Congratulations on the newest addition to your family. Your adorable dog will certainly be a great friend and a loyal companion. Now, comes the difficult part. You have to find the right name for your pet.
To some, this is easy. They just randomly name their dog, and sometimes it turns out to be one of the most common dog names. If you want to make your dog stand out among the crowd, you need a unique name. You can go with cute fluffy, elegant, or classic names. Once you have chosen a name, check out if it sounds too human.
For instance, names like Mark, Steven, Josh sound like a guy’s name, but on the other hand, Scout or Tommy are just too common. As you can see, there are a bunch of factors to consider, and becoming confused is natural.
How to Name Your Dog
First, let’s see how other people do it. According to research by PetBacker, over 55% of people name their dog based on human names. This is why names like Amy, Lucy, Jack, Henry, Emily, David, and Angel are so common.
Nearly 5% of people name their pet based on their favorite season and another 3% is based on their favorite movie or fictional character.
Nearly 30% of people use a numerology method to name their dog. They take the dog’s birthdate, month, year and assign letters alphabetically to come up with a name. Others use a pet name generator to find a suitable one.
Aside from all these statistics, here are six tips to help you come up with a perfect dog name.
Go for Short Names
Short names are easier for everyone, even for your pet best friend. They respond better to short names. So, stick with only two syllables. Long names may sound elegant and cool, but after a while, you will shorten it anyway. Two syllable names are short, quirky, and easy to remember.
End the Name With a Vowel
Names that end with vowels are easy to pronounce and remember. The same goes for dogs. Since dogs respond better to simple and short names, words that end with vowels are suitable as dog names. You can call them with fun names like Taco, Ziggy, Elly, Chica, Leo or whatever fits your boat.
Match the Name with Personality and Appearance
You can get very creative when combining names with their personality. If you have an energetic chihuahua, you can name it “Bolt”. If you have a gorgeous husky, you can name it “Fluffy”. Names such as “Butch” and “Balu” go great with bulldogs and rotweilers.
You can name your Golden doodle, “Noodle” because of its curly fur coat. You can also get some crazy ideas once you get to know and become obsessed with your dog.
Do Not Make the Name Confusing
Some names can be confusing to your dog. For instance, if you name it “Po” the word can be mistaken for “No”. The name Jess can also be mistaken for yes. These things can make training very difficult. So, make sure you do not use a name that sounds similar to common commands, such as stay, sit, run, yes, no, and jump.
Give Different Names
This one is for the proud owners of multiple dogs. Do not give your dogs almost similar names. They will easily get confused. Do not name your dogs Bill and Phil. Instead, go for Phil and Benji or something completely different from the first name.
Do Not Name your dog Anything Negative
The name should not be related to any offensive or negative matter. Avoid using cultural and racial slurs, slang, or anything that has curse words in it. Names like butt head, fart face, big dong should be completely off the table.
Your dog should have a proper name that kind of represents its nature and physical appearance.
Dog Name Ideas
Speaking of good names, here are some of our favorite names split into different types of dogs. This should help you with a bunch of name ideas.
Classic Names
Some dog names are just timeless. Our favorite classic names are-
Female Names
If you are looking for a more feminine name, you can try out any from this list-
Male Names
Male names do not have to be menacing or complicated. You can go with any of the following-
Big Dog Names
Some dogs are just too big for cute and cuddly names. The name Snuggles does not suit an 80 lbs German Shepherd. Sure you can name it, but we got some better ones like-
Puppy Names
For the adorable and lovely pups, take your pick from these names-
Why the Right Name Matters
A short and easy name can be very helpful when training your dog. Dogs respond to short noises faster. Once your dog hears a name repeatedly, it will respond to it whenever you call it out. You can help your dog recognize their name faster by giving a treat.
Call out the name and if your dog responds, give a treat. You will have to do this quite a few times. This way the name becomes a cue and since it is associated with a good return like treats, your dog will recognize it better. Naming them short and easy names helps them learn faster and this is very effective when you are training your dog or teaching them a command.
Final Thoughts
Naming your dog is fun and memorable. But now you know how important it is to give a proper name. So, consider the factors we mentioned above and give your dog the best and unique name you can come up with.