Changing a dog’s name

I kind of did it with current dog, but only because MIL changed it to the same as her recently departed dog (who would even do that?!) so I changed it back when I took her on. It’s not her original name either, which we found out when we changed her microchip. That was Bonny, which she doesn’t remotely suit. I did try calling her by that name but she didn’t appear to recognise it either.
 
I never have changed rehomed dogs names, the one whose name we would have much preferred to change, just wouldn't answer to anything else. I wouldn't worry about names starting with the same letter, so much as rhyming names, for getting confused.
 
JD was Jade when we got her at 4 months. It was the year Jade Goody died so think that had something to do with it. I called her JD for ‘Jade Dog’.
She was only 4 months though.
Think I’d keep an adult dogs name or choose something that sounded very similar.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I never have changed rehomed dogs names, the one whose name we would have much preferred to change, just wouldn't answer to anything else. I wouldn't worry about names starting with the same letter, so much as rhyming names, for getting confused.
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For the way I work my dogs you could actually have, say, Kenny and Penny as they really only wait for the first letter. I don’t tend to use names other times. I would not be able to work Pen and Pep together unless I used a different send command for Pep, which I don’t think my brain would cope with.
Hopefully if I spend time she will learn a new name. Mine all respond to their nicknames as much as their given so I might try like CC suggested. I think Pepper… Red Hot Chilli Pepper… Chilli. We’ll see.
I see your point about not changing the name but it will make my life easier.
 
Clodagh, I have only just seen this thread.
As far as name change is concerned, I don’t think it matters at all. I have had so many rescues , changed some names , kept others.
Dogs respond no bother. I am so senile these days I even call the ones I have by each other’s names sometimes! They know when I am referring to them and the right one responds! ?
I am much more shocked that you are considering a spaniel again, have you gone mad?
 
Chiffy said:
Clodagh, I have only just seen this thread.
As far as name change is concerned, I don’t think it matters at all. I have had so many rescues , changed some names , kept others.
Dogs respond no bother. I am so senile these days I even call the ones I have by each other’s names sometimes! They know when I am referring to them and the right one responds! ?
I am much more shocked that you are considering a spaniel again, have you gone mad?
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Quite possibly. ?
 
I changed my greyhound's name but he'd only had it (Nathan! Didn't suit him and he didn't respond to it) for the three or four months he'd been with the rescue, he didn't have a name before that as far as they knew, aside from his racing name.
 
Clodagh said:
I may have had a rush of blood to the head and be rehoming an adult spaniel.
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What is this madness?! ? How has this come about??

silv said:
Yes if I hated the name he came with, ie my latest was called Cage! he very quickly got used to being called Cuthbert.
My other rescue was already called Panda, which is a nice name so kept that.
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Theres a Cuthbert in the park. Nice lad.

Clodagh said:
Mine all have ridiculous nicknames and recognise them, so I assume a name change is doable., Chilli is quite cool… I fancied ‘Salt’.
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I like Salt.

druid said:
I've got 9 here this week ranging from 4 months to 8yo ;) You'll be fine!
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Dear lord, 9?! I have to say I’m glad my two are getting older, the whole taking it for granted that there will not be pee in unexpected places is very nice!

I had to give the horse a name, no-one knew if he had a stable name and he responded to my voice rather than his name and the dogs have lots of nicknames, unrelated to their actual names. Goose is Squidgepot, because he’s a major cuddler.
 
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When we rehomed our beagle he was 10 months old and called sandy, not a name we thought suited a crackers beagle so we changed it to luco, short for lucozade as he was like a bottle of pop ? he took to his new name no problem
We've just had a labxcollie rescue that came to us at 18 weeks old on her second name, so we changed it again with no problems to her, we called her Zadie, can you see what we did there ??
 
A dog will answer to anything if there's enough frankfurter involved ?

We retrain/rename commands or exercises if we mess them up the first time, a name is no different.

As mentioned, when a dog sits, it doesn't think 'I am sitting' it thinks = 'when the human says the word and I do this action, I either get access to something/I avoid something negative'.
It's a link between two previously unlinked stimuli, ring the bell, feed the dog, like that guy who invented the cake ;)
 
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When we re-homed Sasha, she was 10 months old and was called Sindy. I didn't think she looked like a Sindy, so changed it to Sasha. She had no problem responding to her new name. She also responds to "Sasha Babe" :D
 
Mrs Spaniel's real name doesn't suit her at all! It is the complete opposite of her personality and also a boy's name. She was Dog for 6 weeks until I gave up trying to find something that suited her. She does get called Mrs Spaniel, SpanielFace and Spanieldog and I often mix her, ShareMare and Mrs Collie's name up but she's so bloody gormless she responds to anything.
 
When you have children and you call them the dog’s names first. ?.
I’ve been known, our shooting, to say a dog’s name and wonder why it hasn’t gone. Then realise it’s not out that day. ?.
 
I am sure I'm not alone in my dogs having various nicknames and some aren't remotely similar to their "proper" name yet they respond, so when changing a dog's name it doesn't necessary need to sound anything like the old one.
 
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