Should I rename the dog I am about to adopt?

[chookie]

My two year old pomeranian Marigold, who I have had since she was a baby, has enjoyed the company of her "cousin" (a pomeranian puppy) that I have been thinking about getting her a brother or sister.

Well -- I *think* I stumbled on *the* dog -- a movie-star handsome 5 year old male pomeranian. I haven't met him yet, but am told he is a sweet little guy, and it looks like I will be taking a tw0-hour drive to get him tomorrow.

Here's my dilemma -- he's 5 years old, and I really don't like his name. Yes yes yes I know that is a very stupid thing to worried about, but he has a really boring common name that does not do justice to his kingly presence.

Is it okay to rename a 5-year old dog? Do you think he even gives a shit, especially when he sees he has been adopted into Dog Castle where he is going to be loved and pampered?

Do dogs get attached to their names? Or can I get away with giving him a new name that does him credit and that I enjoy?

Thank you for your opinions.

[GOPisEvil]

1. Just remember to train him to poop on Scaife's yard!

Can you shorten his name? Or a nickname or some variant of his name?

[chookie]

15. I hope he'll be an activist

...like Marigold.

[Bronco69]

2. What is his name and what name do you want to give him?

I would imagine at 5 years old he is pretty used to his name. Maybe you could slowly phase in the new name. :-)

[chookie]

5. His name is "Rusty"

Apologies to anyone with an animal with the name "Rusty" -- it is not a bad name but it just just so COMMON! There are millions of "Rustys" out there! Besides -- the little guy is mostly black, with some handsome brown markings, and is hardly "Rusty" at all.

Well, I could try "Ruski"....

I will not consider "Lusty" or "Musty"

He's such a distinctive, majestic dog that "Rusty" just doesn't cut it for me.

[SoCalDem]

19. Crusty??

:)

[SoCalDem]

3. Add the one you like to the one he has, and say them together

then start dropping the one you don't like..

They respond to your voice anyway.. Ours always came to anything..

We had a Lab named Blanca.. She was the JUMPINGEST RACINGEST thing

.. We also called her Screaming Yellow Blonkers..
and Baby Blanca (she weighed 65 lbs)
or Zonkers
or Tashas Baby Bonkie

she answered to them all

[chookie]

16. Of course!

Come to think of it, all of my pets have dozens of nicknames, and Marigold answers to all of them.

This isn't to be as hard as I thought.

If Viggo Mortensen, or someone as rich as Bill Gates who looked like Jude Law wanted to marry me on the condition that he could call me "Patricia" or "Mildred" -- I would be okay with that.

[MrScorpio]

4. Pomerianians are evil

I know. I was attacked by one.

[chookie]

8. That's what a lot of people have told me

There must be a lot of crazy pommies out there, because you are one of many people who have expressed his opinion.

My Marigold, and her "cousins" Foxy and Zooty, are all like little teddy bears, happy, cuddly, love, sweet, devoted, friendly to *everyone*.

At one point we had adopted a rescue pommie -- a senior who had been cruelly abandoned -- tied to the doorknob of our vet's office. Boy, talk about having major issues! He bit all of us -- sent me to the doctor with a punctured thumbnail -- and that was *after * I had taken him to a pro dog trained! But we were determined to let him live out his life in peace in a permanent home, and tolerated his problems. Miraculously, after a couple of months, he turned into Mr Love Sponge -- I could even trust him with my elderly mother!

I think what happens is that people breed them for looks and not personality -- and you only have to look at the Bush/Walker clan to know what bad things can happen when inbreeding occurs!

But all *our* pomeranians are absolute total darlings, who we can even trust with small children.

[MrScorpio]

10. One day, when we get a dog...

We're getting a mixed breed.

Pure-breds have too many issues to deal with

[chookie]

14. Sounds like a good choice

Mutts are great dogs.

[roguevalley]

6. Sure. Our little Gretchen was called Ruger. A potite little girl. Had to

change it. They come to love. If you say the new name
each time with warmth and love, they will get it.

[ajacobson]

7. IMHO the name doesn't matter

Its all the stuff that gets associated with the name (happy face, happy voice, food, etc) that clues the dog into "hey, this is an important sound that is meant for me." Its my observational belief with six dogs that they do know that one name is different from the other but there are so many non-verbal cues that is associated with actions we do, I don't know what the primary element is. Good topic for a dissertation...

I play the name game all time (calling one of the dogs by the wrong name, going through the list until I get the right one) and they still seem to know that I want his or her attention.

[chookie]

12. That reminds me of a game with play with our dogs

A book I read said that we would all be amazed at how intently our dogs listen to us all the time. So I tried their little games.

I sat there with a couple of people discussing politics -- Howard Dean this, John Kerry this, Dennis Kucinich single payer system, blah blah blah -- and in the middle of one of these political sentences I would say something like "Wesley Clark has proposed that no family earning under $50,000 should pay taxes, and America should ramp up its production of turkey treats."

AT the words "turkey treats" -- ALL the dogs turned their heads and look at me with enormous eyes.

The poor little dears actually DO to listen to my endless discourses on politics -- how funny.

[ajacobson]

17. LOL, I love it!

eom:D

[ajacobson]

18. Sadie will open and close her mouth

It looks so much like she is trying to talk, I just ROTFLMAO.

Like that Garrison Keillor line, "that dog was on the verge of speech.."

[Lostmessage]

9. My Dog's always had several names that they would come to

You can change it but pick something that he will come to.

[pansypoo53219]

11. patricia McConnell of

calling all pets(WI public radio pet show that is on nationally say yes.
i only changed the name of my kittens, whose names sucked. but, it wasn't as if HS personnel were callin them by name.
but he should have no problems after awhile. just give him treats when you say his new name.

[Lorien]

13. Most pets will respond to several names

My late kitty Peewee was named by someone else, and I hated the name, but he would respond to nothing else.

HOWEVER. my other cat Miro comes to "Jabbacat" Lardass" "Kitty lumpkin" "Tubby chubby", etc. I know that SiouxJ's dog Boris has at least five names, and comes to all of them. You may as well give it a shot!

[BrotherBuzz]

20. Unlucky to rename a boat but

dogs are different. Our rescue dog came with a dumb one and was immediately renamed. Her attitude was, call me anything, just don't call me late for dinner.

[Arbustosux]

21. how about Joementum?

:)

[ScreamingMeemie]

22. Jessie's name used to be Jilly, but she was just a puppy when we got

her. I started calling her JillyJessie, and then eventually droped the Jilly. I did like the name Jilly but my husband has this need to name his dogs himself. She will also respond to Jessica Lynn which is what I call her when she is in trouble. She responds just like my children do when I use their full names..the ears drop, the head lowers and she goes skulking away. It's very funny.

She also comes to pudgiepoo...and flufferface..etc. It's about the attention I think. :hi:

[Kanary]

23. Just successfully renamed a 6 year-old dog

Well, it wasn't me...actually... my elderly friend. He just adopted the dog before Christmas, and wasn't too pleased with the name it had "Samson". He wasn't sure about changing the name, and couldn't think of another one.

So, one day we just played with names, and came up with "Wotan" (the equivalent of the god Odin).

Wotan had no problems adjusting to his new name, and recognized it fairly quickly. But, of course, he's a very smart dog. :) Wish I could do pictures.... I'd post one of him. He's a German shepard/St Bernard mix, and LARGE.

He loves to be petted all the time, and leans against you when you pet him... all 105 pounds of him!

But I digress.

I really doubt that it would be a problem, and, no, I doubt that dogs are that attached to their names. But, then, what do I know...

Kanary, who doesn't want to change her name....... :)