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AIBU?

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Original poster

Is it ok to change adopted dog's name?

55 replies

Nataleejah · 02/03/2014 19:40

He was Barry, but i've called him Rudis... I'm not English, and i called him so he reminds me of my homeland (Rudis is a common dogs name there)... And so i show that i love him that he's part of my family

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spanieleyes · 02/03/2014 19:43

Goodness Yes! No one should call a dog Barry,Rudis sounds much better! My parents were given a dog called Alfred!! He is now called Max.

Pumpkinpositive · 02/03/2014 19:43

How old is the dog? You could risk confusing him.

Goblinchild · 02/03/2014 19:44

I'm sure he'll cope if you love him, feed him and take him out for walks.
What breed, and how old is he?

paxtecum · 02/03/2014 19:44

I'm not an expert, but dogs do know their own name and respond to their name.

You can love him without changing his name.

Topseyt · 02/03/2014 19:45

Fine. Just be consistent and use the name you want, and he will soon get used to it. My dogs have many names in addition to their regular and polite ones!! Wink They respond to them all.

To be honest, you could call a dog "sausages" and it would come to respond over time.

Goblinchild · 02/03/2014 19:46

He's adopted though, maybe he'd like a new name to go with his new family?
Especially if they don't get cross with him if he takes a while to learn his new call sign.

Floralnomad · 02/03/2014 19:47

How long has he been called Barry ? We changed our Battersea pups name but he had only been there a week so didn't really know it anyway ( its one of his middle names now) .If he has been called Barry for a long time it might bother him.

Original poster
Nataleejah · 02/03/2014 19:47

He responds well, dogs really react to tone of voice not exact words

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Original poster
Nataleejah · 02/03/2014 19:52

Just the thing his previous family doesn't like it :(

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Original poster
Nataleejah · 02/03/2014 19:54

He is collie cross, brown, 7 years old. Thats why Rudis

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MrsPnut · 02/03/2014 19:56

We changed the name of our dog when we took her home. She had been called Lady and we call her Susie. The people we got her from were upset when they found out (so upset they had to go on holiday between my email and their response) but they gave her up despite only owning her for about 5 months so they don't get a say.

DukeSilver · 02/03/2014 19:59

My dog had to have a new name when i got him because the rescue didn't know his old one.
He is 4ish and took to it really well, I just made sure I used it a lot. It took about a week for him to learn it was his name.

Shockers · 02/03/2014 20:00

Our dog answers to many nicknames, including Foxy Loxy, Poodle Doodle and Gorgeousness.

Her name is actually Boo ( and she's not a poodle, or a fox... although she has a look of the latter).

You could tell the previous owners that it's a nickname that reminds you of home.

ShakesBootyFlabWobbles · 02/03/2014 20:00

The dog won't give a flying fig what you call it, it reacts to the tone of your voice not words, so change its name and be happy, it won't care.

sykadelic15 · 02/03/2014 20:00

It's normally fine. To make it less confusing I've read you should start calling the dog the double-barrelled name, then slowly start dropping the old name and just use the new name

Dorris83 · 02/03/2014 20:02

I read that when you call your dog's name it should fill them with happiness and positive emotions. If you can do that with Rudis for him then I think go for it. :-)

Tiredtomybones · 02/03/2014 20:05

Sykadelic has just said exactly what I was going to say. I changed my rescue dog's name this way. He was fine with it. I was careful never to say his old name though, once he was used to his new one, in case it confused him.

ShowMeYourTARDIS · 02/03/2014 20:05

Rudis is much nicer than Barry, IMO. It's a dog. He'll get used to it. I didn't keep my dog's old name.

OhNoYouExpedidnt · 02/03/2014 20:06

Of course you can change his name. In fact, it's often recommended for some rescue dogs as their name has often had negative connotations.

You have chose a name with 2 syllables with an 'r' sound so perfect really!

That, and the fact it's a dog and couldn't care less what you called it.

LettertoHermioneGranger · 02/03/2014 20:08

Oh absolutely. I suppose it's a bit awkward that he came from another family, I've always changed rescue dogs' names and I think they expect it, their rescue name is pretty much a placeholder.

Why are they always given common people names? Current dog was a Lindsay when we got her. I feel like dogs need dog names, am I the only one?

MissieEverdeen · 02/03/2014 20:15

YANBU

I have fallen in love with a rescue dog advertised on their website as being called Dipstick Hmm

Who the heck calls a dog that? Not sure if the rescue named her or her previous owners.

I can't have her, but if I could, I'd have to change her name.

AHardDaysWrite · 02/03/2014 20:17

We changed our rescue dog's name - he was 6, but he learnt his new name very quickly. If you think ab

AHardDaysWrite · 02/03/2014 20:18

We changed our rescue dog's name - he was 6, but he learnt his new name very quickly. If you think about it, a lot of rescue dogs are strays so no way of knowing their first name, if they had one.

chocolatecaramel · 02/03/2014 20:18

Barry! Grin

YANBU!

Original poster
Nataleejah · 02/03/2014 20:19

Rudis is happy. He responds very well. Just his previous family said its not nice.

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