Dog Community

Give me your opinion...

Posted : 7/31/2007 7:21:17 PM

Would you ever change your dog's name? How old is too old to change the name?

I've had Schotzi since 8 weeks old (breeder called him Tuffy), and I've never been completely happy with the name I chose. It means "Sweetie" in German, but it's SO hard for the old people and kids I work with to pronounce. I knew I wanted a good German name for my German breed puppy (Miniature Schnauzer), so I debated with names like Otto, Opus (Opie for short, but I don't want him associated with Opie from Andy Griffith), Otto Von Opus, and one old lady called him Yahtzee. I've still been toying with names, but I almost feel guilty changing names now that he's nearly 8 months old. What about Topsy (from the original King & I -- "Mischief-Maker Topsy!";)? I had another German name chosen (which I can't remember now), but all the guys at work said it was too feminine. What about Strudel, Schnitzel, Friedrick, or Oskar?

So tell me, is it too late to change his name? Would you? What would you change Schotzi's name to?

Anonymous

Posted : 7/31/2007 7:45:39 PM

I like his name because it is unique. But if you are really wanting to change his name, Topsy may work because it can sound similar to Schotzi. I know this is totally different, but with my kids, I have modified their names over the years. Not so much changed it, but I call them my own nick names. Like one of my daughters is named Natassia Frances. I began calling her Frances. Then it became Francie to Francie Ella to Bella. Everyone knows her as Bella. I guess my point is, if you add something to it and over time modify it, you may be able to change his name to something totally different. (sorry if I got off point)

Jewlieee

Posted : 7/31/2007 7:47:49 PM

Are you kidding? He totally looks like a Schotzi to me. I wouldn't change his name.

I wouldn't change my 2 dogs names either. And as much as I hate the cats name (Trucker) I couldn't bring myself to change it either.

spiritdogs

Posted : 7/31/2007 8:13:44 PM

The name you choose doesn't have to sound the same as the old one. Dogs don't really know they have "names". All they know is that when you say "that word" and they look at you, something good happens. So, to change a dog's name, just start using it, but reward the dog when he looks at you.
http://www.clickerlessons.com/attention.htm

DumDog

Posted : 7/31/2007 8:41:05 PM

i agree with you Spirit. i've changed dog's names before... my husband was under the impresson that they had to sound the same.. Kaydee's origional name was Petey [8|] ... yeah she looks like Petey, but Petey was a BOY... and while Kaydee is rather... butch... she needed a girly name...
Ben's origional name was George.. and i HATE that name. every American Bulldog i've ever met was named George! also ... i had to change it because my husband's nickname is Leny.. and i couldnt have George and Leny and also own rabbits.... (Steinbeck reference for those that dont know..)
So i named him Ben.. dont know why.. my mom calls him Benji, which is just fine with me. he didnt know his name was George because .. he was a kennel dog. he didnt know anything. but he does answer to Ben because.. well.. good things happen when i say his name [

]

SquishyB

Posted : 7/31/2007 8:47:18 PM

The thing that drives me insane is that my parents just came for a visit, and they just called him "Schotz" the whole weekend. It just sounds like "Shots" like a shot of liquor or somebody shot a gun. Would it be so much harder to add the I to the end? If I change his name to Topsy, would they end up calling him "Tops"? What about the other names?

DumDog

Posted : 7/31/2007 8:55:02 PM

i think Otto was the best name in the list to prevent the cute short cuts... what are they gonna call him? Ot? or O?
and i know the feeling of annoyance. when my father inlaw was first introduced to Ben my husband did it while i was in the house.. so he called him George... so when i came outside and mentioned i was changing the name, that George no longer existed my father inlaw just said "aww i like George*patpat on the dog's head* Good boy George " [:@]

ron2

Posted : 7/31/2007 9:00:05 PM

I was going to be a twerp and suggest Bratwurst, Brat for short, but they might mispronounce that, too. Von Helsing wouldn't work either. Hel for short.

Otto is good and fairly foolproof. You could give him my name in german. Rheingold. But I think you're wanting a short name that ends in "i" for that cutesy effect. And you don't what to do about family or friends that won't pronounce it as you intended.

SquishyB

Posted : 7/31/2007 9:06:01 PM

I love the name Otto, but when I hear that name, I think of that old TV show "Malcolm in the Middle", and the German (?) rancher's name was Otto. When I think of him, I see this scene where he's out in the desert with his wife, and he's an overweight sunburned guy wearing a speedo and cowboy boots. Ugh. [:'(] How can I get this image out of my brain to see just a cute german dog?

Sham cou

Posted : 7/31/2007 9:58:25 PM

I changed my puppy's name to something completely different when I got her at 4months old. Within a month she had it figured out and at 7months she answers better to her new name than the old one despite the fact we see some of her previous family weekly and they still use her old name. Actually I was afraid to tell them I wanted to change her name until after I saw if she'd listen to it and now it's been so many months I feel kinda silly to tell them I've been calling her something entirely different. I should probably tell them soon......

We also adopted a puppy from the shelter at 4-5months old and they had no idea his old name. He was answering to his new name that the shelter had given him within weeks and that was 8years ago. The short amount of time it takes them to learn a new name doesn't really compare to how long they will probably live with you and your the one that has to use the name and know what it means.

When picking out a name the first resource I usually look to is [linkhttp://20000-names.com/]http://20000-names.com/[/link]

DumDog

Posted : 7/31/2007 10:03:23 PM

lol never thought there would come a day when someone referred to Malcolm in the Middle as an OLD tv show lol!! has it been that long!? and i dont know the character you're talking about lol
when i hear the name Otto i think of two different things.. 1 being the old hound dog with the broken leg in Disney's cartoon of Robbinhood... and 2 i think of a type of old southern white bulldog breed that was called an Otto lol

DumDog

Posted : 7/31/2007 10:10:43 PM

Shame85
lol thats funny because i feel the same way about Changing Ben's name. i dont know if his first owners named him george or not, but the lady i got him from called himGeorge.. when i said i didnt really care the name, she said "He's just a george... not much to him than that" ... yeah right... so i changed his name anyway, now when i get the urge to contact her (we gave her a German Shepherd and she gave us Ben) i want to see how things are going with the shepherd, but i'm kind of avoiding the whole name change thing.. i think my husband has talked to her off and on and might have mentioned it, and being a guy he cant remember the conversation or if she even cared about the name change lol you never can tell with people..

and i LOVE that website! i always tell people about [

]a lot of my animals in the past had their names chosen from that website lol
i just wish they would also include how to pronounce certain names... like the Welsh ones.... sheesh!

janet_rose

Posted : 7/31/2007 10:32:02 PM

DumDog
lol never thought there would come a day when someone referred to Malcolm in the Middle as an OLD tv show lol!!

I was thinking the same thing!

One of my sisters adopted a toy poodle about 1yr old. He was a stray that the shelter called "Dapper Dan". Dapper was too close to the name of one of her other dogs, so he became "Boodle the Poodle" - Boo for short. Cool

The name change didn't phase the dog, but has caused my sister one problem. Boodle's recall isn't good yet and he sometimes takes off down the street (a deadend street). My sister feels silly running down the street after him and yelling "Boo! Boo! Come back here! Boo!"

Sham cou

Posted : 7/31/2007 10:32:22 PM

I always use it to pick out african names for my mongolian gerbils. [

] It is occasionally interesting to try to pronounce some but I tend to pick names with only 2 or 3 simple syllables and really noone else I'm likely to run into is going to know how to pronounce the names any better than I do. I just decide on whatever sounds the best or easiest to say. More languages have fewer vowel sounds and different pronunciations than english anyway. For more common languages you can usually find an online translator or dictionary that shows the correct pronunciation.

racuda

Posted : 7/31/2007 10:38:00 PM

I have read that you can change a dog's name in two weeks, but please don't change it.

I think Schotzi is a much better name than the others mentioned. Forget the objections from others. It is easy to pronounce, and since is does not sound like an English wordit is unique and recognisable to the dog. Just tell people it is pronounced shot-zee