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The doghouse

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Original poster

Changing name of dog? Bad or good idea? How?

22 replies

skratta · 27/02/2013 13:54

We are in the process of adopting a WestiexShi (someone on another thread called it a wee-shit ) currently called Tinkerbell. She's seven years old. She is well trained (in shelter because her owner died but had been well cared for) and has not been in the shelter long. She seems like a great dog generally, she's already met our other dogs, and we've taken her out for walks too, she responds to us calling commands and is quite confident with our DC.

But...Tinkerbell? She is a lovely dog, and the shelter says they normally call Tinker instead of her full name (they tried Bell, but apparently she didn't respond, and the old lady probably nicknamed her Tinker therefore). None of us think Tinker, or Tinkerbell...suit her?

We have been thinking of many, many names for her. We have two or three which suit her well, but we don't want to actually physically pick a name before knowing about training. Any dog I adopted previously just fitted their name perfectly. Even the Boxer called Hamish, it just fitted his personality, and when we bought a puppy, we chose the name.

Has anyone got any experience of training a dog to a new name? Has it worked or not, how long did it take? If we change the name, is it best to go for so etching completely different (so, Ginny for instance) or something more similar (Annabelle for instance)?

OP posts:

tabulahrasa · 27/02/2013 14:08

I quite like tinker...

Anyway, I'd go for something completely different and just start calling her it, treat her when she looks, and go from there.

Original poster

skratta · 27/02/2013 14:14

Thanks. So basically, exactly the same, but just do it by calling her and saying it to her, like naming any other dog? I think Tinker is cute, but it is the name of my friend's dog who we walk with regularly, and we generally spend a lot of to,e with. As she answers to Tinkerbell as well, that would be the obvious answer, but it does t fit.

OP posts:

tabulahrasa · 27/02/2013 14:16

Aye - just the same as when you first name them, they soon work out to answer to it if there's something in it for them, lol

Callisto · 27/02/2013 14:38

Maybe something with a hard 't' like Tilly, Tiger, Tizz, as it is the 'ti' bit that she is probably responding too.

PipkinsPal · 27/02/2013 15:47

My MIL had a rescue dog who was named Bounty (brown and white) but has changed it to Bunty. Quite similar and the name also suits the dog. So I think Tink or Tinker could work.

SpicyPear · 27/02/2013 15:52

We had no idea what out dog's name was before she abandoned and then for four months in rescue she had a horrible name. We taught her a completely new name very quickly by saying it then click and treating when she looked at us. She was three or four ish whwn we got her.

NorbertDentressangle · 27/02/2013 16:12

Some friends of ours rehomed a dog from a rescue place that had already been named Princess.

As they couldn't face shouting 'Princess' across the park they chose 'Bess' as they figured the rhyming sound would work and it did.

Trying to think what you could try? Belle? Nell?

Lonecatwithkitten · 27/02/2013 16:21

No basis for it at all, but lots of animal people believe changing names is really bad luck. So I have never taken a chance on it.

Original poster

skratta · 27/02/2013 16:27

Thanks! I'll try out names which starts with a hard 't' or names like you suggested Norbert and see if we find something we think fits well, as our current suggestions don't fit that criteria, and if we don't like those names, well probably ip just start again. The problem is that when walking and playing with her in the field in the shelter, she loves running and fetching and catching, and if we took her to walks, she'd respond to Tinkerbell, but I just want to be definite she would be able to learn as easily as when training a puppy to respond, but I'm worried that if for the first few weeks I call her Tinker or Tinkerbell while training her to respond to the name we choose, then it would be harder, ifyswim,

OP posts:

paddythepooch · 27/02/2013 16:51

tinks or tinksy might work - try using whatever you decide with the clicker

Bet her former owner had lots of pet names for her in any case.

Callisto · 27/02/2013 17:29

Changing the name of a horse is bad luck, but I've never heard the same for any other animals.

digerd · 27/02/2013 19:23

I would call her Tinky.
At that age it is not a good idea to change her name to Annebelle or Ginny. It's best to keep at least the first part.

mrsjay · 28/02/2013 10:30

call wee shit tinker or tinky as long as the pattern of the name is what she is used to then she should respond ( i think) we kept our dogs name when we rescued him but we shorten it but he will answer to OIY YOU

mrsjay · 28/02/2013 10:32

call her Belle as it has the same sound as tinkerbelle ( who calls their dog tinkerbelle anyway )

Owllady · 28/02/2013 10:35

I would be a bit hesitant to change her name to Tinker because opf the connotations of the word, but I am a woolly liberal

mrsjay · 28/02/2013 10:38

sorry way off topic do people still say tinker these days owlady I havnt heard in years used in that way

Original poster

skratta · 28/02/2013 10:40

Don't worry, Annabelle or Ginny aren't the names! I was just tying to find random names to illustrate a point, like would Annabelle be better because she responds to TinkerBELL? We've got different names to those.

We might just see if she responds to Tink (like I said, Tinker is the name of a friend's dog so if in the park or walking hem together, it wouldn't work ) and with our chosen names, and whichever she responds to be best will be her name I guess.

I think 'wee shit' is becoming an attractive naming solution. Short, snappy and no confusion!

OP posts:

mrsjay · 28/02/2013 10:41

ID go with wee shit just see what works with her I do like belle though it is nice

CalamityKate · 28/02/2013 10:43

My older dog was 7 when I got her and I changed her name no problem.

2 things:

Build an association between the name and nice things, ie Name... treat. Name... lead on for walk. Name.... game etc.

Use new name then old name, eg "Ginny, Tinker!" so that the new name becomes a predictor of the old name. That's what I did with mine and it took about 2 weeks to get her just as responsive to her new name.

CalamityKate · 28/02/2013 10:45

If good things happen when they hear any sound they soon cotton on.

Mine respond to their names but also to Dogs, Girls, Girlies, Woofs....

mrsjay · 28/02/2013 10:51

Oh that has made me a wee bit sad our rescue was a 'put back' as the owners couldnt cope with his puppy stage I kept his name I hope he doesnt think anything bad is going to happen to him

Original poster

skratta · 28/02/2013 12:38

Thanks everyone for your advice!

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