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Choosing A Name


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After a long wait and some careful research, I located an upcoming litter and my new pup was born this past weekend, which means I have at least seven weeks to pick out a name before she (or he) comes home in June.

 

So far I've picked out approximately two dozen names that I like, all but a few are one syllable, which is what I would like. Unfortunately, my obstinate husband doesn't like any of them... don't ask me why. His comment is always "Why do you want a name that sounds like you stubbed your toe on something?!" I'm not sure what he means by that, since none of my chosen options are or resemble curse words... :rolleyes:

 

Considering I will be most if not all of the actual training (obedience, manners, socialization, stock work, etc), I figure the dog should have a name that I really like (DH's idea of 'spending time with the dog' is watching TV on the couch with Jade). DH says he wants a say, but he won't come up with any suggestions either.

 

I guess I'm looking for advice or suggestions for two things:

 

1) How do I deal with DH?

2) Any suggestions for where to look for more name ideas?

 

As far as #2, I've already been searching through trial result lists, rescue dog lists, and kennel websites for name inspirations and ideas. Any other suggestions?

 

I am super excited about this pup... she (or he) comes from a working breeding and working lines (sire is from Kensmuir and Scrimgeour, dam from H. Glyn Jones, those are what I recognize anyway), I am very excited to see how stock training unfolds. I think it's going to be quite a bit different from Jade... Jade comes from working lines, but her parents were a generation or two away from dogs that actually worked. :)

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What is his opinion on getting another dog?

 

He's fine with getting another dog. He's looking forward to getting 'his' dog once we get out onto an acreage. I've accepted that I'll be doing most of the work with the dogs, which is fine by me, I'd probably prefer it that way anyway. My 'hobby' anyway, he has his own things he does that I don't participate in too.

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1. It's my dog, I get to pick the name. This leads to him picking whatever he wants for his dog's name, of course.

2. How much do you love your favorite name of the list you've already got? If it's really a name you love, then go with it. And remember, you might get your pup home only to find s/he is better suited to a different name than the one you picked. If you're not all that in love with any of your list, then look at your interests. If you're a writer or avid reader, who are some of your favorite authors/characters? If you're into jazz or blues, go with Django or someone like that. You get the idea.

 

Ruth

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I can never name my dogs before I get them. All 3 of mine were named after coming home & none of the names came from my name list. In fact, I have a pup coming the beginning of May (yay! :D) and I have pretty much thrown out my name list.

 

As for hubby, I can't really help with that. I am single so I don't have to compromise. I think Liz's point is a good one. As a kid my grandparents had a dog that was named Scooter. Everybody called him Scooter (& he responded just fine) but my Grandpa :rolleyes: - he called the dog Butch. He wouldn't have any part of calling the dog Scooter. There was no arguing & the dog came whenever anyone called him Butch or Scooter.

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Considering I will be most if not all of the actual training (obedience, manners, socialization, stock work, etc), I figure the dog should have a name that I really like (DH's idea of 'spending time with the dog' is watching TV on the couch with Jade). DH says he wants a say, but he won't come up with any suggestions either.

 

I guess I'm looking for advice or suggestions for two things:

 

1) How do I deal with DH?

2) Any suggestions for where to look for more name ideas?

 

As far as #2, I've already been searching through trial result lists, rescue dog lists, and kennel websites for name inspirations and ideas. Any other suggestions?

 

 

Your DH sounds like mine. :D Sorry, I haven't found any solutions. :P

 

I am with you with regard to liking one syllable names - particularly those that end in a 'hard sound'. Just use one you like, and explain to your DH that he can chose to use one he thinks up - based on the responses, it sounds like your dog may respond to more than one name.

 

Luckily, my DH liked my chosen name for my BC (Torque), but he didn't like the name I chose for our recent cat. I thought it was a great name, but he insisted on calling her "Squeaky" because she communicated with squeaks. I tend to hate names that are fairly common and descriptive of a common feature - Boots, Fluffy, Blackie, Whitie, etc. BUT I ended up liking the 'Squeaky' name. It seemed so appropriate and it really fit her. So she is now 'Squeaky'.

 

So, yes, try and use a name from your list, but be open to a different name that seems to 'fit'.

 

I have sometimes perused the thoroughbred race results for names. Never found one, but there are some really creative names. Another option is interesting geographic names (towns, rivers, mountains, counties, etc.). You can name your dog anything (a formal or registration name), then use a nickname.

 

Jovi

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You can always give him a say by letting him choose between your final two such as " Gee hunny, which one do you like better Awesome name I love or %*@#, I stubbed my toe!" ;)

 

ETA: As far as looking for names, my favorite single syllable names are the unexpected ones. (Of course this is coming from someone with a dog named Poke) My suggestion would be just to keep your ear to the ground and try and listen and notice words you hear or read that are single syllable.

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Bless your hubby's heart, I'd say that unless he can come up with a list of names he likes, you get the final say. :) After all, if you're the one spending the most time with the dog, then it's your call.

 

I do recommend keeping two or three choices open, though. I never know what a pup's name will really be until I meet it for the first time.. :)

 

~ Gloria

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We've been talking about alliteration in my Effective Speaking class. I demonstrated to the students that an alliterative device using "hard sounds" -- e.g. k, t, d, can sound so much more stern than the "soft sounds" -e.g. s, m, n. Hard sounds are emphatic. Soft sounds soothe.

 

Example -- hard sound:

Step forward, Tin Man. You dare to come to me for a heart, do you? You clinking, clanking, clattering collection of caliginous junk...And you, Scarecrow, have the effrontery to ask for a brain! You billowing bale of bovine fodder!" -- delivered by Frank "Wizard of Oz" Morgan (from the movie The Wizard of Oz)

 

Soft sound:

"...Well, sir, I'm Jordan Rivers. And these here are the Soggy Bottom Boys out of Cottonelia, Mississippi -- songs of salvation to salve the soul. Uh, we hear that you pay good money to sing into a can."

 

-- delivered by George Clooney (from the movie 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?)

 

(Examples from American Rhetoric website.)

 

So when your husband says the name sounds like something you'd say when you stub your toe, he may be unconsciously focusing on (and rejecting) the "hard" sound as an emphatic statement.

 

 

For my part, I tend to choose softer sounds - and I like two syllable names. I've admittedly come up with some ridiculous names - "Robin" for a big red male dog -- coincidentally the day he was born was the day we first sighted Robins. "People think I'm a GIRL!" he howls - and some have since suggested that I should have called him Red Chief, as in the "Ransom of Red Chief" - but his "full name" is Robin Goodfellow, a mischievous character from Celtic lore out of Shakespeare's Midsomer Night's Dream - and that name suits him to a T. Robin is always Robin - no nicknames, though he has earned a few expletives.

 

Brodie's name really suits him - a soft name for a soft, gentle dog. We poured over different name lists as nothing really "fit" when we looked at him - though someone suggested "Target" for the big back circle on his fat puppy hind end - but that has disappeared and he's so slim now, the name wouldn't make any sense. Brodie means "brother" in Gaelic, which is a good fit as he's a boon companion to DH. DH also calls him, affectionately "Bro", "Bro-Man" and "The Bromeister."

 

Ladybug was Lady when she came to us. I felt she needed a new name so she became "Ladybug" a symbol of good fortune.

 

I found our Tiger Lily as a kitten underneath a Tiger Lily plant in the greenhouse, so Tiger Lily she is. She's a mottled brown and orange tiger so the name suits her. Her brother, a fat gray kitten, I named Phineas Fogg but no one got the joke. My great niece who adopted him calls this twenty pound cat Ki-Ki.

 

Liz

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I usually take a look at the dog's pedigree, and see if there are any names along the way that I'm in love with. I always do the test of "can I soften it, and can I sharpen it" along with "does it sound like my other dogs, and does it sound like a command".

 

As for the DH thing... I recall having one of those once. :lol: Seems to me like we just agreed that I would name dogs that belonged to me (most of them) and he could name dogs belonging to him (one of them - Bree). He preferred Mick over Nick, but Nick is my dog and I named him. One of the Noodleman's top running names was "Cap" but it didn't fit.

 

I had a long list of names for Linc picked out - and then "Linc" came to me one day. Loch was my #1 pick, but I thought it was too hard for a puppy. Duff was my second pick, but I had a feeling he'd wind up being Duff MacFluff if I did that. Instead... he's Dink most of the time. :D

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IME, you know the name when you hear it..

 

Kate is named after Katherine of Aragon..Henry the eighth's first wife. My love is English history..I imagine we will have an "anne" and a "Jane" and "Ellie" (for Eleanor) in the future as well.

 

As for your husband..Id just say " This is the dog's name"..and be done with it..he may mope for a day or so..but I imagine he'll get over it quick

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My dogs all received their names when I was single, so I never had to deal with an immediate member of my household objecting. But I remember visiting my mother's house and looking up dog names on the computer; nothing had really jumped out at me AT ALL, after weeks of looking. I was looking at some random agility trial results, when I exclaimed, "Scorch! That's it!"

 

My mother curled her mouth into a grimace. That was not an uncommon initial response when people heard the name. But I knew it was meant to be, and once little Scorchie was able to come home, everyone warmed up to the name. It just FIT.

 

Jack and Wolfie were both named from dog books that I treasured as a child (A Dog's Life by Jane Burton and Lad: A Dog by Albert Payson Terhune).

 

Norman was originally named Jeb when he came from Cairn Terrier rescue, and that didn't seem right at all. He was named after my grandfather, and it's a name that makes people smile.

 

Now that I'm in a serious relationship, my SO often fantasizes about having a Doberman. It would be *his* dog (that's the plan anyway) and so he gets to name it... but we've tried to find a name we both agree on. He favors ridiculous (IMO) names like America and Avocado... I cannot make this up.

 

Right now the compromise is the future dog's registered name will be Ava Avocado, but her call name will be Ava.

 

If your DH feels anything like I felt about naming a dog "America" (not for any patriotic reasons, more because he thought it was a funny dog name), then maybe compromise isn't such a bad thing. ;)

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