If you adopt a dog from a shelter and it already has a name, can you change it?

Question

I've been looking at dogs in shelters online and I was wondering if you could change their names....

Answer 1

Yes you can change their name. We just use names to tell them apart. It's better than a number or "the black dog in the 3rd cage on the left"

Answer 2

Yes, but remember, the dog is used to it's old name and it might take some time for it to respond to the new name.

Also, keeping name close to what it was--Lacy was changed to Lucy,

The age of the dog has something to do with it, along with how the dog was treated in the past. If the dog had a lot of people interaction it probably will pick up faster.

Getting a dog is a great responsibility, Dogs cannot not recognize traffic and might run out in it, cannot open a can so you must feed and water. A dog can only tell you it feels bad by it's actions so you must be in tune with your dog, know how your dog is normally. Don't scold your dog for dumping in the house, instead take it out often, get some training books to help if this is your first dog.

Research the type of dog you intend to get, some dogs, by type, run and are very active, some are lost following scents, what do you want the dog to be? A bed Buddy? A car riding buddy? A play Buddy? A taking a walk buddy?

Where you live will dictate what type of dog, such as an apartment, you shouldn't want a big dog or one that takes a lot of exersize, upkeep of the dog should be considered, like grooming, do you have to money to keep the dog groomed? Or do you plan to learn and do it yourself? Are you gone all day or night?

Thousands of questions to be asked, congratulations on getting one from the "Pound"

Answer 3

It depends on how long the dog has had its name. A three year old that has always been called rufus, should not have his name changed. It could be confusing and a new home is confusing enough. We have changed rescues's names in the past and most of the time it works okay, but keep it sort of close. We changed Jagger to Rueger and Buck to Huck (as in Huck Finn) try something that rhymes. With a puppy adoption, change its name to whatever you want, but with an adult, try to respect that a new home is scary enough without being called something you don't know to respond to. It could also be dangerous to try to call the dog something it doesn't respond to if perchance the dog got out of the yard or something like that.

Answer 4

That depends on two things. A) did the human society give the dog that name? If so then it should not be a issue as to the name find one that fits the dog. B) If the dogs has always had that name then you should leave it for it knows its name. You should be able to find out who named by asking the place you adopted from. If the dog was a stray then the humane society named if it came from a home then the last owners gave it the name

Answer 5

Of course you can. It's a good idea to pick a similar name so the dog will respond to it. We changed a name from Lucky to Lucy. We figured the poor animal wasn't very lucky to be in a shelter.

Answer 6

I guess you could, but they have been through quite enough so it seems kinda wrong to me to change their name, that's about all they have left that is familiar to them. The whole idea of adopting a dog is to give them a better life, changing their name is something that you would be doing to benefit you not the dog.

Answer 7

It will be much easier to change the name if the dog is a puppy or less than 8 months old

Answer 8

Sure thing! I got my dog at the local shelter (I call her a pound puppy). She was picked up as a stray, so her name was unknown. She eventually responded to the name I gave her--just like a puppy does when they are named. Her age was estimated at about 7 months when I got her.

Answer 9

yeah, something I've heard is slowly changing the name over time. Like, I have Snickers, and say I wanted to name her...Betty. I would change her name slowly over time. First week I would call her Snickerdoodle, next week just doodle, then doodlebop, after that just bop, then boppy, and at last betty. You may have to get creative, but I have heard of several people doing that with success, no matter the age of the dog.

Answer 10

If it is an older dog,better don't try to change it's name,but if it is a puppy or a younger dog it could be easy,at the end is is your dog and you can call it however you want!