DogNameFilter: Help us rename “Daisy” our adopted pal.

September 14, 2006 8:30 AM

DogNameFilter: Yesterday, my girlfriend and I adopted a wonderful mutt from the Humane Society. Our problem; her name, Daisy. Not that there is anything wrong with the name Daisy per se but it sounds more appropriate for a cow.

She’s an original, we’d like her name to do her justice. So, what is a name that we can transition Daisy into? We are trying to keep the same vowel sounds so transition will be easier. “Daisy” is 1 ½ yrs old, still puppy playful, yet mature enough to hang out at the coffee shop patio. She is superb with other animals and kids, and she never barks (‘cept when left alone, definitely needs to be w/the pack). She’s personable, loving yet can be independent. Speculations on her breed include: Rhodesian Ridgeback, Heeler, Labrador, Boxer and Shar-Pei (her tongue has block splotches). We are outdoorsy and artsy people, and we currently live in the Southwest. So, far we have thought of Jay-Z and Cassie. What is a better name for this girl that retains the same sounds as Daisy?

posted by fieldtrip to pets & animals (50 comments total)

Here are some photos.
posted by fieldtrip at 8:35 AM on September 14, 2006

Dizzy, obviously. And a very playful name for a dog.
posted by Kickstart70 at 8:36 AM on September 14, 2006

Casey or Macy
posted by Pocahontas at 8:39 AM on September 14, 2006

Seconding Dizzy. And nice dog.
posted by COBRA! at 8:40 AM on September 14, 2006

I'm not sure you need to worry about keeping the same sounds. Dogs don't, I think, think of their names as their names so much as as an attention signal -- a way that you say "Hey, you, look at me." You can get them to respond to new names that are completely dissimilar from their old and they won't feel insulted or like they've lost their identity or anything like that.

If you're arty, Farty McBum-Bum is probably right out.

Name her after a favorite character or author or something. Or call her Ein, even if she isn't a corgi.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:40 AM on September 14, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

"Macy." "Tracy." "Casey."

"Lassie" is also a possibility, though I get the feeling you want something slightly less conventional.
posted by Iridic at 8:41 AM on September 14, 2006

Jazzy!
posted by Kangaroo at 8:41 AM on September 14, 2006

Should have previewed. Sorry to step on your toes, Pocahontas.
posted by Iridic at 8:42 AM on September 14, 2006

Just stay with Daisy. It's her name and what she's used to. Just because YOU don't like doesn't mean you have start confusing the poor thing.
posted by anonpeon at 8:45 AM on September 14, 2006

Maizy
posted by noloveforned at 8:46 AM on September 14, 2006

diamondbark?
posted by lester's sock puppet at 8:50 AM on September 14, 2006

FWIW, Daisy is also the name of the dog in the Blondie comic strip.

Other names: Stacy? Zoey (or however you spell that - pronounced "Zoh-ee")? Lizzy?
posted by cadge at 8:54 AM on September 14, 2006

Paisley! Hainsey! Mange-free! Stain-sy! Hazy! Lazy!
posted by Succa at 8:59 AM on September 14, 2006

Foxy, Tawny, Fawn, Golden (Goldie), Maizey, Copper, Penny.

Sorry, I am struck by her coloring.
posted by stormygrey at 8:59 AM on September 14, 2006

I renamed both of my rescue dogs, without even trying to make the names sound phonetically the same, and they turned out fine.

I think it's more the tone of voice in which the name is said than anything else. And they'll pretty much love anyone that feeds them and pets them, regardless of what you call them.

So that said, I think you should name her with a human name, such as Melissa or Margaret (Maggie for short!)

I already have the next three names for my next dogs planned out in advance: Roger, Alice and Henrietta.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 9:02 AM on September 14, 2006

Keep Daisy, but spell it Dazy, or Dazey.

Think stripper names.
posted by blue_beetle at 9:02 AM on September 14, 2006

Gravy. That dog is a Gravy if I ever seen one.
posted by Greg Nog at 9:08 AM on September 14, 2006

Don't worry about the sound of the name. She will know you are talking to her by your tone of voice. She has to get used to new voices, new surroundings, new everything, a new name will go right along with that just fine. Pick whatever name you think suits her.
posted by bradn at 9:12 AM on September 14, 2006

I really like Daisy, and I think it's original. (Jay-Z is pretty great!)

Casey I like. SweetPea?

She's beautiful, by the way - congrats.
posted by KAS at 9:16 AM on September 14, 2006

Wow that's a pretty dog. Something her poise and the look in her eye that makes me think Old West. How about Mae..as in Mae West.
posted by spicynuts at 9:20 AM on September 14, 2006

Aww! I like Dizzy or Casey. She's a beauty! For comparison's sakes, here's my Ridgeback Mutt... mine's half hound and half ridgeback, we *think*. She does have a very prominent ridge that's not available in the picture. When she was a baby and had lighter coloring she could've passed for the firefox logo with a little color balance tweaking in photoshop.
posted by SpecialK at 9:21 AM on September 14, 2006

If you're arty then name her after your favorite artist.

Man, she's the color of red used in Acoma pottery. Very pretty.

Btw, I like Greg Nog's suggestion.
posted by onhazier at 9:22 AM on September 14, 2006

Great suggestions so far! Thank you. And, if there is consensus that the sound of her name doesn't need to stay the same---well, let's open it up. What should we name this girl?
posted by fieldtrip at 9:24 AM on September 14, 2006

Sadie!! My all time favorite name for a dog.

Also, for the record, I have a cat named Daisy, and she looks nothing like a cow. :)
posted by routergirl at 9:27 AM on September 14, 2006

Gatsby would be cool, but I guess that's masculine.
posted by Durin's Bane at 9:32 AM on September 14, 2006

Sadie and Maisie I like, though I've known dogs with both of these names (so they're not super-original). Haley?

(Then again, my rescue cat went from Priscella to Edie with no ill effects, though she was only six months old.)
posted by lisa g at 9:33 AM on September 14, 2006

I once adopted a dog that had previously been called "Baby." That wasn't going to work. She did respond just as well to "Rabies." You can use that name, if you want. It has a nice ring.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 9:35 AM on September 14, 2006

Magneto—Maggie for short.

(This is what my friends named their first cat, and I love it.)
posted by limeonaire at 9:37 AM on September 14, 2006

Hey my baby girls name is Daisy. Daisy rocks!
posted by zeoslap at 9:45 AM on September 14, 2006

I changed a cat's name from Silas to Riley. I didn't even realize it had a similar sound, but he did take to the new name quickly.
posted by sweetkid at 9:45 AM on September 14, 2006

Shiloh
Rusty
Oxide
posted by tveye at 9:46 AM on September 14, 2006

Strip the last syllable and you have "Daze." I likes.
posted by sublivious at 9:49 AM on September 14, 2006

When I was adopting a dog, everyone at every shelter we checked said it doesn't matter if you rename it. Half the time the dogs are dumped at the shelter anyway, and the staff just slaps names on 'em, so what the dog is called when you get it has nothing to do with what the dog was called before. And they do fine.

We have an Oscar who used to be Checkers, and a Ruby June who was Rita for the ~2 months it took her to wean her pups; we don't know what she was called before that. She responded to "Ruby" within a week or two, and she responds equally well to "Ruby" and "Ruby June." (Also "Rubester" and "Stinky.") So.

Anyway your dog looks like a sweetheart and I think you should choose a name that suits her, regardless of what it sounds like phonetically.
posted by librarina at 9:49 AM on September 14, 2006

I really like Daisy, and I think it's original.

No it's not. I use to work at a vet and the name daisy was quite popular for dogs and cats. (not that I think that's a reason to change it)

This is a silly use of ask.metafilter however.
posted by gtr at 9:54 AM on September 14, 2006

Condaleeza.

My first cat came from the ASPCA, and he was named Stingray. That had to go. We named him Rudy (after Ray Moore, not Giuliani, or Sean Astin).
posted by mkultra at 9:54 AM on September 14, 2006

Don't rush. Wait a week or two and see what fits. Bit late contributing here, but let all these names sink in subconsciously and then you'll just know for sure one day. Try them out. The dog will be happy enough without a name in the meantime.
posted by voidcontext at 10:00 AM on September 14, 2006

My wife suggests Amber. Regardless, that's a beautiful dog.
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:15 AM on September 14, 2006

TURBO
posted by mattbucher at 10:16 AM on September 14, 2006

Masta Killa
Porkpie
Thrombosis
America's Next Top Model
posted by Greg Nog at 10:32 AM on September 14, 2006

Daisy ... sounds more appropriate for a cow.

Don't be silly, Daisy sounds like a BB gun!
posted by kindall at 10:36 AM on September 14, 2006

Several fine suggestions here. We recently adopted a little puppygirl also. We named her Rascal. Turned out to be prophetic.
posted by scottymac at 10:45 AM on September 14, 2006

I had a dog in college (and beyond) who looked just like that. Great dog. His full name was Thomas Woodrow Dawg, but everyone just called him Woody. Easy transition from Daisy. Woody=Daisy
posted by JohnnyGunn at 11:03 AM on September 14, 2006

Hey now, I just adopted a shelter cat named Daisy a few weeks ago (left the name alone because it's like that Gary Larson joke about what people say:cats hear).

I've renamed almost all of our dogs upon adoption but I like keeping a plosive (p, b, t, d) up front because they seem easier to say in commands (example: if you imagine doing a Brando and yelling "Stella!", the forcefulness/volume starts at the 't').

Agree with those above who stated name changes don't matter to the dog, they are the very embodiment of "You can call me anything you want, just don't call me late to dinner."
posted by jamaro at 11:22 AM on September 14, 2006

Our cat is named Dexy, in honor of my favorite 1980s one-hit wonder band. It sounds very feminine to me and has led to plenty of great nicknames, including Dexter, Dextromothorphan, Dexy-doodle, Sexy Dexy and oh so many more.

Come on, Eileen, too-loo-ra-aye! Come on!
posted by GaelFC at 11:35 AM on September 14, 2006

Chasey. Porn Star tribute meets dog attribute?
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 11:57 AM on September 14, 2006

I vote for KS70's 'Dizzy.'

I can't believe how calm your dog looks for 'day one.' If she keeps that heavy lidded stuff up, consider 'Dozey.'
posted by jamjam at 12:14 PM on September 14, 2006

She looks like a Bella to me.

I agree with everyone who said you can change her name to anything you want. I work for a rescue, and our dogs have tons of names throughout their lives. One before they get to the kill shelter, one in the kill shelter, one in the foster home, and one at their forever home. They do fine.

And all my dogs respond to multiple names. The great dane answers to her real name and anything starting with "big."
posted by thejanna at 12:39 PM on September 14, 2006

What a sweetie — call her Dulce.
posted by rob511 at 3:42 PM on September 14, 2006

Tom Waits cleary indicates the answer via this lyric.. "I'm gonna change my name to Hannibal or maybe just Rex."
posted by jlowen at 7:31 PM on September 14, 2006

KADE (pronounced K-D).

For "Killer Attack Dog Extraordinaire"

and you still get the same vowel sounds. which really shouldn't matter, as long as you use any new name with repetition (both when afirming, chastising, ordering, and calling), she'll get the idea that she is now referred to as something different.

think of it as nick-names for people, we get new ones occasionally for various reasons.
posted by allkindsoftime at 7:58 AM on September 20, 2006