Dogs

Naming Your New Best Friend

The best dog names are stolen. Just think about it. How many dogs will be named “Marley” after the Labrador in the movie and book Marley and Me? How many Chihuahua’s will be named Chloe or Papi from the characters in the movies Beverly Hills Chihuahua or Princess after the cherished Chihuahua of celebrity Paris Hilton. When it comes to naming our new pet, either dog or cat, puppy or kitten, or older rescued adult, half the fun of adding a new member to the family is getting to name it. Where does the inspiration come from? What names appeal to you and your family and what names are just really cool? There are many sources to research pet names including books and the internet. A Google search on pet names listed over 75,700,00 sites dedicated to naming your pet.

Here are some useful tips to help you choose the perfect name for your pet. Try picking a name that is easy to say and is limited to one or two syllables. Avoid names that can be confused with the normal obedience commands like sit, stay, down, come and no. Your pets breed heritage can also provide inspiration for good names. Make sure you do not choose a name for your pet that might be intimidating or frightening to other people. Don’t pick one name and “force” it on your pet as some pets will respond better to the sound of one name over another. Wait a few days, try out some names, and then pick the one that fits the best.

Want to know what I do? I steal names and I’m not too proud to admit it. I know that down the line I will eventually add one more animal to my “pack”, so I keep good names on file. I read dog show catalogs and realize so many people are so very clever, so how can it hurt to “borrow” a good name. I think the first name I stole was from someone I knew in my Labrador club. Their dogs’ call name was Taylor and I thought that is a perfect name for my next puppy. About two years later when I got that puppy her registered name became Krugerrands Storybook Tale, call name Taylor. I’m dating myself, but remember when Top Gun was a hot movie, well a dog trainer friend of mine loved Top Gun and named his cat Maverick, well I thought that is a great name to add to my list and you guessed it, my next cat was named Maverick. Warning – expect that if you come up with a good name someone else will steal it. One of my current Labradors is named Tori and my very close friend who has German Shorthaired Pointers just named her new puppy Tori. She claims she just came up with the name, but we know better now, don’t we?

Diane Matsuura

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Dogs