Names

If you rescue a dog that has name do you change it? How do you feel about changing a rescue dogs name if it had been mistreated? Do you feel that would help disassociate from the past memories attached to the name?

I don't think it would help in regards to the animal's behaviour, if that's what you mean. I don't have an issue with changing their names though. I know people can be sentimental about it and feel bad but honestly, dogs don't get 'attached' to their names like we think they might. Plus it is super easy to change their names - you can have them responding to a new name within 10 minutes if you go about it right

ETA: Depending on if I liked the name or not, I would be totally open to changing it.

I guess it depends on what you mean by mistreated...I mean if the dog associates his name with punishment and flinches away when he hears it...yeah I would change the name.

Otherwise I think it's personal choice. I changed Kim's name (it was Cookie lol) and kept Webster's. Mira came from a breeder but her puppy name was Winnie (short for Winning Colors...racehorse theme) and I changed that too. No one seemed traumatized by the name change or improved by keeping their name.

It depends how the name was used in the past home. If it was always used in connection with punishment/ to chastise the dog, it probably would help to change the name (otherwise that's like saying "bad dog!" all the time). But if the dog is A OK with the name, I don't think using it is going to change anything.

We tend to keep most our dogs' names we get as adults (not rescues). Rose, Trey, Summer, and Bernard were all named by their breeders. I changed Mia's name because it was Gayla and I really didn't like that name. I always wished we'd changed Trey's name, it just never fit him.

Rosey came without a name, so we named her

Other pets... It has depended. Rascal and Harley both kept their names. Renegade and Rogue came to me as Gridd and Nyx. Ella came to me as Bella, and I would have kept it if it wasn't associated with Twilight.

Seamus' name was Warren we rescued him and I didn't like it. He had no issues adopting the new name. It was a pretty fast transition really.

I have a tendency to change names because most often the previous owner overused it- "Fido! Fido. Fido. Fido! Fido come! Fido no! FIDO." Like the pug I fostered a while back, absolutely tuned out the name Bear. I just like to start fresh and get their attention with a new word/name.

Liz was Liz for her whole life & I didn't buy her until she was 4, so we kept it. Same deal with Daisy who had been Daisy forever, and I stole her from my ex when she was almost 5... but I almost never call her Daisy Duke. Rage's last name before I bought her was Jade, so pretty close actually! She'd also been Ava once upon a time... Rage has come to suit her perfectly. Keena was Angel at the SPCA *shudder* - my boyfriend knew that had to go immediately

Some animals just come with names that really suit them - I can't think of anything else I'd name Liz, really... or Daisy.

I hated the name that every one of my animals came with. They were
"Fred"- had it for five years, changed it to Argon and he never noticed
"Jonathan"- Had it for six months, but was pretty much referred to as 'puppies' at the shelter. He never knew it, so it wasn't a big deal
"Precious"- She only had it two weeks, and is a cat, but the thought of calling her that for 15+ years made me cringe. So she became Cheshire. She doesn't seem to know her name, but she's the stupidest cat I've ever met, so that might play into it.