Changing Rescue Name

JacksonBoy · #1 07-23-2009, 10:01 PM

We are rescuing a boxer our new pup tomorrow. Our local rescue gave her a name and we were considering changing it. Would changing her name be confusing or harmful to her adjusting to a new home?

Any thoughts would be really helpful!!

EAO76 · #2 07-24-2009, 12:56 AM

Nope, its fine. They catch on rather quick!

Cami · #3 07-24-2009, 07:59 AM

What we tell our adoptive homes is to add the names together for a while eventually dropping the original.
For example:
Name the dog came with "Bella"
New name "Josie"
Start calling her "Bella-Josie"
Utilize nicknames as well "Jo" or "Jo-Jo" (or whatever).
They will pick it up pretty fast. Then you can drop the original name as well.
Typically the name they are using in foster care isn't their "real" name since a lot of the dogs are not owner surrender and don't come with a history.
Enjoy your new addition!

LLANGE1852 · #4 07-24-2009, 09:38 AM

We often say.....new home, new life, new name. :-)

-Laurie,
www.ncbr.org

djheitz · #5 07-24-2009, 10:00 AM

I had a young female foster for a few weeks last November / December. She was picked up as a stray, so we had no idea what her name was. The rescue listed her as Gadget, which I didn't care for. I was calling her Pixie (she was a tiny thing). Her adoptive home decided on Ginger. So, in three weeks, this girl had three names (four if you count her original, unknown name).

Her family contacted me over the weekend with the news that they thought they had accidentally discovered her 'real' name. They had affectionately called out Princess and her head snapped up and she came running across the room. She'll even respond to Princess from another room. Now they know if she's ignoring the call for Ginger, they have another option, but they also like the combination of Princess Ginger.

Firerobin · #6 07-24-2009, 10:47 AM

When we rescued Jackson, we didn't like his original name, we decided on Jackson and we never called him by his old name, not once, we would call him Jackson-boy, but only for the first week and by the second week he knew he was Jackson.

buddys · #7 07-24-2009, 03:19 PM

We found our boxer. His people did not respond to adds or check the pound for him, so we kept him. He pick up on his new name, within seemed hours. Not a problem.

JacksonBoy · #8 07-30-2009, 07:31 PM

Thanks for all of the advice. We decided to keep our newest additions name as Athena. She has been through quite a lot and is definitely a fighter! After getting to know her over the past few days, the name really seems to fit her!!

And we are happy to report she is adjusting great!! We can't believe how well behaved she has been all week. She is so friendly and loving, it's hard to believe she lived her whole life as an outside dog. We are so happy we decided to make her a part of our family!

djheitz · #9 07-30-2009, 08:21 PM

I'm very happy she's adjusting well! I've read her posts on the rescue's website - she's beautiful!

EAO76 · #10 07-30-2009, 08:27 PM

My foster girl's original name was Fluffy. She is 6 or 7yrs old and that has been her name her whole life. Needless to say our initial reaction was that "Fluffy" doesn’t really "fit" a boxer. So we tried to change it, except she LOVES her name. Whenever we say it her little nub starts going a mile a minute. So we didn’t change it. We didn’t have the heart to tell her that she has a silly name

, LOL. And she wears it proudly.