Is It Right To Change A 7 Yr Old Dogs Name?

[Guest Clover]

It is only a name they do get used to it. Mine answer to nicknames & their real names no problems.

[Bisart Dobes]

Our first dobe was a rescue - her name was Zena. Ugh! Yuk! I couldn't think of a worse name for a Dobermann, plus she had been abused so her new name was Jewel and her new life began. She was 5 1/2 years old and we had her in our lives for 7 more - she had no issue with it at all. Though if we were talking to people about her 'story' and we said her old name she got aggitated.

All of our dogs have their formal call name and answer to many more besides that - so I don't think they really care or hold their true identity on the label we give them.

One example - formal call name: Rhemy - nicknames: Rabbit, Nemma, Granma, Shitbag, Schnut, Noona, Cow and many more - she answers to all of them. Though once I called her shitbag it the obedience ring and the judge was bemused to say the least (she was behaving ).

[Kirty]

All of my foster dogs and cats have come to me nameless - they all learn their new names very quickly.

[raineth]

We changed our dog's name when we adopted him; I wanted something kind of cute and that would reassure people as he is a bit of a 'muscle dog'. I was feeling guilty about it when his foster carer pointed out to me that really a name is just a command for attention

Digby has picked up his new name no problems at all! OH and I were talking about it, and about how most dogs will respond to anything said in that voice - you know the one used to call your dog. So we experimented and to our surprise found that it wasn't necessarily true

Digby took no notice when he was called 'foofoo', 'chunky monkey', or 'tootles' - but he was very responsive to 'Maryanne'

[spottychick]

No problem at all. I've done it with both my adult rescue dogs including the recent one Tango who is 8 years old. He was responding to his new name within minutes (and NEVER responded to his old one - I suspect they hardly ever used it).

In fact, some dogs will have a bad reaction to their old names because they associate the word sound with bad things.

It doesn't matter how old the dog is - if the new name is associated with good things he/she will learn it.

[OSoSwift]

I got a Dobe at 6 and a half. I didn't like her name, but it was hers, she responded to it and she had no bad experiences in regard to it. So the name stayed. It was certainly not a name I would have called her myself.

She was a retired show bitch that was very well known and it wouldn't have felt right to change it. I also have a Horse I got when she was 17, don't like her name either but it is staying.

If the name was something that was rude or had nasty type connitations I would change it, but other than that no.

[mita]

All of our dogs have their formal call name and answer to many more besides that - so I don't think they really care or hold their true identity on the label we give them.

One example - formal call name: Rhemy - nicknames: Rabbit, Nemma, Granma, Shitbag, Schnut, Noona, Cow and many more - she answers to all of them.

You're right! I'm always amazed how our dogs answer to a pile of nicknames & each dog knows their nicknames. Our new little Annie's only been here a few weeks....& she's gathered nicknames already. She answers to them all....like Hanny & Antsy. One friend even calls her AbbaFace, because she comes from Sweden.

[dogdogdog]

My newly adopted toy poodle is now being called Tommy. He was originally Mellow, then named Romeo by his rescuer and now answers very happily to Tommy, Thomas or plain old Tom.

[Kelly_Louise]

I think it's doable - but do I think it's right.... probably not. Not that it's wrong either, I just don't have the heart to do it. Sasha was only 2 when she came to us, but I didn't have the heart to change her name.

[rastus_froggy]

I think it's fine, to the it is just a command for them to give you attention. Trained properly the change over will be very smooth and be of no concern to the dog at all.

[ellz]

What's in a name?

I've changed older dogs' names, usually because I've got a dog with the same, or similar name.

Where possible I try to give a new name that has the same sounds, or number of syllables but whatever you call them, they'll still either come when they're called...or not....some of my dogs who have had their names for years STILL don't come when they're called unless they really want to!

[Boronia]

Just got a 7 year old female Westie called Brodie, none of us really like the name, we were going to change it to Maisie but it has ended up being Daisy.

She comes when we call 'Hey Dog, Yoo Hoo, Oi, so obviously she is going to come when Daisy (or Maisie) is called.

Pity I still haven't managed to get her to know the the meaning of word 'sit' yet!

[Lowenhart]

I think names are different in a pack situation.

I use names effectively, when I call for one dog they don't all appear and they each know their names.

Personally I hate to see names changed. Especially when I took the effort to come up with a good one that suited them. And as a rule I don't change names on dogs I have from others. This is why I have a "BumBum" and not something less offensive.

[Perry's Mum]

I changed Perry's name from Peggy to Perry because it really did not suit her and Dame Perignon (Perry for short) does.

If we have names of koolies handed in for rehoming we only change their names if they are not suitable, e.g. Sabre or Demon are not Koolie names, and we give them a more sheepdog name in case they go to a working home.

[KristenLovesLabs]

And he's just lovely Kristen, a beautiful, gentle old fella

Thank you I do love him so already <3

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

If people take on an older rescue dog, they need to be comfortable with the name or should change it. The dogs cope very well. I've brought home dogs of all ages, mainly older, as old as 13 or 14 and not known their names. I usually prepare a list of names and read them to the dogs - sometimes they'll respond well to one or two and that's how I name them. Give them plenty of love and a happy home and they'll come running, whatever you name them!

I adopted a rescue dog called "Napoleon" - when I heard the kennelhand calling him "Nappy, Nappy" across the field, I knew I'd have to change it!

People laugh at some of my choices of names for my fosters! "Odette" was adopted because they loved the name and noticed this poor old maltese when there are so many out there.

I've currently got a "Heather" and a "Mistletoe" ....

[poodlemum]

In my experience, you could rename ANY dog "OI" and it would respond I have always been a great one for giving my dogs multiple nick-names, and they always respond to them.

I re-named Harrison when I got him, and he had no problems with it.

[Katdogs]

I usually prepare a list of names and read them to the dogs - sometimes they'll respond well to one or two and that's how I name them. Give them plenty of love and a happy home and they'll come running, whatever you name them!

One of my fondest memories is bringing home a big no-name boofer foster dog in the back of the car and seeing his eyes light up when I called 'Tommy' - we must have said about 50 names by then! Though it might be because we'd just gone through Macca's drive through and he wanted a hash brown... Still, Tommy he has been since!

Another foster was microchipped as Terry, but he converted to Ted (Terence Teddy-bear) very quickly - it was better than "You horrible multi-sh!@#" which was my loving name for him!

Edited March 8, 2010 by Katdogs