Posted on 10/21/2009 3:37:33 AM PDT by Daffynition
Metro Vancouver dog owners have forgotten Fido, rejected Rover and pretty much scrapped Rags.
Since the turn of the century, your furry friend has a better chance of having a human name than a traditional canine moniker. Enter Max, Charlie, Molly, Lucy, Sam and Abby.
Max is widely reported to be the most popular dog name on the planet and The Vancouver Sun's 100,000-entry dog-name database shows that local dog owners are true to the trend. There are 1,347 dogs named Max registered in the 15 municipalities that contributed data to the project, good for first overall.
The global dominance of Max is a sea change from the days when Rex was king and Fido was quintessentially man's best friend.
The name Fido grew rapidly in popularity in the 1860s when U.S. president Abraham Lincoln's yellow Lab cross was photographed for a portrait and became the first presidential pet to attain celebrity status. Fido, whose name means faithful in Latin, did not accompany the Lincolns to Washington, but did attend the president's funeral procession in Springfield, Ill.
"Fido has been on the outs for quite a while," said UBC psychology professor Stan Coren. "But he was the first presidential dog to be photographed and became quite popular."
Sometimes particular names become family traditions. Famed psychologist Kurt Kafka had at least six dachshunds named Max.
"When I asked [Kafka] about that, he said the first one was named Max and the second one looked very much like him," Coren recalled. "Kafka said, 'We called him something else, but I kept calling him Max.'"
British prime minister Winston Churchill kept toy poodles, all named Rufus.
"When asked his dog's name, Churchill said, 'Rufus Two, but the Two is silent.'"
Today the tendency is to give dogs human names.
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at vancouversun.com ...
My 11-pound mutt is named Mo. Any guesses which 7th century (so-called) prophet he’s named after? It did make it easier to have him neutered.
That’s a hilarious quote. And the look on her face.
I’ve always let pets name themselves, it usually takes about a week.
Several of us (neighbors) got together and rescued a very abused and neglected St. Bernard puppy. It took a lot of clipping, soap and brushing to make him comfortable. In about a month he had fleshed out and looked like he’d make it - even as a puppy he ate a lot of food. He ended up being called “Bruno”, it fit. I picked up an abandoned puppy from alongside the road. He was too smart for his own good and ended up being called “Old Fred”. My wife talked be into taking in another neglected dog, a little Pomeranian. After a visit to a vet he almost looked like one. She called him “Boogie” because he didn’t just walk, he boogied.
Since Ed died, we have adopted two girls that were basically abandoned. Our husky/something mix came with the name Yenta (Yiddish for gossip or loudmouth) which fits her to a T. And the other is a registered yellow lab named Hunter Harley, but the previous owners wanted a more girly name for her, so they called her Haley. She is 7 so she kept her name (Haley).
Later, when the dog started getting fat, I started comparing notes with my neighbors - and all of us were feeding the dog - he was playing on all of us - and to a person, we all had named him 'knucklehead' or 's***head' - but he had the last laugh. He mooched off all of us and eventually moved in with the frat house on the next block.
...he may have been sent from there from the beginning
“The Vancouver Sun’s 100,000-entry dog-name database”
The “journalists” that we are being told that we need to save keep a database on dog’s names. Isn’t that special?
I first dogs were Sam and a Tucky, then Kodi and Shadow and my current dogs are Sarge and Miss Scarlet.
A good friend gave us a Pug puppy in February, and we named him Gus; no reason other than it just fits him.
We had a dog named Max. My son named him.
And why would the poster’s comment be removed for goodness sake?
Hey! We had a ‘knucklehead’! His name was Doofus and he wasn’t dumb either. He just looked it (boy that was one ugly dog but I loved him so!) and played every one of us on the street.
We had Theodore, a 5 lb. Poodle...meaning “gift of God”.
Only because SweetBaby gave him to me to keep me company when we had no relatives in our area.
It was waay too quiet when I came home to an empty house.
He went to “puppy heaven” as the g-kids say, 3 years ago.
And then Henry, a 6 lb. Malti-Poo because he truly wanted to “rule the estate”.
And was soooo happy about it! :-)
Both names fit quite nicely.
“It would indeed be disappointing for your family’s Lassie to just stand and stare down into the well at Timmy rather than run for help.”
LOL!! We had a Terry and a Jingo when I was growing up. My dad named Terry, Jingo named himself. We had Chaps, a field spaniel of some sort who looked like he was wearing a pair of chaps because of his feathers. My son named Rascal, a black lab. We now have Libby, a husky mix and Lucy a terrier-heaven only knows what mix, both SPCA adoptees. Youngest son named Libby and Lucy named herself and she is MINE, heart and soul.
My uncle had a black lab named Trouble.
My older Chocolate Lab's breeder had a "list" of approved names from which we had to choose for her registered name. Several of the other pups had already been sold, so we were left with "Lady Godiva", "Chocolate Cheese" and "Brown Bombshell". Had to put the kennel name, Sumo, and her parents' names (Coco and Dozer) up front. Chocolate Cheese was right out, what a horrible thing to name a dog, and it was obvious even at 10 weeks that she was no lady . . . so she's SHR Sumo's CoDoz Brown Bombshell JH, AX, AXJ, AD, AJ, CGC, WC, Shelley for short. All the letters she earned herself.
The younger one we were given free rein, other than putting the Candlewood kennel prefix at the front. Her sire is FC/AFC The Man In Black, call name "Cash", so we named her after a Johnny Cash song. We actually put it up on FR for discussion and got some really good suggestions, wound up with SHR Candlewood Rock 'n' Roll Ruby CGC, WC, JH (just earned her JH Saturday!)
NOW . . . . it looks like we're going to be getting a third dog. . . maybe. It's one of those 'I don't know if I ought to be getting into this' situations -- a 7 month old yellow Lab female with absolutely NO training (her dam's owners have been very busy with their small business in this downturn) but there is royalty in the world that wishes they had a pedigree like hers. Mom is Hey Paco, Rebel With a Cause, Riparian Roughrider, Honest Abe, Super Tanker and Trumarc's Zip Code - all field champions. Dad is doubled up on Zip Code, also Lean Mac, Honest Abe, and Cotton Pickin' Cropper. And the Dickendall line, which are famous conformation Labs.
I know her father extremely well and he's a wonderful boy - first class hunting dog but very sweet-tempered and perfect house manners. The mom is as cute a little (50 pounds) yellow Lab as you'll ever meet, and a VERY affectionate lap dog.
What shall we name this girl - if we decide to get her? Her dad's given name is Green Timber Woody, her mom is Pearly Girl.
The floor is open!
I think Mohammad is a great name for a dog.
Barack for a pig.
Hillary for a rattlesnake.
...and if I had to name a ManBearPig, it would be Al.
He was at the friendly stage so we had a pleasant conversation. Made a point of cultivating Trouble's acquaintance (always a treat in my pocket) and so did my girls . . . . now he's glad to see us whenever we meet, which is a good thing.
Our dog trainer calls my younger girl “Knucklehead”. She’s earned it. Lots of enthusiasm but not a lot of self control. At three she’s finally demonstrating some brains - we were beginning to worry.
Abe Lincoln's dog Fido. Possibly the first First Dog ever photographed.
President Hoover and his favorite dog, King Tut
Franklin Roosevelt and Fala
That’s good. I knew a couple that had a dog named “Killer”. When they went to get the dog license, the authorities were trouble by the name. Then the owners pointed out that the dog was a Yorkshire terrier.
We named our dog “Lucky”. Her mom was a rescue dog, found with mange and heartworms. The vet gave her arsenic to kill the heartworms and it worked. But then discovered she was pregnant with 4 pups. All 4 were born normal, but ours was the biggest puppy. She is lucky to be here.
Johnson and Yuki
Reagan, Lucky, and Margaret Thatcher
We had a beagle named Pierre Gustave Toussant Beaureagard but he answered to D***it. He jumped up on my folks so much that my dad was always telling him “Down, D***it!”
My dog looks just like the RCA dog standing in front of the Victrola and we lived on Victorian Circle - Therefore, she became Vicky. If she had been male it would have been "Nipper."(I worked for RCA at one time.)
Other dogs we have adopted and since gone to the Rainbow Bridge, Easy, Daisy, Coco, and Jack.
GRETA
I so totally know.
For instance, we named our dog "Falcon."
My niece is naming her first daughter Molly after her childhood family dog. Isn’t it something when children are named after a beloved dog?
BTW, my dog is named Rex, but my previous dogs were Jim and Ginger.
My dog is named Rufus. He's about 25x bigger than a toy poodle, however.
What did your dog do to you to deserve that name?
He's irrational, completely uninformed, no sense of responsibility at either end, mindlessly combative, messy, noisy way beyond his size, prone to bluffing about his courage but he turns into a quivering ball of worry when faced with a real threat or even a loud voice, he faces the world as if it were something to conquer and barks loudly when faced with anything outside of his limited experience.
It seems appropriate.
It seems appropriate.
When he promotes his woofings as the word of Dog, tries to subjugate the neighboring yards, and gets hitched to a puppy, please warn us!
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