Choosing a name your dog will answer to
- Keep it short. One or two syllables are quickest to say and easiest to call across a park: Milo, Poppy, Rex.
- Start with a clear sound. Names that begin with a hard consonant (B, D, K, T) cut through background noise better than soft ones.
- Make it different from everyone else's. If you already have a Bella, a new puppy called Ella will be confused, and so will Bella.
- Say it out loud. Try shouting it at the back door a few times. If it feels silly, pick another.
Why two-syllable names work so well
Two syllables ending in a vowel sound, like Teddy, Milo, Daisy or Bertie, are easy to sing out and hard to mistake for anything else. That's one reason they fill the UK's most popular lists. If you love a longer name, such as Sir Barks-a-Lot or Montgomery, keep it for the vet's form and use a short version every day.
Avoid names that sound like commands
Dogs hear the sound, not the spelling. A dog called Kit may hear "sit", Bo or Joe may hear "no", Shay may hear "stay", and Dougie may hear "doggy". Say the name next to the commands you'll use most (sit, stay, down, no, come, leave) and check they don't rhyme.