| What’s
in a name? Some dogs are carelessly given inane names. Other dogs
receive lengthy meandering names. The lucky ones get names that
please both their canine sensibilities and their owner. Choosing
the dog’s name is important because a statistical survey reported
that the owner will utter such name for about 35,000 times.
The conscientious
owner must consider both the appearance and personality of the
puppy or dog. Appearance refers to how the dog looks like. The
dog’s color, size, coat, and general body shape can give the
owner a pretty good idea of what the name should be. Personality
will be indicated by the actions and preferences of the dog.
One dog may want to crawl-slide across the carpet towards its
master while another dog seems to prefer sitting upright while
staring at the window, like a sentry.
If the new dog owner
is still at a loss in choosing the perfect name, here are some
suggestions:
1. Watch TV – The
television is a good source of great doggie names. There is
“Astro”, “Lasso”, “Rin Tin Tin” and the famous “Scooby”.
2. Watch movies –
Movies are great sources for names of dogs, such as Cool Hand
Luke’s “Blue”, The Pink Panther’s “Amber”, and, of course, “Rover”.
The owner may also choose names of characters that do not necessarily
belong to a dog, such as “Yoda”
3. Read comics –
Great dogs are found in comic books. There is “Daisy”, “Odie”,
“Goofy”, and, of course, “Snoopy”. Again, the owner may choose
names that are not used on dogs, such as “Mickey”
4. Read books – Books
are great sources of dogs that made many exploits, such as “Arlo”
(from the works of Erma Bombeck), “Bluebell” (from George Orwell’s
“Animal Farm”), and “Toto” (from the “Wizard of Oz”), “Argus”
(from the Greek epic “Odyssey”) and “Buck” (from Jack London’s
“Call of the Wild”).
5. Check out celebrities
– Actors and actresses own dogs, which fame may eclipse that
of their masters., such as the Osbournes’ and Hilary Duff’s
“Lola”
6. Check out history
– History has its share of important dogs. “Laika” was the first
dog in space aboard Sputnik, the Russian space satellite. “Balto”
was the heroic lead dog in a team of Siberian huskies who determinedly
carried the Diphtheria serum from Anchorage to Nome, 650 miles
away and besieged by an epidemic. “Robot” was the curious dog
who discovered the celebrated cave paintings at Lascaux. And
“Old Shep”, considered as the most faithful dog because he kept
a five-year vigil at the train station in Fort Benton, Montana,
after watching the coffin of his master placed inside a train.
The examples listed
above represent a small chunk of the almost infinite choices
placed before a new dog owner. One of them may be the right
name for the wonderful new puppy. |
