Posts

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on January 19, 2009 at 10:22pm

Reply by Adina on November 24, 2008 at 10:38am

For me, it would depend on the history of the doodle. If the dog had a bad start in life, I would change its name so that there is no negative connotation or association when the dog hears it's old name. Keep in mind that dogs don't have names " in the wild" -- it is purely a human concept. So the dog does not necessarily think of its name AS A NAME the way we do. It's simply a word or sound it has learned to respond to in a certain way. If you have any doubts about its past or simply don't like the name it might be a good idea to teach it to respond to a new name.

Our Thule (say too-lee!) started off as Truly. While she did not come from any abusive background, Clark did not like her name and thus changed it. To our doodle, Thule, it probably sounded exactly the same ... I'm not sure it was a change in her mind.

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on January 19, 2009 at 10:23pm

Reply by Karen & Jack on November 24, 2008 at 11:15am
Hi Molly! Good question, I don't think it has come up before here.
Our Jackdoodle, who was owner-relinquished to a shelter at the age of 14 mos, had been named "Jake". This was not going to work for us, because my live-in grandson is Jake. So we had to rename him, but we wanted to keep the sound of the new name close to the old one, to minimize confusing the poor guy...he was already confused enough! We had had a foster named Jacko a few years earlier, who had died of megaesophagus, and we thought it would be a nice tribute to Jacko if we called our doodle Jack...Jackdoodle is what he ended up being named. He adjusted to his new name very quickly, and an added bonus is that he now "knows" that he is a doodle- since it's part of his name, every time he hears the word "doodle", he thinks we're talking about him!

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on January 19, 2009 at 10:24pm

Reply by Karen & Jack on November 24, 2008 at 11:29am
I should also add that if the dog is a stray who has been given a name by a shelter or rescue group, it is even easier to change it!

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on January 19, 2009 at 10:25pm

Reply by Lynne NJ on November 24, 2008 at 12:18pm
My Jack was called Jackson by the shelter and we wanted to change it because I have a neighbor with a Jackson and a friend with a Jackson. We tried several names that were similar (Maxson, Samson) but he seemed confused so we settled on Jack.

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on January 19, 2009 at 10:25pm

Reply by Minders on November 24, 2008 at 3:30pm
Our dog's name is Mindy and was rescued from a shelter. We loved her from the moment we met her and the fact that she was a girl with an 'M' name told us that she was meant to be part of our family. You see every girl in our family has a name that starts with M!

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on January 19, 2009 at 10:26pm

Reply by Christy on November 24, 2008 at 3:58pm
Yoda's name when we picked him up at the shelter was Chance. I knew we were going to end up changing his name so I did some research and most things I read said to start out by saying the old name and the new name together. Well about 10 minutes after picking him up we got tired of calling him Chanceyoda and just started calling him Yoda. We said his new name non-stop for the next few days and he was responding to it within that week. Of course I'd like to say that he learned so quickly because of his superior intelligence, but I am a bit biased :) Plus he just chased his tail for the last three minutes and ripped a few chunks of fur off every time he caught his prize, so I guess that theory can go out the window, haha!

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on January 19, 2009 at 10:27pm

Reply by Molly on December 1, 2008 at 12:21pm
Thanks so much for the advice! I keep seeing great dogs with names like "Kisses" and I can just imagine the look on my husband's face if I brought that dog home and could not rename him or her. Also, Molly is one of the most popular dogs names which would be a problem!

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on January 19, 2009 at 10:28pm

Reply by gene on December 3, 2008 at 6:49am
I changed the names of both of my rescues.
Miko was Jessica (after the rescuer's daughter), bu she called them all "puppies", so ththe change was easy.

Rumor was originally Ben (bad start in life), the shelter named him Roman, but Rumor liked Rumor better.

My foster doodle was Shaggy at the pound, I named her Sera (for Que sera, sera) and her new forever home calls her Sienna.

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on January 19, 2009 at 10:28pm

Reply by Joe R. on December 3, 2008 at 6:58am
We didn't change Lilly's. It just seemed to fit her sweet personality..

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on January 19, 2009 at 10:32pm

Reply by Helen on December 3, 2008 at 7:12am
It is personal choice. As Christy says in her bit call the dog by the old name followed by the new name for a couple of weeks and then drop the old name, it should be enough of a timespan for the dog to get used to the new name.

Member Since 2009Permalink Reply by gene king on January 24, 2009 at 9:04am

Miko was listed as Jessica on Petfinders. Just couldn't picture her as a Jessica.
Rumor was Roman......close, but no cigar.

My first 3 fosters I changed the names......
Was Shaggy at the shelter, I called her Sera, now it's Sienna
Holly was un named, her forever home is keeping Holly as the name
Comet was Sinclair (way to stuffy). His forever home is keeping the name.