can remember up to 300 phrases so their memories are pretty darn good!

Other than that I see no reason not to use, as you say, human names. Gone are the days when people name their dogs Rover and Spot.
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