So you just brought home a cute, floppy-eared puppy, the perfect puppy for your family—congratulations! What did you name him? You don’t have a name picked out yet? Well, your puppy needs a name, especially if you intend to teach him commands. Training your puppy to learn his name is pretty simple since dogs learn by association. For example, repeat his name while patting or brushing him. You’ll want to say his name often the first few weeks he’s at home and always in a happy tone; never yell at him using his name.

It can be difficult trying to find that perfect name for your pup—and you’ll want to select the best name for him because he’s going to have that name for the rest of his life and you’ll be saying it a lot. Just a bit of trivia for you: Did you know that a dog’s name is spoken and heard more than any other family member’s name? Yup, it’s true!

Selecting a puppy’s name will tell a lot about your puppy, you and your bond with your pup, which brings both of you together for life. So choose wisely! If you’re still having trouble naming your pup, don’t worry, keep reading and you’ll get some tips on how to pick the perfect name.

• When you’re trying to pick your pup’s name, why not make it a family game? The “Name Our Puppy” game! The more heads that are thinking of names the better it is. Everyone is going to be calling the puppy’s name and it’s a great idea to let all the family members feel as if they’re responsible for the puppy.
• Don’t pick a name that rhymes with commands. For example, Bop rhymes with the “stop” command and Fay rhymes with “stay”. Also, stay away from rhyming names; if your husband has the nickname of Rusty, don’t name your pup Dusty. In both of these situations, the puppy will only become confused when you call him.
• Dogs understand commands better when they’re short. So, with this theory in mind, choose a name that has only one or two syllables—three at the most. If you’d like to name your puppy King Peter of Linden Park, that long name is best suited for the registration papers and it’s best to just simply call him King.
• Always make sure you pick a name that you won’t be embarrassed to call out when you’re in public. Would you be proud to call Ogre, Tramp or Satan while you’re in the dog park? Sure, they may sound cool to you, but other people won’t agree.
• If you want to be unique, look around you and you’ll discover that there are many sources of inspiration and ideas for your pup’s name. While you’re spending time with him, check out his appearance and maybe that’ll give you an idea for a name. If you have a Pug, for example, you could name him Folds or Wrinkles.
• Some great names can be taken from TV, cartoon and movie dogs. Marley, Benji, Odie, Lassie, Marmaduke, Snoopy, Beethoven, Lady and Pluto are all good examples.
• The clue to unlocking your pup’s name could be in his personality. For a puppy that’s always getting into mischief, you could name him Rascal or for a sweet, little female puppy, Candy would be a good fit.
• Sometimes people are tempted to succumb to trendy names. These names might not sound so neat after the trend has passed. Stay with the timeless names that go beyond trends.
• Try and avoid tough aggressive sounding names for dog breeds that already have that stereotype, such as ‘killer’ or ‘brutus’ and give them a softer cute name like ‘cuddles’ or ‘roly’. This helps with other people’s perception of the breed.
• Make certain that your pup won’t grow out of his name that you give him. You don’t want to name your cute, little puppy Petunia if she’ll grow into a 70-pound Bernese Mountain Dog! It’s not really a good name for a dog of that size.
• There are many dog owners that rely on this…Ask your puppy if he’s content with the name you’ve picked out for him. Hey, it may sound crazy to you, but it can actually work! Choose the top five names from your “favourite puppy names” list and see how he reacts to each name; his behavior will be a sign of what he thinks of that name.

There are numerous names to choose from, so have fun selecting one and have even more fun teaching your pup his name. If you need some help with your new puppy, please contact us. We’re always happy to help!