I have a new boy im importing is arriving soon,very excited but in a pickle over his name...i look after my friends dog half the month while she is off shore and her dog has the same name as does a family members dog and our old cat had this name..so the name has to go..can a dog thats a year old getused to another name? Im thinking he can because stray dogs get new names and cope?

As far as I'm aware all you can change is the call name you use.   Imports can't have their official registered names changed.  UK KC.   But do phone and ask because it's been years since we imported our Canadian-bred hounds who all kept our Canadian Regd. Kennel affix despite our having to choose another one as that name had been granted to somebody else back in the UK.

If you mean his day-to-day pet name, yes, you can change that at any time.  Most dogs I adopt get a new name regardless of their age.  And the quickest way to get him responding to it is to play the name game.  Have him sat in front of you, have a big handful of treats, and start saying the new name in various tones and pitches, each time giving him a treat within half a second.  So Fido+treat, Fido+treat, Fido+treat.  He'll soon make the connection!

My dogs & I expect most dogs, get nick names along with their proper pet name & they will come to their nick name, so no reason why you cant change a dogs name of any age. A rescue/stray dog will have name changes though its life.

What I have advised is to use both names ie fido-rover then over a matter or time drop fido & use rover. Of course others may suggest different methods & it is upto you which(if any) advise/method you chose I have also advised a similar sounding name but this may not work for you either.

Thanks,yes i mean his pet name not his registered name x

Hah.   We imported a puppy from the UK to Canada in the distant past.   I knew his registered name, obviously, but not his call name - he came from some people who had reared him from when he was first born and able to leave mum who were friends of a fellow breeder here in the UK.  She wasn't able to keep older puppies and did this all the time.   I never knew what these people had called him before he came out to us, but his travel box had the name Sammy on it.   I didn't think he was remotely a 'Sammy' so as part of his reg. name was Woodpecker, he became Woody.  As much as a Basset ever immediately responds to being called () because the end sound of the two names was similar, I didn't find switching his call name was a problem.

Friend has a working sheepdog who she took on at about 1 yr old, he was a farm dog who was petrified of EVERYTHING including his NAME, - originally Spot ( )
She renamed him Skip but her oh quite often calls him Bill and he answers to both!

It's not so much the word, as the tone of voice with dogs plus 'body language' - looking at the dog.   Mine had registered names, call names and then silly 'names'.   But within the norm for a Basset , reacted.

Definitely.

I had a pup back who had my daughter's name, so obviously had to change it.

At first she would come when I called my child, but I ignored her, and she soon realised it no longer applied to her.

> She renamed him Skip but her oh quite often calls him Bill and he answers to both!

So very true!  I bred a totally black LC Chihuahua (from a totally white bitch.)  Her KC registered name was my affix Gypsy Girl.  Her call name for me was Gypsy and her recall is very good. My ex always called her Blackie (to wind me up) and she always went to him!  Grrr!

I agree with MB - mine always have a second silly name, and they answer to that one too.  I remember going in to collect my Beardie bitch after her spay.  I asked for Cassie Gumdrops and they looked puzzled!  Whoops.

I always give my rescues new names - new home, new start, new name. They have all learnt their new name really quickly. My latest rescue has had 3 names in total - the one he had on the farm, the one given to him by the rescue and used by his foster home and the one I gave him when he came to me.

I find they learn their name really quickly - the same way as a pup gets used to its name. Mine also have other names that I call them by and they all respond to their own fun name too.

I currently have three rescue dogs and none of them have their original names.