Choosing a puppy's name is a big decision and one that shouldn't be taken lightly. It needs to reflect their personality and character, it has to be quick and easy to pronounce, and you need to love it enough to say it every single day. If it's too complicated, they might not respond - but if it's too popular, you may find other dogs come running in the park.
One dog owner is regretting their choice of name for their young golden retriever and is considering changing it to something less common. Taking to Reddit, the pet parent asked fellow dog lovers: "Is it wrong to change his name at five-months-old? Named him Ollie and it's not fitting. It's also a super common dog name around here."
The puppy owner asked Redditors to suggest different names for the young golden retriever.
One person suggested Ozzy while another said Dexter and a third proposed Benny.
Bob, Toby and Peanut were also among the comments, as well as Dudley, Rusty and Elvis.
Some people recommended finding a nickname instead of changing his name entirely.
"We have so many nicknames for ours that she responds to all of them, Maggie, Maggie Moo, Moo Moo, Mahmooski. I think it's more about the inflection than the name itself," someone said.
"We call ours so many nicknames he probably doesn't even know what his name is and he's five months too," another agreed.
Adoptive dog owners reassured the user that changing the puppy's name wasn't an issue.
"Animals learn new names very quickly. It's mostly the way you sound and behave when you say their name that gets a response, not the name itself," a person explained.
"Dogs very likely do not have the same concept of names as we do. To us, it's an identity, to them, it's just like any other command," a second agreed.
"It's the command to get their attention or call them over. Don't feel guilty about changing the name."
The most popular pet names of 2022 were recently announced, and it's likely you'll be very familiar with a few of them.
The new research, conducted by pet insurance provider ManyPets, examined 510,000 pet owners to narrow down the top 10 most popular - with the adorable name 'Luna' ranking in first place.
10 most popular pet names of 2022:
- Luna
- Bella
- Teddy
- Milo
- Daisy
- Lola
- Bailey
- Buddy
- Coco
- Poppy
Brits admit to finding their inspiration for pet names from anywhere and everywhere - 14 percent said they prefer human names, such as Colin or Dave, while nine percent name their furry child after a celebrity.
Following the likes of Love Island's Molly-Mae with her pets 'Eggy' and 'Bread', seven percent of owners take their pet's name from the kitchen cupboard, opting for names such as Honey and Crumpet.
Does your dog have an unusual name? Email nia.dalton@reachplc.com.
