Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Changing the name of a rescue dog - would you?

29 replies

MackerelOfFact · 14/09/2015 12:25

Is it fair to change the name of a fully-trained rescue dog, with good reason (such as the existing name belonging to a family member?)

I imagine it's fairly simple if there's an alternative name that sounds similar, but if there's not, what do you do?

Part of me thinks a name to a dog is essentially just a command, and teaching a new command isn't overly traumatic.

The other part thinks that having to deal with a new name, when they're already trained to recognise their existing name, is too much change to deal with on top of a new home, family, area, etc.

Thoughts?

OP posts:

MythicalKings · 14/09/2015 12:29

I'd change it.

CMOTDibbler · 14/09/2015 12:34

I'd change it. DDog1 came with a short name that we lengthened into something else. DDog2 had a totally different name. Both learnt their new name v quickly

Floralnomad · 14/09/2015 14:22

We changed our dogs name , he had only been at Battersea for 7 days though and was stray so they had named him , hence he wasn't attached to it IYSWIM . He has his original Battersea name as his first middle name ,he then has a second middle name then surname - his whole name is quite a mouthful ! I don't think changing names is an issue even to something totally different .

TwllBach · 14/09/2015 14:24

I changed mine. I got her when she was 5 months and she didn't seem to take long to adjust.

ENtertainmentAppreciated · 14/09/2015 14:27

I'd also change it. Using the new name with lots of reassurance and love will help him accept it and associate positives with his new situation.

Original poster

MackerelOfFact · 14/09/2015 14:34

Glad to see it's not seen as impossibly cruel to change it. Would you just call them by the new name from the outset or wait a little while and then introduce it?

I like the idea of changing it but then I just think of the poor thing being utterly confused about not even having the familiar reassurance of hearing its own name - and being roundly ignored by a dog you're trying to bond with, who can't work out why you're calling out this random word like a loon.

OP posts:

mollie123 · 14/09/2015 14:53

I believe dogs go as much on tone of voice as the actual words
if you call him by his new name and use other indicators such as gestures that you want him to come to you he will soon learn that the strange sounding word is to get his attention and earns him a reward
my rescue dog was 4yo when I got him and learnt his new name (especially when it was accompanied by lots of fuss/ rewards ) in no time.

EasyToEatTiger · 14/09/2015 16:33

We changed the names of nearly all of our dogs. With our 2nd, we changed it to something completely different. It was just the time deciding what we were going to call him. I don't think we ever called him the name he was given.

Floralnomad · 14/09/2015 16:58

I think you can 'charge' the name with treats / chicken ,sit dog down say the new name and give a treat ,repeat a couple of times then let dog wander off and call name and treat when he comes and repeat etc etc .

TheCunnyFunt · 14/09/2015 17:22

To a dog, a name is just a word that's used to get their attention. My dog was Brett/Bertie and I changed it to Sprocket the day he came home.

TheCunnyFunt · 14/09/2015 17:23

He doesn't even acknowledge his previous names.

mollie123 · 14/09/2015 17:26

floral yes dogs think with their stomachs and you could call them anything if responding to it gets them a reward
I do find that gestures/use of the whistle are also useful in training for recall as well as the 'name' - again with reward for responding

Original poster

MackerelOfFact · 14/09/2015 19:48

Thanks all, that's really helpful. I was imagining everyone telling me it was cruel and shallow to change the name, and that I shouldn't be adopting a rescue if I couldn't accept their past!

But I'm pleased that it won't be a problem for the dog and I'm not a horrible person for thinking about it.

OP posts:

PUGaLUGS · 14/09/2015 21:40

We got ours at 16 months and changed her name to something completely different. Didn't take her long to pick it up.

Adarajames · 14/09/2015 21:46

My recent 3 I kept their names as all well suited, plus 2 were elderly and previous owner died, so didn't feel right to change their names.
I've renamed fosters and given dogs with no names a name, sometimes new home changes it, dogs adjust. Sometimes Ya nice to change their name of old one is associated with bad past. I usually introduce new name by saying both, new name first, then old name, for few days, then drop the old one; works well, is how introduce new command words too

Oh and come on, photos!!

LimeJellyHead · 15/09/2015 19:54

I have always chosen my rescue dog's names. Firstly, even if they have a name, how long have they really had it? Possibly the rescue named them. Or if it is their real name, it might bring back bad memories if it was previously said harshly or as punishment etc... so it would be good then to change it.

Personally I don't think dogs care. They'll soon answer to whatever you decide to call them so why not make it something you like and mark this new part of their lives

LimeJellyHead · 15/09/2015 19:55

Apart from what Adarajames says (I should read the other replies first, lol). If the dog had a lovely stable and happy life, keep their name the same, at least to begin with, so there is familiarity and continuity for the dog.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 15/09/2015 19:57

Mackeral - when we got ddog2 from the Dogs' Trust, their behaviourist advised us to change her name - new name, new start was what they said.

20 minutes and some serious gravy bone action changed her name, with no issues at all.

Varya · 15/09/2015 20:02

Choose a name which rhymes or sounds similar. Good luck!

TheMotherOfHellbeasts · 15/09/2015 23:06

We've always changed our dogs' names, as others have said, new name, new start.

Ddog2 had been given a nickname which was the same as my horse's name so that got changed straight away. Ddog1 had the same name as our housekeeper, and ddog3 had a name which translated to "demonic little bitch" .

SistersOfPercy · 16/09/2015 14:56

I had an Aunt who rescued a dobie called 'Zeus'. As she was the softest little girl in the world they changed her name to 'Luce' then 'Lucy'. Much less menacing.

Annadina · 16/09/2015 16:23

I changed the name of my 1 yr old rescue dog. I spent the first couple of days shouting random words as a name, and he had no reaction at all to his name when shouted, so changed it. Only took a day and half of a chopped up frankfurter to learn the new one.

dotdotdotmustdash · 17/09/2015 22:24

We've done it three times and it's all fine within a couple of days. No smart dog will fail to respond to a new name if they know that good things happen when they do!

boobubsmum · 17/09/2015 22:27

I'd change it. My parents rescued a dog called Tyson, he was a staffie, and quite frankly that breed has enough bad rep without adding to it with a name like that, they changed it to Tylor and he just seemed so much fluffier for it, names have a huge effect on your opinion and general first impression of a dog in my opinion.

Original poster

MackerelOfFact · 17/09/2015 22:36

Thank you all. This might out me totally, but the new dog is actually a withdrawn guide dog, so has been very much trained with this name.

However it's a 3-syllable mouthful of a name mostly associated with middle-aged women and doesn't really suit a young lab! There's nothing it rhymes with (and even if there was, the 3-syllable thing remains a problem) so want to change it to something a bit shorter and prettier.

OP posts:

Flip

1 2