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To Rename Or Not To Rename?


Guest SparrowLake

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It's your dog and your life, have a conversation with your husband and decide if the potential for a new name is on the table. In the end, we are the caretakers and dogs are pretty malleable to humans and will accept what we teach them. The End.

 

If you want to keep the emotional and very human attachment to their track name, keep it. If the name doesn't work for you, change it.

 

Of my hounds, I kept one and changed two. I love training the dogs and think including name association games makes training more fun, whether it is the old name or a new one.

 

Congratulations on your future new addition. We brought our first dog home knowing his name would change. He did just fine without a name at all for a few days while we figured out what to call him.

Colleen with Covey (Admirals Cove) and Rally (greyhound puppy)
Missing my beloved boy INU (CJ Whistlindixie) my sweetest princess SALEM (CJ Little Dixie) and my baby girl ZOE (LR's Tara)

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Guest SparrowLake

Thank you ALL SO MUCH!!! Your feedback has been really helpful. My husband and I have gone over each and every one of your posts. The advice has been so good to read.

 

We had a family meeting tonight to discuss our name choices and we could not agree! I started a new thread that lists our name choices so far. Please use this link to the thread and vote!...

 

http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/290155-help-vote-for-a-name-for-our-new-red-brindle/

 

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Guest FreeholdHound

My boys racing name was RC Danger (call name Danger). Doesn't really fit the lovable dope that he is and I'd sound like a nut calling it in public. The adoption group named him Huggie. I couldn't get the idea that that was the pimps name from Starsky & Hutch TV show out of my head (Huggie Bear). So after staring at his picture for a few days he just looked like a Harry. He picked it up quickly.

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| Rachel | Dewty, Trigger, and Charlotte | Missing Dazzle, Echo, and Julio |

dewttrigsnowsig.jpg
Learn what your greyhound's life was like before becoming part of yours!
"The only thing better than the cutest kitty in the world is any dog." -Daniel Tosh

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Maddie's racing name was "Doobiesaurus" kennel name was Doby. She picked up on Maddie really fast. When she is "really" in trouble it is full name Madaket Doobiesaurus Houdini Martin. LOL She is a houdini

Amy Human Mommy to fur baby Maddie (Doobiesaurus) TDI certified. May 5, 2002-September 12, 2014 and Mille (Mac's Bayou Baby)CGC, TDI certified.

 

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj93/Chillyhorse/siggies/maddie.jpg"]http://i270. photobucket.com/albums/jj93/Chillyhorse/siggies/maddie.jpg[/img]

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  • 1 year later...
Guest kalzanetti

I am glad I found this thread, as I was going to ask the same thing. All I know this far is one name. I don't have his tattoo #s or his full name. He is 2.5 and I cant wait to see him or a picture of him. In my mind, I had a name for 2 dogs that matched, then 1 name for one. IDK what I will do til I see him. I am SO excited. We will see how he responds to his given name.

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I would've loved to keep Cleo's racing name. But it was Rico's Azeri. Just didn't fit the beautiful little brindle girl! So Cleo it is (after MUCH deliberation/arguments/discussions between the 5 of us!) Good luck. He will adjust quickly to his new name if you go that route.

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I have never changed a kennel name - and all of mine have known theirs. Harley (Tweed Prince) came to me off the hauler 2 days after his last race at Bluffs and knew his name. Thank goodness I knew his trainer or I'd have gone blue in the face calling him Prince. :) Buck (Dehli Bu Qu Buck) came straight out of the track adoption kennel and knew his name. Comfort (Slatex Comfort) darn well knows his name too.

 

That said, all my dogs answer to multiple names - Poodle is Poobup, Piddle, Poo and several more. Barkley answers to Sparkle and Spark. Comfort is Comfie or Shadow at times.

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There just comes a time when you have to change their name. There was one dog named Skunky Toad Lips! There's nothing about that name I would want to keep. :rofl

tivvy-gigi-heaven-gabby-2.jpg

 

Waiting at the bridge: Blaze, Rodney, Lady, Spice, Sarahlee, Callie and Baby

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Guest chickenpotpie

Her race name is CJC's GoodLuck so Lucky it was! She know that name so it just made sense. Besides, she also answers to mommy's girl or mommy's lucky girl... :hehe:beatheart

 

 

 

 

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Dogs don't know they have a name - they just learn to look at us and come to us when we reinforce them paired with a certain sound. Names are a human thing - we identify ourselves by our names and our history, etc. Dogs do not. They identify each other by smell. They're smart and want to please us and want good things to happen, like affection and treats, so they learn that looking at us or coming to us when we say "Princess", for example, good things happen. Princess is the smartest of the five greyhounds I've had and she came to me responding to Princess, but she doesn't know it's her name or her identity. Dogs can learn what many different words (which are just sounds to them) mean pretty quickly and I don't think it stresses them out or confuses them to learn new ones.

 

I had a collie X basset hound (Abby) years ago that learned the names of her different toys(ball, rope, tug) without me even making an effort to teach her. I realized later I must have reinforced it but it wasn't conscious at the time. And my beloved weimaraner, Hannah, knew lots of words and even knew when I said another dog's name that I was talking to or about them. I was stunned to realize one day that when I said Frosty (my first greyhound), she would look at him first , then at me, and back to him. She would also do that with 3 other dogs she saw on a regular basis. My next door neighbor had dogs named Montford and JD and if I said either of their names she would go to the window and look at their house and then look back at me. :lol

 

 

If a dog comes to me named and I like the name, I keep it. If not, I change it.

Cynthia, & Cristiano, galgo
Always in my heart: Frostman
Newdawn Frost, Keno Jet Action & Chloe (NGA racing name unknown), Irys (galgo), Hannah (weim), Cruz (galgo), & Carly CW Your Charming

Princess http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?i=1018857

"It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them. And every new dog who comes into my life, gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are." -- Unknown

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Mickey was my first grey. His racing name was Perfectly Stable...I couldn't make a name of that. His kennel name was Paleface. His handler in the prison program called him Face, but he never responded to that. Because I wanted him to be a therapy dog, I wanted to take away his large, scary almost black image. I named him Mickey, and he wears a vest with a picture of Mickey Mouse on it. Kids are scared at a distance, but are ok when they see that!

Tucker and Suds had been in a home together for several years before coming to me. They knew their names, so I kept them.

Meeka and Bubba were 11 when I got them after their owner died. I kept those names.

In march, I got Ace and CeeCee after their owner died. I was ok with those names.

My broods were eight when I got them. Van's Misty Morn is now Misty. Glimmering Gems was called Gem on the breeding farm, but quickly learned Gigi.

Your dog, your choice. Change it if you hate it.

I bought my grandson a pony a few years ago. She came with the name Reeses. My son and his wife like the candy with that name, and thought the name was cute. I HATE the candy, and never call her that. I call her Pony, and she responds to that name. To me,her name is Pony!

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Guest k9soul

I think it's all a matter of personal choice. Sometimes I think it's easier for us to use a name they already know and respond to. At the kennel I was told they called Rudy (Odd Rhubarb) Rhubarb. When he came to GO they began calling him Rudy. He was called that in his first two placements (short ones) and then when he went to his third home he was called Rubin. When he came back to GO again (after a year) he was called Rudy again. I decided to leave his name Rudy.

 

I saw him on the adoptables page as Rudy a couple weeks before I met him and chose him (or before he chose me!). After a little over a week he came home, and by that time I had thought of him as Rudy for over 3 weeks and it just seemed odd to start calling him something else.

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Yes, they know their name.

 

I have only renamed one of mine and it was my very first. She knew her kennel name, in fact still does, but quickly learned the name I was using.

 

SOME of them know their names. George was almost 5 when I got him. His name was Chile. He did not, and does not, respond in any way, shape, or form to Chile, Chilly, Chee-lay, etc. I recently made contact with his actual kennel keeper. Yes, his name was Chile, but he was called Chilly Cheese Fries in the kennel. And he doesn't respond to that either!

 

There is one school of thought that when a dog starts a new life, it's actually BEST to give it a new name.

 

I don't happen to think dogs give a darn what you call them as long as you're kind, and feed them! So just pick a name YOU like, and go for it!


Hamish-siggy1.jpg

Susan,  Hamish,  Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck

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My daughter and I both adopted greyhounds and neither one responded to their call name. We both renamed them. Her dog’s call name was Ferdi and she changed it to Charlie. He did not have any trouble learning his new name.

 

I changed Pelton to Payton. He started responding within a couple of days. I nicknamed him Paypay and he responds to that as well.

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Payton, The Greyhound (Palm City Pelton) and Toby, The Lab
Annabella and Julietta, The Cats
At the Bridge - Abby, The GSD

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Guest Lisa_S

It was a tough decision for us too but then I got her home and she responded to it so that was that. Her full name is Kiowa KJ Gale. KJ isn't my fave but when I resized she knew it, I just kept it. Lazy I guess lol!

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Guest Waterdog66

Audrey's racing name was "Cookie Clarice".

 

I was none to keen on keeping this name for her for two reasons:

 

1). I did not want her to associate her name with cookies

2). I definitely did not want a bunch of Hanibal Lecter Jokes popping up at random times (As In: "It Rubs The Lotion On Its Skin" or "When the Hound hears the rabbit scream, he comes runnin', but not to help", or "The Last Census Taker that knocked on my door was eaten by the hound with a nice chianti and some fava beans")

 

Her Kennel name was Wahini which is Hawaiian for Woman Queen. She was known at the Kennel as "Teeny Wahini" because she is somewhat Diminutive and has a yelpy bark. We quickly decided that that would do either in spite of the fact that Hawaii has some mythical importance in my life. (Ali'i drive, the Energy Lab and the Lava Fields just to make a few)

So, we settled on a name that we chose and since we had just watched Breakfast at Tiffany's when we got the call about out adoption, Audrey it was. It sure makes for some great puns when we are out on our adventures with her :)


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Guest Impossiblealto

My lurcher was first called Zeus. When he was returned to the shelter they staff called him Smokey. Now we call him Mutt. I think dogs learn very quickly to associate the tone of your voice with the word. Of course I have 20 different nicknames for him too :D :D :D

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I'd say it's about 50/50 with dogs we adopt out on people keeping their names. We pretty much work with the same owners so we usually know what their kennel names are. Sometimes it bums me out when someone changes what I think is an awesome name, but I don't think the dogs really care. I was happy that my friend kept Woot's name.

 

I kept Mimi's name because her foster family had given it to her. Her kennel name was Ring (Flying Ringneck) and they didn't think it suited her. Mimi definately fit her. If I was picking now, I'd probably keep Molly's name Blondie just because I appreciate the humor in a dark brindle girl with Blondie as a name. However, she didn't know it at all and knowing where she came from I doubt she was called much of anything. Rocky's name was Popeye and he knew it. I HATED that name. There was no way we were keeping it. We changed it to Rocky and he only got called Popeye when he wasn't paying attention.

Maddy's name is Reuniting and I don't think they ever really called her anything either. We asked the animal communicator what she wanted her name to be and she told her Madeline like Madeline Albright, but Maddy for short. I will say that she does also answer to Madam Secretary, so who knows :dunno . RJ came to us as RJ and we kept it. And, there was no way we could change Wingnut's name! Our pre-adopt is Nose Stradamus and goes by Romey or Nosey, depending on who's talking to him. I'm pretty sure we're going to stick with Romey.

 

My friend did adopt a dog named Bankroll. They called him Bankroll at the track. She wanted to change his name to Banks because it was a little shorter. He could NOT figure it out and they ended up going back to Bankroll.

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Wingnut (DC Wingnut), Voo Doo (Voo Doo von Bonz), Barb (Myokie Barb) & Romey (Nose Stradamus)
at the bridge Molly (CM Blondie) 9/8/14, Maddy (Reuniting) 10/17/13, Rocky (Ranco Popeye) 1/7/12, Mimi (Flying Ringneck) 8/13/09 and RJ (RJ What For) 5/3/05

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We have kept all of our Grey's/Galgo's names except two.

 

Master, Marco and Lucas kept their names. Ambi's was shortened from Ambitious, his kennel name.

 

Diego was Brute Force- There is nothing Brutish or Forceful about him so we renamed him.

We got Tosca as a puppy and got to name her from the start. We just thought Tosca was different.

Tin and Michael and Lucas, Picasso, Hero, Oasis, Galina, Neizan, Enzo, Salvo and Noor the Galgos.
Remembering Bridge Angel Greyhounds: Tosca, Jamey, Master, Diego, and Ambi; plus Angel Galgos Jules, Marco and Baltasar.

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