Comments on: How to Name Your Dog

on 11/22/2005 Think of a word (or words) that describe your dog and modify them. My fluff ball of a dog looks like a comfy, white pillow so I called her Willow.

on 11/22/2005 You may use seasons, colors, personalities, famous places, and also famous people names, like spring, blue, red, yellow, lime, naughty, Paris, Washington, Bill, or Bush.

on 11/22/2005 My boxer-mix was brown, and we originally were going to name him Baylor, after my fiancés college, but decided on Bruno when he responded to that name. He is a scruffy, manly dog and it fits him well. My boxer puppy was named Maggie, after the character in Million Dollar Baby. She looks like a Maggie, and responded to the name very well. Boxers are easy to pick a name for, since it is common to name them after famous boxers. In my family we have had a Tyson, Layla, Evander, and Cassius. We also had Elian, after Elian Gonzalez, which was the name in the news at the time!

on 11/22/2005 I think you should write a list and then read the names out loud. If the dog barks when you read a name, then that is the dog's name. Easy as pie.

on 11/22/2005 Our Boston Terrier's mother was named Tough Annie and her father was named Wiseguy. We chose the name Oakley, after Annie Oakley.

on 11/22/2005 Make sure you are creative when you name your dog. You want people to tell you how cool your dog's name is. I work for the Kirby vacuum company and I got my dog in a crazy trade in, so I named her Kirby. She learned her name pretty fast, too (because it's only 2 syllables). The name shouldn't be more than 2 syllables, it takes longer for them to learn it. I think every dog should have a creative name.

on 11/22/2005 Name your dog after your favorite season of the year.

on 11/22/2005 I just love those eeky-geeky-nerdy human names. For a while I had pets named after musicians that I liked, like Rupert for Rupert Holmes, and Phoebe Snow for a white cat with a lyrical, musical meow, and Jazzy, (short for a Siamese I had named Jasmine). I suppose I was inspired by the movie "Beethoven".

For dogs, I love anthropomorphic names like Einstein, Murphy, or Cooper. Our rescued Dalmatian was named Ash when we got her, but she was such a happy, jolly girl, that we named her Molly. My first puppy was a male Dalmatian that was so strikingly beautiful, he was almost show-off-ish, his name came easily - Bentley. Years ago, during the Reagan administration, I had friends with a female Bulldog, named Margaret Thatcher - Maggie was quite the character of her namesake. I suppose Sir Winston Churchill would be a great male Bulldog name.

A rescued stray with a wacky, spaced-out personality was named Cosmo, also around the time of Jerry Seinfeld's show. My husband brought home a hungry stray, calling her MoJo for 'more joy,' the name stuck.

I also like names that reflect the pet's personality, or character, like Trouble and Ruckus. Our most recent adopted 3 yr old, Lab Mix already knew his name, Rocky. So we couldn't change it. I suppose Rocky fits a male dog of his stature, but he didn't get by without a nickname. Since he's so large, and nobody knows his origins, (even speculated Lab-Great Dane mix), when people ask me what breed he is, I tell them that he's a Lab Experiment.

on 11/22/2005 Call your dog a name with a vowel (a,e,i,o,u) at the end, because it will recognize its name better. This is true!

on 11/22/2005 Whether it is the time of year you got your beloved pet, her markings, or her personality, think about what really makes her unique. My first kitten was the runt of the litter, and after calling her Runt for a couple days, I realized that she was too darned cute for that. She became Pipsqueak. My next cat showed up on my front porch on July 4th, so her name is Doodle (Yankee Doodle). My pretty Sheltie mix is the color of cinnamon and I got her at Christmas, so her name is Cinny Noel. My little long-haired chihuahua is a little rascal, so I named him Spanky (Little Rascals). I just think about what makes them special and get creative with it!

on 11/22/2005 I have taken many of my dogs' names from boxing movies and events. Rocky has turned out to be one of my favorite names for dogs, especially if they tend to show a little spunk.

on 11/22/2005 I like to think that our four-legged companions are family. Like our human names, our pets' names must have meant something to whomever named us. As I do not have offspring, I've tried to carry on my heritage and experiences in pet names. My black Labrador/Husky was named "Bear" after a German Shepherd I once knew. My next dog will be a large breed, whom I plan to name Kuma, which is Japanese for "bear." Other names for pets have come from languages in countries or cultures in which I lived. They all meant something to me, and friends and family could always relate.

on 11/22/2005 Don't go for the average "Spot" or "Rover." That's so 18th century! Think of something fresh and new.

on 11/22/2005 If you have a cute dog, you're probably going to end up adding an "ee" sound to the end of his/her name, like Happy, Fluffy, Cutey, etc. I don't know why, it just happens! When we got my little dog, we officially named him Chip. But after only a few days, we naturally started calling him Chippy. And now, that's ALL we call him: Chippy!

on 11/22/2005 You gotta be real with the dog when you pick out its name, cause that's for the dog's whole life, man. So I recommend saying a whole bunch of names in front of the dog, and when it barks, I think that's gotta be a sign! There's a reason for everything. And just like the Matrix said, choice is the only way that we (or dogs) can fight back against the system...So give the dog a choice man! Just give the dog a choice!