Choosing A Name For Your Family Pet

While working at Petco, a trainer was working with a 12 year old boy and his dog. The boy kept using several names when calling his dog, Shadow, Shaddie, and Shad. The trainer told him, for training always use the same name. When you play with him then you can use "nicknames".

Serious thought should be put into choosing a name for the family pet. Below are some tips to consider when choosing a name.
1. Animals respond better to one or two syllable names, so keep it short. 2. Remember that this is a name you will be calling out, so make it easy to say and something you are comfortable with. 3. It is best to avoid names that sound like commands such as "no" (Joe). 4. You may want to wait a few days to see what your pet's personality is like before coming up with a name. 5. Take into consideration your pet's size, breed and gender. 6. Don't give your pet a name with a negative or aggressive meaning; they just might live up to this. 7. Avoid names that sound similar to other members of the family. 8. If there are children in the family, it is a good idea to let them participate in naming the new pet.

If you have adopted an adult pet that already has a name, it is best to stick with this name or change it just slightly to avoid confusion.