How To Choose Dog Names For Your Puppy

Give Me A Name 

If you just added a new puppy or dog to your family, one of the first orders of business is naming your pup. Your dog's name is an important part of how he will be perceived by others and the way they react to him, so the name you choose is important. Just think about it this way....

You are at the dog park and in the off-leash area you hear an owner call out to his dog: Bruiser, Dagger, or Lucifer, come here. Now ask yourself, would you think twice about going into the area with your little Snowball?

So just how do you go about choosing a great name for your dog?

5 Steps for Choosing Dog Names 

1. Type of Dog - What breed of dog do you own? Search the breed traits to help narrow down your choices. If you have a strong, bold, fearless breed you can lean towards a name that fits those traits like Hercules and vice versa.
2. Physical Characteristics - Use your dog's physical features to help you decide on a name. Does your new dog have any distinguished markings? For instance, a white dog with black fur just around his eyes could be named Zorro!
3. Personality - Watch and play with your new puppy a few days to see what his personality is really like. A super playful pup could be called Zippy, whereas the pup that just wants to sleep all day could be called Slumber.
4. Sex of dog - You can narrow your choices down further depending on whether your dog is a male or female. Or you can decide on a unisex name for your pet.
5. Command sounding names - Stay away from names rhyming with commands. A dog named Shay might confuse his name with the command Stay.

A few more tips to naming your dog

Make it a family decision: If you have children in your family, have everyone suggest names for your new dog or puppy. Once everyone contributes, vote on the names as a family to narrow down to the final name. Your dog's name should be one the entire family likes.

Get inspiration from your favorite things: There are lots of different sources you can use to get inspiration for names. Try your favorite comic book heroes, celebrity names, city names, or choose your favorite clothing designer's name or brand names, like Gucci. The possibilities are endless.

Just remember whatever dog name you choose for your new family member, you will be using it quite often each and everyday, so be sure you like the name and it is one your dog will easily respond to.