So the burning question in everyone’s minds these days is whether it’s okay to change a rescue dog’s name after adopting them. While it might sound like a simple question having a simple answer, it’s not that easy!
So I was at the shelter a couple of months back, you know, when we could step out of the house and not be scared for our lives, when I overheard a couple saying, “Aww… he’s adorable, but I don’t like the name. I mean, I can’t see myself calling him that.” And that was the end of the poor little dog’s chance of finding his forever loving home. His name. Of course, he found his forever loving home, with us. The point is, there are many dogs who are overlooked simply because they have odd names or names potential parents don’t like.
What we need to understand is that any dog can learn to respond to a new name and that their given name should NOT determine whether they will be adopted or not.
Unlike humans, dogs don’t rely on the same concept of identity so a human George will respond to George, but a dog George will respond to Max if they’re called Max for a longer period of time – it’s a matter of consistency for dogs and they can easily respond to new names. I mean come on, don’t dog parents give their dogs cute nicknames? Don’t dogs respond to those nicknames? They do, so our concept makes sense.
Not all dogs have weird given names, but there are times when adoption shelters will recommend that you change the dog’s name to help them forget their abusive past. For example, a Bruno who’s lived most of his life in an abusive breeder’s clutch will appreciate that you no longer call him Bruno because it’ll remind him of his bitter past and/or think of you to be an abusive parent, no matter how loved he is. The goal is to help them overcome the trauma they’ve been through so new beginnings mean new names.
Coming up next, I’ll tell you how to change your dog’s name to any name you like! Watch out for Part 2!
Feature Image Source: Pixabay