What Was Your Dog's Original Name?

[sandragonfly]

like cats, like dogs.. :D

I'm sure many of you have renamed your pups and see how funny the old name doesn't suit your dog today!

I'd feel weird if I call my crayola lassen! that was his original name (still is, will be in case I outdie him) from guide dogs for the blind in montana and carried to guide dogs of bay area, california. I think he was named after a mountain or a meadowfield named lassen.. :confused: I forgot, I was too excited to get him. :D

my first family dog, mocha (as seen in my signature) was lady at a shelter. it was adopted for my sister, she thought it was a ugly name so she named her after her colour, very pretty mocha!

now, yours? :)

[golden lover]

The breeder had named my dog Kinsoae, but I renamed him to Athos, because I though it was a much moe beautiful name, and worked much better for a Golden Retriever. Nice idea making this board, by the way ;)

[prechrswife]

We've had both of our boys since they were puppies, so Max and Oscar are their original names. :)

[Kfamr]

Simba & Nala were not named.

Kiara was Emily.

[ParNone]

Don't remember what Murph's original name was.

Maddie's name was Trudy. I actually liked the name okay, but I was friends with a girl at work named Trudy. I felt that would be way too akward to name my dog after her. Madison fit her personality better anyway.

Oz's name was Cosmo. I had an ex who's cat's name was Cosmo. Didn't want my dog's name to be a reminder. I liked Oz better, cuz it had a connection to my Cairn Terriers too.

Gulliver's name was Lee. Oh gosh, too plain and so not Gull. He's way too unique in personality and coloring for such a plain name. Plain for a dog I mean. It would be a perfectly okay human name.

Par...

[Suki Wingy]

Gina, my Layla was named Lady too, but Lady was my mom's old dogs' nickname so we renamed her. She was supposed to de Delylah but my mom thought it was too long she shortened it to Lyla, which I hate, so I kept the twang to it by naming her Layla.
Clark was "Little Man"
Niño's name on the shelter form was written as "Nino" but since he only understood spanish commands we were pretty sure they meant Niño. That is, if that was his name, and the old owners didn't missunderstand and tell them his sex ;) :p

[Alysser]

My godfather called her Snowball. LOL! ;) :p

[Roxyluvsme13]

Roxy was Roxy. They just named her that out of the blue though, so she didnt respond to it very well. She almost became a Princess, but I honestly didnt think it fit her. She looks so more like a Roxy, so shes always had that name! :D

[luvofallhorses]

We named all of our dogs. :)
except Ginger (my mom inherited her from my grandmother when she passed away..)

[BC_MoM]

Mickey's name from his owners was Drew.
The rescue called him Bandit.
Now we call him Mickey.

Molly had no name with her owners, whoever they are.
The pound called her Marlie.
Now we call her Molly.

[sammy101]

Lucy had no name when we adopted her
The rescue we got Kodie from named him Bronco,then we re-named him Kodie because we didnt like Bronco that much :o

[Alysser]

DREW!?? LOL! Sorry, that doesn't fit him at all IMO :o

[lute]

Beanie was Rusty at the shelter.

Gracie was Wolfie until we found out she had no grace.

Jake was Male 2 at his breeder. i don't know if that qualifies as a name, but that's what they called him. :p

[poofy]

My sweet SAmmmyj was Rascal..which dont fit him at all..
and I name Yollie at 4 weeks.. :)

[Jessika]

Charlie's original name was Mikey! UGH! I'm so glad I changed it!

[.sarah]

Mandy's name was Tess. I hated that name ... still do. Well, not the name, but it doesn't fit her.

Nova's name was Scout. I actually really like that name, but it is my friend's dog's name. Nova fits her better and I like the name better too. Though I could see myself naming a dog Scout in the future. I think it's a cute name.

Luka was Lulu. Gross gross gross! To me that name belongs on "foofy" little lap dogs, not a big goof like Luka! Luka fits her really well. To me the name is tomboy-ish, and she is really a big tomboy. I almost named her Luna to stick with the outer space theme, but it didn't fit her. Besides, Mandy isn't an outer space name and I doubt my next dog's name would have been even if Luka was Luna.

[.sarah]

Charlie's original name was Mikey! UGH! I'm so glad I changed it!
I thought he was Batman :confused:

[pnance]

Hunter was Bam Bam at the rescue group.
Savannah was Anya from the person who rescued her. Nikka and Bear we kept the same.

[Uabassoon]

Payson didn't have a name he had a number. Something silly like #369575

[Jessika]

I thought he was Batman :confused:

Oh well, that too. That's what the breeder had named him! So I guess he has two first names!

[MariaM]

We called Major "Shadow" at first, which I really didn't like that much for him. The people we got him from called him "Snoopy" which I think really fits him ahah. But he's Major, which is best. :)

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

Tango was Flash

[CathyBogart]

Star and Wilbur were the names we adopted them with. We thought briefly about changing Star to Wiley ('cause she's my little Coyote!) but she already responded to Star and I like that name better. Wilbur just....fits. :) He was named after the piggie in Charlotte's web by the rescue, his sister was Charlotte.

[Glacier]

Most of them I don't know what their names were, I just kept their shelter names but:

Earle's name was Flower. During the time he was with his momma dog, he ate absolutely every speck of color in her owner's yard. He had a particular fondness for flowers. He still enjoys a good snack of wildflowers.

Heyoka's shelter name was Nanook, which durn near every rescue malamute I've ever met has been called at some point in their life!

Deuce's name was Bandit. I already had a Bandit so that was just confusing!

Kayleigh's name was Cowley. I hated it, still hate it, despite the fact that it's actually the name of a lovely little creek near my house.

Muskwa's name for the first five months of his life was "HEY YOU NO"...Stuart couldn't decide on a name!

Daisy's name was Tulip, but her owner likes Daisies better!

[pitc9]

Sierra was named by the rescue I adopted her from, her name was Kierra (something like that) it was pronounced with a rolling "R" :confused:
Buddy was named Barry at the shelter I adopted him from.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

We named Bitsy from a Puppy, that's been her only name.

Charlie was named Shorty when we got him, it didn't fit him whatsoever.

Buster came with his name, we kept it because it fit him so well and we had other obstacles to overcome with him, we didn't need to add a name change to it.

Nacey came with her name, it's different and we really like it, also it fits her well. A few people I know didn't like the name Nacey and tried to convince us to chance it to Lacey, but that didn't fit her. She's our dog and if other people don't like her name that's too bad.

Nova was roughly 9 months old when we found her. We never found out what her original name was.

[gemini9961]

We got Sadie and Maggie as pups so those are their original names. Grant was named Grant at the shelter and we kept it. I tried to change it but hubby didn't like my names for him, they were too girly. :rolleyes: Besides, Grant fits him.

[tricollie4me]

Although we adopted Bijou as a pup from the shelter when she was about 14 weeks old, she had never been named. So she's always just been our Bijou!

[k9krazee]

Shadow - We got Shadow from a relative and they named her Shadow, I wanted to change it but my parents wouldn't let me.

Micki - Micki was Mickey...we (my mom) just changed the spelling. But he obviously got his name for his "Mickey Mouse shaped" spots

Mini - She was originally Angel...bleh, didn't fit her at all.

Kyra - well, we've had her since birth but she did go through a few names. Originally we weren't going to name the pups and she was #5 but it soon turned to Peanut, then Baby and finally Kyra.

EDIT:

Oops..I fogot the J man :o

Jack was Biff...Yuck! :p

[JenBKR]

Roscoe was the same name he had at the shelter, which was what his last owner named him. I thought that it fit him perfectly, and I love The Dukes of Hazzard (the tv show, not the movie), so we kept it. He already knew his name and responded to it really well too, since he was already 3 1/2 and that had been his name all his life.

[dab_20]

Molli's original name was Bella. I got her from my friend... she was angry I changed Molli's name. :rolleyes: I thought it was an ok name... but I like Molli better, and it suits her more.

Sam's name was creek. I thought that was a weird name. It's because he had a white strip going down his back and they said it looked like a creek. He doesn't even have that stripe any more.

[My Peanuts]

Sylvia and Harley didn't have names so those are their original names.

We didn't name Morty. The foster Mom did and we liked it and he already answered to it.

Jimmy was being called Brownie by my friend's Grandpa and people in the neighborhood. No one owned him and he didn't answer to it so we changed it.

[howl4metok]

We have a sort of tradition here.
All our lives both my husband and I aquired dogs either from shelters or were passed off by people we knew who didn't want them. Except Shadow, who followed Dean home as a puppy, and Barney somehow ended up in my dad's pickup truck.

But now that we're together, and all of our dogs come from rescues, we've adopted a rule for naming them. It's a tradition that began with Tok, the first rescue. The rule is, they keep their origional name until adoption is final (most of ours were fosters who we decided to keep), when we know they're here to stay and we have some idea of their personality. Then, in Tok's honor, all the names should start with the letter "T" and should be from one of the various native Alaskan languages. It's a big deal here, as if they earn their new name, and we spend a lot of time and sometimes money researching names.

Tok was once a Marble. He was rescued out of Chena Hot Springs, Alaska. He is named for Tok, Alaska, which is where the Tok river meets another river. The name is Athabascan most likely meaning "Peaceful meeting". Tok was so pleasent and sweet, that Peaceful just fit, and the kooky little name worked very well.

Tikaani was originally Hunter. For a prissy little gal like herself that name was all wrong. She's a sneaky little devil, sly, and quick. She's too smart for her own good, and sometimes a bit jumpy. The sound of the name fit her personality, and the meaning fit her sleek body and energy level. It's an Athabascan word for a female wolf.

Teekan was originally Gage. Gage wasn't bad really, but a new life here without his new name just didn't seem right. He was a foster up until very recently when we lost Tok. We decided he'd done so well here and Tikaani was so sad over Tok, that we should make it official. He's a big clumsy puppy of 105 lbs, with a very distinct mask. He's young and silly but shy. The name just seemed to click, and the translation works well too. It's Athabascan for a male wolf.

Taku was the only other rescue to be named under this rule of ours so far. But what his original name was no one knows. His was picked up by AC and delivered to the GWRescue, very sick and in pain. No one ever tried to claim him, and he was flown to us to be fostered. Because of his very rare pedigree (apparently arctic wolf), his name was easy to pick out. In sound and meaning, the Inuit word Taku means northern bound. It's also a river in Alaska, but since you'd expect to find such an animal only in the most northern territory, it seemed perfect. He's now in a sanctuary, and still keeps this name. He made the most progress with us of any of our rescues, even though he was only a foster. We're proud of him, so I still brag. He's now the ambassador at the sanctuary, the one animal visitors can meet face to face. We're going to visit him again this summer, so I'm very excited.


Eventually, sooner than later, we'll run out of native "T" words to fit these guys. Until then the rule stands. New life, new name, after Tok; all t's of a native language.

[tikeyas_mom]

Babys name used to be Roxy before she came to me..

Oscars was Male #4.. (Breeder)

Tikeya was nameless. (Breeder)

[K9karen]

Cody was gotten as a wee puppy, so that was his only name. Logan was "Rocky" named by her original owners. I had told our PT Logan that my next dog would be named after her (my personal tribute to her)so that's how she was named. She responded to it instantly and it fits her.

[cali]

perky was who knows what with her multiple previous owners
the shelter called her biscuit, we absolutly hated that name and went through pebbles, and roxy before we settled on Perky.

Happys name was Happy lol
Blairs name was Blair

Misty?, actually I have no idea what the breeder called her, I only heard a few of the names they called the pups, I did not hear Mistys.

Ripley's first 2 owners and the shelter called him Roscoe, we change it because when he heard that name he ran full speed in the opposite direction.

[cyber-sibes]

We got Star at 5 weeks old, we named her Blue Moon Star.
My RB Rosie was originally Elsa at the shelter. Pretty, but I liked Rosie better and it fit her personality.
Sherman was Sherman from the breeder, and he's such a Sherman. It's perfect for him. The breeder named him Destiny's Raise the Bar and they called him BarBoy till they settled on Sherman for a call name.
Speedo (remember him?) was first named Cloud. I called him Prince for a while, then my husband picked Speedo. It fit his outgoing personality. Not sure if his new family renamed him.

[Taz_Zoee]

Thank you Gina for sending me the link to this thread!! :) (I posted Zoee in the cat thread :eek:)

Zoee's name at the breeders was Bonnee. We changed it to Zoee and kept with the double E theme she had for the litter without even realizing it. :D

We have lots of new PTer's. So let's hear from you!! :)

[critter crazy]

Dukes name was Barry White! Hubby immediately changed it to Duke, after the Bloodhound from The Beverly Hillbillies. It definitely Suits him!:D

[Sevaede]

Spankys name was originally Tar Tar ! :eek: That's what the lady had been calling her until I got her.

[WELOVESPUPPIES]

Chopper's originally name was Miracle at the breeders. He was premature and they were unsure if he would survive as he was only 56 days duration and weighed 1.5 ounces.

[Canis-Lupess]

I've never renamed any of mine because they didn't have former names because we either got them as pups or bred them ourselves.

The only one I can say anything about is our old Mist who I was going to call Holly but changed my mind and called her Mist which was much better in my opinion. I love that name. I was only 13 at the time. Holly certainly wouldn't appeal to me now for a Border Collie.

[*LabLoverKEB*]

Rita's breeder was orignially going to keep her, but since we wanted her, we got to name her. Her original name was Lizzie. :)

I don't think Sadie's breeder had a name for her, I was too young to remember.

[3muttsandaboston]

Lucy's original name was Shanie (ick) she had this name for the first 15 weeks of her life. She didn't know her name yet so it was ok to change it. She was a crazy and silly so I decided to call her Lucy it suites her very well.

Maggie came with the name Maggie I didn't like it that much but she responded to it well so it stayed Maggie. Now I couldn't imagine her being named anything else.

Gracie came with the name 247b-12 or something like that from the shelter lol. My friend helped me come up with her name on the phone and said how about Grace, I like two syllable so I named her Gracie.

Zoe (R.I.P) well I have no idea of what her name was but when we found her I went on some doggie name websites and named her the one that she responded the best to. Keep in mind that I was only 11 or 12 years old at the time. lol

[cali]

Happy-Happy

Misty-unknown

Electra-Electra

Rusty-Cujo

Perky-Biscuit

Ripley-Roscoe

Blair-Blair

[dogzr#1]

Molly and Astra didn't have any names as we got them when they were puppies.

Prince on the other hand was originally named Taco Bell by his 'owner'. We changed it to Prince because we had a neighbor with two chihuahuas named King and Queen so being the third Chi on the block, we called him Prince.

[fritz03]

We named Fritz after Mom saw a story in the paper with that name.The name on his Canadian Kennel Club papers is Als Junior Macklin.

[tikeyas_mom]

I named tikeya at 6 weeks.. it has always been her name.

I think Oscar was named Panda by his breeders.

Babys original name was Roxy.

Ebonys name has always been Ebony.. Named after her mom, who died in a fire trying to save a girl..

Daisy has always been Daisy..

[crow_noir]

I've never re-named any of my dogs. LOL... then again only one ever came with a name... And he LOVED it and i had no problem with it... that was King.

My Rat Terrier didn't have a name as a pup.

Koli was "Stray" or pooch, or dog, or sweetie, or girl at the pound. She chose her name.

Though i did just help another foster re-name one of his charges! :D Her name was Lakota and came from a depressing situation. She didn't answer to her name and the Fosterer didn't like it. I renamed her Shayla and she responded to it beautifully! She liked the name so her fosterer kept it.

(King had a depressing life too, but he still loved his name. He'd turn on a dime to come running back to you if you said it.)

I don't like the idea of changing a dog's name unless there is a real reason to. (Like in Shayla's case.) I mean if a dog is utterly miserable with their name, so be it. If they like it and respond to it why change it? I think of it in terms of being called something most of my life then one day some one randomly starts calling me something else. Not fun.

[crow_noir]

I took and converted that number to the alphabet :p CFIEGE Could have been a Fiege ;) LOL.


Payson didn't have a name he had a number. Something silly like #369575

[wolfsoul]

Visa was Destiny her firsth few weeks (which I dislike for her)
Solo was Rhythm until he was born a singleton

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Archie was originally Gainsborough, bless him.

Anything less like a classic oil painting I've yet to meet :rolleyes:

[Seravieve]

Zeke was originally 'Forny'. I just couldnt live with that name. Change the F or add some letters to the end.. shoot. And when we'd tell people what his name was back then.. theyd look at us odd.

Bunny was 'Isabelle'. She and Zeke were both strays, so the pound named them both. Is a belle.. too long for a dog. And she didnt know it. She gets hunkered down and runs around the house like a bunny.. Hence 'Bunny'. And she's got a little nub tail like a rabbit. We tried Sierra.. it was too long.. Kenya.. didnt stick. But she responded quickly to Bunny.

Eli was 'Chase'. I couldnt remember it and kept calling him Chance. lol. And I dont like either name.. so we brainstormed and my J came up with Eli.. supposedly short for Elliot. But its 'Eli' or 'Little Man' around here.

Great idea for a thread! :D

[Toby's my baby]

Boo boo we got as a puppy so his name never changed.. i was only 2 when we got him, and the only thing me and my twin sister could say was Boo boo.. so that's what my mom named him. :o

Maggie was maggie... my sister wanted to change it to Lucy, but it didn't fit her so I wouldn't let her.

Autumn was Queenie.... it does not fit her at ALL, plus it's kind of a weird name if you ask me. Autumn was only about 12 weeks old when I got her, and that was over 2 years ago... still to this day if she isn't paying attention and you say it she spins right around. My grandpa will call her Amber sometimes, because thats what he though she should be named because of her color. :o

[cloverfdx]

Tinny was Princess Panda for the first four weeks of life, then her old owners changed it to Tin Tin & now i call her Tinny.

Harri was Gordie from the moment we knew his Mum was in whelp. When the pups were born it just did not suit him. He was going to be Dexter, Parker, Rummy (Pedigree name is Rum n Raisin). I still adore Dexter and Parker as names and will use them in the future.

[sparks19]

Belle's name was Belma when she was at the Kennel. LOL what a goofy name. But we had Belle picked out before we even met her and it suits her because she IS beautiful.

And Beezers name at the kennel was Presley. I like the name Beezer because it fits our "theme" and it sounds silly just like him :D

[CathyBogart]

Jasper was a Jasper at the shelter. I was planning on changing it since he didn't know it yet, but it suits him so well.