Important Tips For Naming Your Puppy

For pet owners finding that perfect dog that fits in with their family, existing animals, or lifestyle may be as hard as finding the perfect puppy name. Naming your puppy might sound like a fun and frivolous task, however it is actually important for your new puppy’s future training and understanding.

There are some ground rules for naming your puppy that may make both you and your puppy’s lives much easier. Obviously, after you get your new puppy acclimated to his new home you want to being training him the essential basic commands such as sit, stay, heel, and down. Puppies and dog don’t necessary understand words, but rather the structure of sounds and the order they are spoken. If you decided to name your puppy Fay or Ray then this sounds very similar to stay especially to a puppy. Your puppy may become confused as to whether you are calling his name to come to you or if you are expecting him to perform a command. This frustration can easily be avoided by just taking the time to make sure the name you are considering for your puppy does not sound like a command. Also, I would suggest staying away from human names because silly as it may sound it begins to humanize the puppy and rather than training him as a dog you may try to train him as you would a child and that simply will not work.

As far as limiting confusion when naming your puppy you also want to keep the name fairly short and simple. Grand names such as Kensington will most likely not quickly grab a puppy’s attention. Quickly grabbing a dog’s attention can be vital for keeping your puppy out of dangerous situations.

As I said short names usually about two syllables in length work the best. It is also best for the name to start with a hard sound and end with a soft one. Examples of puppy names that use this technique are Tucker, Kaiser, and Lola.

Puppy names that are unflattering such as Dummy, Idiot, or Jerk are not going to hold favor with your puppy. Dogs are extremely sensitive and believe it or not can tell when someone is demeaning them. If you don’t give your dog respect then don’t expect any back.

It can be hard to try to pick the perfect puppy name before you have even met the dog or brought him home. I recommend not naming your puppy on the first night you bring it home, but rather taking that first day and night to get a real feel for your new puppy’s personality. You will soon see your puppy’s individual cute and quirky side emerge and that’s where the best names come from. For example, a puppy that is pretty spunky and loves getting into mischief might be called Chaos, or a puppy that is pretty laidback and loves to cuddle with you on the couch could be named Cozy. As I said before don’t be afraid to take a few days to find that perfect puppy name, this will not affect his future training.

If you have bought or rescued a puppy that is a bit older than 8 weeks say 12 or 16 weeks and the owners have already named him then it is better to stick with that name. However, if you really hate the name then again if possible you need to change it to a name that sounds really similar with the hard and soft sounds exactly in the same spots as the previous name. This way the puppy shouldn’t notice the difference, and the owner gets to pick a new name. An example of this may be if you got a puppy and he was already named Chaos that would transition nicely into Cozy because the hard C sounds are in the beginning and the soft long vowels are at the end.

Another tip is if you already have other animals in your house it is important not to make the names of your pets sound too similar. If you already own a dog named Fluffy then do not name your new dog Lucky. The two names can be mistaken for one another and may confuse both dogs.

As always with a new puppy and dog patience is key. Take your time naming your puppy and you will see that without much effort the puppy will usually end up naming himself. Of course once your puppy has been named it is vital that you get his name and your address and phone number engraved on an ID tag.