Puppy Names

What To Think About When Picking Your Dogs Name

We’ve compiled the 5 most important things to take into consideration, follow this and your dogs name is sure to be spectacular.

1. Don’t Confuse Your Dog

There are certain words your dog will know or be learning as commands, words such as “Sit”, “Stay”, “Heel”, “Down” etc, you want to make sure your dogs name isn’t similar to a command.

So dogs names such as “Kit”, “Joe” or “Neil”, should be avoided as they sound too similar to commands such as “Sit”, “No”or “Heel”.

If you do your dog wont know if your giving them a command or just calling their name. This will just confuse them and end up frustrating you.

Also make sure not to call it a word that may get used commonly, for the same reason.

2. Make It Short

Dogs names work best when they’re short, this is true for two reasons. One dogs find shorter names easier to learn and respond to. Two you’ll find it easier to call them by, imagine calling out to your dog 50 times a day when it’s name is “Abracadabra”!

Ideally you don’t want your dogs name to be more then two syllables.

3. Dogs Names Need To Be Future Proof

Your dog may be really tiny right now and it might seem like a good idea to call it tiny, but you need to think how big it will become when it’s finished growing.

For instance when we got our last dog from a dog rescue centre she was REALLY small and they had decided to call her “Mini”. But as she was a mix between a Greyhound and Whippet we felt it would be silly to call out that name in the park, when she would dwarf most of the other dogs there, so we changed it to “Mindy”, as it was only a small change and she was only a week old.

So ask yourself if you’ll be happy with your dogs names in a year, 5 or 10 years time.

4. Be Unique But Be Careful

Remember you’re hoping to have many great years with your dog and so it’s important to have a dogs name that is going to make you smile.

Just think if you have a dogs names that you enjoy calling out your dog will hear that in your voice and it will make them happy, but if you’re embarrassed and call out to it through gritted teeth all the time the dog might feel you’re angry with them.

But be careful, make sure it’s not going to be something that embarrass you to tell other people, for instance if your dogs name was “Smelly” people might avoid touching or playing with them.

5. Dog Specific

Pick a dogs name that suits your dogs personality, this will make it more fun and personal.

Don’t be afraid to take a few days to get to learn what your dog’s about, you’d be surprised how many dogs names you can find with your dogs unique behaviour.

How To Find The Best Dog Names

We’re going to give you a few pointers on HOW to come up with the best dog names, so you’ll have a selection to pick from. Some of the ways you could find inspiration for naming your dog are,

Behaviour/Personality

What does your dog do that is unique to them. Some examples you could have,

Energetic

Turbo - Zippy - Mercedes or Benz

Affectionate - Cuddles - Buddy - Joy

Smart -  Einstein - Beethoven

You’re looking for a personality trait or a behavioural patten that is unique to them, then you can start thinking about names you could use to describe this behaviour/trait they have.

Appearance

Ask yourself what is distinctive about the way your dog looks. Take in consideration the following when looking at your dogs appearance for their name:

Head

Body

Height

Weight

Coat

Tail

Nose

If you chose a name from this option remember your dog is still growing and changing so make sure you pick a name that is future proof.

Famous People

What about naming your dog after someone who is famous and you admire, people such as:

Authors

Movie & TV Stars

Sport Stars

Musicians

Models

Artists

Comedians

TV/Movie/Comic Characters

More Ideas For Naming Your Dog

Places

Where you grew up

Where you live

A favourite holiday destination

People you know (Be careful, some people might be offended by this)

Something to do with a hobby you have

Good Dog Names

Max – Hugely popular male name for dogs

Lucy – Hugely popular female name for dogs

Flash – For the super quick dog

Bomber – For the dog that wreaks havoc everywhere they go

Buddy – For the puppy that is going to be your best friend for many years

History Names

Caesar – After Julius Caesar, dictator of Rome

Einstein – For the highly intelligent dog, named after Albert Einstein

Napoleon – Former French Emperor

Edison – After Thomas Edison

Darwin – For the highly intelligent dog, named after Charles Darwin

Most popular male dog names in the United Kingdom

Max

Charlie

Ben

Jake

Barney

Jack

Buster

Toby

Jasper

Oscar

Most popular female dog names in the United Kingdom

Molly

Rosie

Poppy

Lucy

Ellie

Tess

Meg

Bonnie

Daisy