I think the dog can't determine if his or her name is depreciative just by the word, but a dog can sense something in how a person addresses it... So for example, say a dog's name was Stupid. And so everyone who addressed it, might have a certain attitude toward the dog because of his name, and I think the dog would pick up on that. I think when people name their dog something like that, they have a bad attitude about their dog and their dog knows this. So I agree that it's best to change that kind of a name, because it will change how people address the dog and even think of him or her.

If I saw a dog named something bad, I would feel bad saying their name, and I think the dog would pick up on that too. But I don't think they actually know what the word means or that the word itself is bad.

Just my take on it