Recently in names Category

Since I posted earlier today about the 10 wackiest dog and cat names released by the folks at the Veterinary Insurance group, I figured I should follow up with a bit of a warning.

Read any "How to name your dog" book or article, and they'll tell you to pick a name you can -- without embarrassment -- call out loud in a crowd.

This rule was broken by Rollin Keller's Aunt Jean. Rollin is a former pastor of mine who spins family tales on his new blog called Old Guys Rule. I posted an earlier story of his last month about the cat that ate the wedding cake. (He's got several other animal related posts up, as well.)

But when it comes to naming your dog, My Aunt's Dog really is one you should read -- and remember:

My Aunt's Dog

The folks at Veterinary Pet Insurance have sent out their 10 most unusual dog and cat names for the second year. There are also descriptions as to how these names were chosen on the web site. And actually, there are more than 10 -- see more of them on the group's web site as well:  

	Doogie Schnauzer Md		Snag L. Tooth
	Sargent Sausage		Clawed Monet
	I Am Sparticus		Velvet Elvis
	Lunchbox		Eartha Kitty
	Angus Sir Loin		Blue Man Chew
	Bam-Bam Noodle Butt		Catzilla
	Mouse Meat		Thurston Picklesworth III
	Fluffernutter		Yardsale
	Kanye East		Dishwasher
	Inspector Foo Foo		Polly Prissypants

So here it is: The First Family has decided on a Portuguese water dog. Just like Fernando who goes to our dog park. !  Go Fernando!   (He's the one sitting alone in the photo above, my dog Tess is under the bench). Good choice. They seem to be great dogs.

First Lady Michelle Obama told People magazine that her family has decided to adopt a Portuguese water dog, pointing to the breed's medium-sized and good-natured reputation. The breed is also hypoallergenic -- a must, given daughter Malia's allergy to dogs.

The first lady said her daughters will have to wait until the end of April to get the dog, since her family is planning on going away for Spring Break.

The only thing left to pick is the name, and Mrs. Obama said she is not a fan of her daughters' choices.

"There are names floating around and they're bad," Mrs. Obama said in the interview. "You listen and you go - like, I think, Frank was one of them. Frank! Moose was another one of them. Moose. I said, well, what if the dog isn't a moose? Moose. I'm like, no, come on, let's work with the names a little bit."

 

You can read more about the breed on the AKC Web site and also here at another dog breed site. And PetPlace also has some good info on the dogs. (Does the White House have a swimming pool?) They're described as friendly and active with webbed feet, making them terrific swimmers.

So now what to name the First Dog?

Some suggestions I kind of like (some are mine, others came from elsewhere) include: Liberty. Patriot. Freedom. Justice. Change. Hope. Bailout.

Or how about DOTUS (a take-off on POTUS, President of the United States)? I kind of like that one, though I'm sorry to say I didn't think of it. (Someone also suggested FIDOTUS, but that might a bit cumbersome to call).

They could also go for a water or fishing name -- or look to Portugal, to reflect the dog's origins. Like Fernando! I love Fernando.

Anyway, we'd really like to hear what you think about a name, so send them in via comments or emails and we'll post them.  

General guidelines say that a dog's name should be easy to pronounce and probably should end in a vowel sound since pets hear those sounds better. Nicknames for dogs usually wind up that way anyhow. (So Patriot might wind up Patty, Justice could end up being Justy, DOTUS would probably morph into Dody or Dodo, etc.) It should be something with no more than 2 syllables, or so the expert namers say.  

They say you should always make sure whatever name you pick is something that won't embarrass you when calling out the dog's name in public, of course.

Oh, the suspense, the pressing issues of our day.

   .

Some names are strictly for humans -- Allan, Steve, Vivian, for instance. Sure, people will give their pets names like that to be funny or ironic, but they're really human names.

Some names are strictly for animals -- Spot, Mittens and Snowflake are examples that come to mind.

And then there are names that work for both. There are countless examples of that, but here is a list of people I work with who fit in that category:

Sandy

Jack

Walter

Chuck

Gazelle

Leo

Sam

Max

You've seen the lists of the most common dog and cat names.

But these lists below are a lot more fun to read. Max, Jake, and Maggie -- move over.

Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI)  has compiled the top 10 most unusual dog and cat names based on the more than 465,000 pets the company insures.

Top 10 Unusual Dog Names:                                          

 

Not all Americans have bought into the concept of monosyllabic human names for their pets.

For some, the pet name trend is toward the unusual -- or just plain bizarre. 

... "The dog park would definitely be a more interesting place if you heard people saying, 'Fetch, Rafikikadiki,' or, 'Come here, Meatwad,'" said Curtis Steinhoff, senior director of VPI Corporate communications. "I might be a little hesitant to introduce people to Miss Fuzzbutt or Sir Lix-a-lot, but I can't think of many better conversation starters."

 

Via: Wagreflex

OK, you've just brought your new dog (or cat) home. "Hey, you" won't do for very long, so you begin the search for just the perfect name. I have friends who manage to do this in a snap -- my friend Shirley, for example. "Nash" she announced in all confidence in an e-mail to me, literally moments after she'd brought home a kitten so tiny he still needed to be bottle fed.

Me? Names are a bit more complicated in my universe. I think it's because I'm a writer, but maybe it's just some strange personal quirk of indecisiveness that can paralyze me every so often. I often spend days poring over lists, my own and others' (if you're not aware, there are exhaustive lists of pet names now online). I bounce various possibilities off friends, I try a few out on the dog. I wring my hands, I say to myself, "It's OK, but .... there must be a better name out there, somewhere. And so I stop thinking about it altogether. 

Last weekend, I adopted a new dog, a border collie. She is beautiful and she came with the very appropriate name of "Purdy." That's a fine enough name, except I've discovered that I absolutely cannot say it without using a long, hillbilly twang. "Purrdeee." I am making both of us crazy. 

The right name will come. I'm simply named out. So for now, it's "Hey! You! -- Purrrdeee."