Need help w/a doggy name

LauraMax

Cathlete
I went to our local shelter again today to see a dog that I think is finally the right fit. She's very cute, 2 YO, about 30 lbs, some kind of a lab mix. They think dachsund or terrier (I'm not even gonna try to envision the physical feat of this pairing :+ ).

In any case, she's an energetic, friendly, playful little thing. Imagine a small black lab & that's what she looks like, except she has that strange ability to move one ear without moving the other that some dogs have, so sometimes one ear stands straight up while the other just flops. Too cute. :)

Of course I am extremely nervous--while she weighs about the same as Maximus she appears bigger b/c she's tall & lanky, he's short & ummmm, let's just say husky. OK, really he's just fat LOL. I just don't want him to feel intimidated, or like someone else will take his place in my heart.

So her name is Cherry. Who in the world names a black dog after a red fruit? :p I'd like to rename her but at the age of 2 I know it has to sound very similar to what she's used to. Any suggestions?

Also any advice on how to acclimate 2 adult dogs to each other would be much appreciated. I've always adopted puppies so my other dogs never got very freaked out. Never tried to get 2 adult dogs to make friends before.
 
I wanted to name our black kittie, Kona. But my kids vetoed that idea and he's been named Shadow. Kona is a neat little town on the big island of Hawaii, also well-known for it's coffee. You can have the name for your dog, if you like.

How great of you to give the girl a loving home! I've always been a cat owner myself, so can't help you with the dog-to-dog acclimation.

Diane
 
I dunno, Laura. I kind of like Cherry.... ;)

I would strongly recommend a name that sounds similar to Cherry since at the age of two she's probably already completely acclimated to that name (although I'm not sure how easy or hard it is for a dog to respond to a new name...never tried it!)

How about Sherry? hehe Or Mary/Merry--like x-mas or Terry? or Claire? (Does Claire sound anything like Cherry?...it's been a long day)

Allison
 
Wow, did you already adopt her? I was meaning to ask you what happened to Roxie?

I wouldn't worry about the name, you can name her whatever you want to. Dogs are pretty fast in figuring out their new name. Get one of those clickers, call her name, the first couple of days, if she just looks at you when you call her new name, click and give her a treat.

After a few days, call her, when she gets her butt of the floor, click and give her a treat. Then when she walks towards you, click and treat. Shouldn't take longer than a week to retrain her with 10 or so min. per day.

Have Max and her met already?

Don't just bring her into your house. I would take Max and her for a walk, one dog on each side for at least 30 to 45 min BEFORE you have them do anything else, no sniffing each other, no eye contact, etc. After that you can let do their butt sniffing, whatever dogs do ritual, outside your house or inside your house, really doesn't matter.

I hope everything works out for you and your fuzzy friends. You know that we NEED to see a picture of your new family member.
 
Actually, I like Cherry too.

My male dog has always been accepting of other adult dogs, does better with females, and the only real problem I ever had was with a younger dog that I was watching for a friend, who was just too hyper for my old guy. He's a soon to be 11-year-old golden retriever that I adopted from the pound when he was 9 months old, and he has been the best dog we have ever had.

Good luck!

Jennifer
 
I always like to get to know my fuzzy friends and see what name fits them. I had my cat three weeks before I realized what her name is. ;-)
 
Thanks guys! :) I met her at lunch today & I'm picking her up on the way home tonight. I gotta tell you, ever since I made the decision to go ahead & get another dog it's been one disappointment after another. I kept applying for pugs & puggles from rescue sites & never got responses (this includes my app for Roxie, Carola). The thought process being getting a dog similar to Max, who is a large pug, I'd be safe b/c the new dog wouldn't be too intimidating for him.

I kept my eye on our local shelter's site too & was actually looking at a different dog, when I called them for info they told me about Cherry.

I might go for the name Cheri, I suspect it might become a nickname anyway. ;-)
 
Congrats on the new addition to the family! I like Cherry ... you could get a cheery cherry-colored collar for her ... that would look sweet on her black fur! Have fun! Deb
 
Laura,

Congrats on the new dog. We just picked out a German Shepherd mix yesterday from the Humane Society. Her name is Cameron which is ok if you don't have a niece with that name too. :D My DD's have been calling her Cami, and she has been responding just fine. I also had the same experience with the rescue places. I have yet to hear from one that I put in an application too. :D That is ok with us, I think we have found a good dog.

Laurie
 
I agree with Deb on Cherry and you could accessorize (sp?) every thing of hers with something red! A good nickname if you like Cher would be just that:)

Congratulations and have tons of fun!!!!:7
 
I just got a 4-5 year old female at Adopt A Pet Tuesday and named her Mollie but was debating on Maggie. Maybe you could name her Maggie :D .

Darlene
 
I don't know about female names, I just got me a new male and I am having a hard time naming him, I have thought about Indiana Jones or Chewbaca, or Obi wan kanobi, or luck skywalker, it is for his registration name so I can shorten any of those names, I want something classy yet fun. he has a cute personality and he is a black and tan male. so while you guys are thinking of names let me know if you can help me find a good name for my new boy
 
Laura,

Wish I had a name suggestion for you, but trying to figure out our new puppy's name was not easy. I'm still not sure I even like Summer. DD realy likes it. Dh wanted to name her Apple after the computer and I was willing to go for that. Not sure it matters, because at first I kept calling her Sunshine. Wish I had come up with a name that was similar to Sunshine.

I'm excited for you on your new addition. Hope all goes well between Max and her. Breeze is starting to adjust to Summer, but she is too rough. I'll have to wait a few weeks before I can keep them together becasue Breeze is somuch bigger than her.

Jean
 

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