Name Your Hunting Dog—Tips To Choose A Meaningful Name

Since a hunting dog is generally a pedigreed dog, its name is registered officially for the purpose of paperwork related to litters as well as stud records. Additionally, this dog is entered into dog shows. A dog owner registering with his/her dog’s registered company may decide to use the dog’s original name along with a part of its parents’ names. Others may choose to go for the names of the grandparents. This is done to exhibit the pedigree of the dog he/she owns!

There is a system to this too! The male pup is given the father’s and grandfather’s names, while the female pup gets the mother’s and grandmother’s names! Whatever it may be, remember that a nickname or officially registered name stays with the dog for life! In fact, the name is very much a part of its personality!

Okay, the registration is done and over with. But you cannot keep calling the hunting dog by this name all the time, it could be quite long! So a nickname is necessary. There are certain ground rules to be followed when trying out a nickname for your dog.

Have you registered your dog’s name? If yes, are you going to make its registered name a part of its nickname (at least a part of it) or are you planning to leave it out altogether? It would be nice if the whole family could get together and come up with a list of suitable names. The names should appeal to your tastes! Try rolling each name off the tongue with the sound in the simplest way possible. How do the syllables sound? Bear in mind that your hunting dog should recognize your voice and its name when it is called, wherever it may be. Lineage is not important here, individuality is!

Sometimes, people purchase older dogs and not pups. So the hunting dog already has a registered name or a nickname. Changing either will create a lot of confusion, especially for the dog. After all, it has lived for so long with a certain name and responds to it easily. Just in case a quirky owner has decided to give his/her dog an out-of-this-world name, you will have to do something about it! Can some variation be brought about using the same phonics? For example, a dog answering to the name of “Mabon, son of Modron” (young man, son of mother), stick to a name beginning with M and having the same phonics or stay with only “Mabon”. Do not try out totally different-sounding names!

Names can be chosen according to behavior. For instance, a puppy full of vim and vigor could be given the name of “Remington”, a firearms manufacturer. If the sight of a rifle causes it to go to the door, “Winchy” or “Winchester” will do. Old German guns were known as “Ruger” or “Rugar”; it is a good name for a hunting dog too.

Skills exhibited by various breeds can also help in choosing names. As an example, if the hunting dog is famous for bringing down male mallard ducks, call it “Drake”. “Bramble” is a name given to a hunting dog which uses a particular hunting terrain. In fact, this is how the Brittany name their dogs. There is a great number of names to select from based on the breed, its personality, what and where it hunts, what sounds good to the owner, and finally a simple name which can be spelt and remembered with ease