Mammy changing my name?

[violet voon]

Hehee!
My furbaby is a SHE and her name is Sugar.
Hmm...personally I think Sugar is a girly name, if you wanna change it, it's not too late! He's still a baby

[chattiesmom]

I think it is very important for owners to be comfortable with the names we give to our dogs. Although dogs understand very little of the spoken language,they "read" the intonations in your voice and your body language very well. If you call him by a name that you either don't like or aren't comfortable with, Sugar WILL sense it.

Most of my dogs have nicknames -- some of which have no relationship to their "real" name. For example - Emmitt is also known as Go ByeBye Boy, M's, Emmie, and Doodlebug-Doodlebug.

LOL they all share one favorite common "nic" and that's Wanna Treat? They all come running to that one.

[Arzel36]

Originally Posted by Denzilla

He's your dog. If you like sugar I say keep it.

Exactly! Hes your dog, if Sugar the name that you like, than name him that!

[Lee B]

My dogs answer to about anything: Isabella - Bella - Bella Boo - Boo Boo - Baby Boo ...

They don't much mind as long as I'm happy when I call them and they get loved on when they get there

If you think he really identifies with his current name, use it and his new name at the same time, then just his new name after a while. They're really a lot more flexible than we give them credit for

BUT, he's your dog, so name him what you want. If you like Sugar, then Sugar it is. You should hear what I called my hubby at times, and it didn't decrease his manliness any :

[2girls]

I took in a rescue at 10 years old and he began to respond in two days. You should be fine. If you feel he is your little sugar go with it. My Dad still refers to Lola as a "he" and I could careless because he loves and adores her. I don't even correct him anymore~

[mommyofsophie]

I adopted an adult Akita (7 yrs old) who was named Bandit, but that name just didn't do justice to the beautiful, proud dog... so I changed it to Beowulf! From the get-go I called him Beowful when petting him, feeding him, playing with him, etc... he understood his new name in less than a week. Old dogs really can learn new tricks! But I do think that Sugar is a very sweet name!

[StaceyDee]

My aunt is a professional dog trainer and I recently asked her the same question, if I could change a dog's name if it was a year or two old. She said that dog's don't have the same sense of identity when it comes to their names like we do. They see their name as a command like "come" instead of the word belonging to them. If they are really used to their current name, the best way to change it would be to start by combining the new name with the old name and then gradually wean them off of the old name.

Another sidenote: the reason many puppies do not always come when called is when their owners have used their name when yelling at them, so be careful when you use their name! You'd never want your dog to ignore you when they were in danger just because they associated their name with getting in trouble!!

[ellabee]

but that being said, it won't matter to the pup...my Billie is a girl and I correct people on occassion...here not so much, with the 'ie' on the end I guess people infer she is a she!

I didnt change her name when I got her (she was already 5 years old), it just didn't occur to me, but I am very much looking forward to naming my next pup. In the meantime though, my hubby has taken to calling her "Dufus" (affectionately...but still) and she has started to answer to it - so I guess its never too late!!

heres a link I like the lists on here, if you are looking for ideas:

The Complete Male Dog Names List... A Must-See Male Dog Names Resource

[SherrieW]

You could keep the name Sugar and put something manly on the end as Bear, Man, etc.

[hugz4all4]

I got my sheltie at 1.5 years old and his name was "Anchor" because he has an anchor shape on his forhead. I really didnt like the name and didnt think it fit him well so I changed it to Toby.. he was coming to it in about 3 days. So I think your pup would be fine if you changed his name.
Alot of rescues change the animals name, to single a start to a new life.....
congrats on your new pup..

[MollysMum54]

I changed molly's name when i rescued her aged 2 years. She soon learnt the new name and i just called her by her old name to see if she responded and she didnt even look round, so you will be fine if you decide to change it.

[lucirbc]

Coral was Cleo for awhile, but i kept confusing her name with my other dog Lilo, so we changed it. I tried to stay with something that sounded close, but it ended up working out and now she has abou 5 names she goes by!

[RemydeHaviland]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

People ALWAYS think Thor's a girl, I guess he is just a very girl-y looking dog. He and Sugar can be metrosexuals.

Hijacking for a minute ... Remy could join the metrosexual crowd too, EVERYONE thinks he is a girl. We should start a group LOL Maybe because his coat is long-ish now?? I dunno, he wears a blue harness you would think that would be a clue....

His name does not help to clear it up since it can go either way, although I named him after a FrenchMAN (and not the liquor)

Back on topic... if you like Sugar, keep it!