Name that Dog in One (post)
December 12, 2015 1:03 PM   Subscribe

Hi! I'm MMDP! You may remember me from posts such as this one! Well, we took the advice, and waited, and looked ...

... and have now found this chap. And as per title, we need a name. Oslo is fine but not really him - he's a bit shy and nervous, but curious about the world, interested in smelling all the things, gentle and bright and that coat is the really soft stuff.

On naming conventions - the original cat family were all named after Beatles songs (hence my user name). The current cat boys are named after characters from children's books (we have a Stig and a Moomin and a woeful lack of pictures). So we're after ideas from that sort of slightly fantastical area - essentially non-human names, in preference (think Aslan rather than Edmund except not C S Lewis thanks no).

Mr MMDP suggested Zaphod Beeblebrox and I said no. Hope me, AskMeFi.
posted by Martha My Dear Prudence to Pets & Animals (36 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Well when I looked at his picture I thought Fitz (short for Fitzgerald), but I don't know if that would suit your naming criteria.
posted by phunniemee at 1:07 PM on December 12, 2015


If he's been answering to 'Oslo' then I suggest you pick a name of two syllables that ends in 'O'. Dogs get very used to their names very quickly and because they generally only pick up the dominant vowel sound, any name that ends with O will do for his sake. Remember, a dog's name serves as a link between you and them, it's not just about what you find cute or whimsical, it's about enabling communication between human and canine.
posted by alltomorrowsparties at 1:31 PM on December 12, 2015 [5 favorites]


That dog is a Ribsy if I've ever seen one.
posted by Elly Vortex at 1:33 PM on December 12, 2015 [1 favorite]


If he's been answering to 'Oslo'

Shelters normally rename animals, so he could have had a very different name before.
posted by jaguar at 1:36 PM on December 12, 2015 [1 favorite]


Escko.
posted by sockermom at 1:39 PM on December 12, 2015


Mr MMDP suggested Zaphod Beeblebrox and I said no

In that case, how about Marvin?
posted by sively at 1:45 PM on December 12, 2015 [1 favorite]


He looks like a Disco to me and Dr. Wolfenstein to my husband.
posted by sciencegeek at 2:00 PM on December 12, 2015 [1 favorite]


Tim. Some of my favourite people have that name, and for some reason they're all curious, gentle and bright, a bit shy and nervous, and interested in most things (not sure about needing to smell them, though).
posted by cotton dress sock at 2:07 PM on December 12, 2015 [2 favorites]


Puck
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 2:10 PM on December 12, 2015 [1 favorite]


Puck

Oooh, or Oberon!
posted by jaguar at 2:12 PM on December 12, 2015 [1 favorite]


Kazak. Zak for short. The name of the dog from Sirens of Titans.

While he isn't an English Mastiff he has the look of a space traveller, possibley one visiting us from somewhere exotic, about him
posted by wwax at 2:17 PM on December 12, 2015 [2 favorites]


Larry
posted by HuronBob at 2:26 PM on December 12, 2015


Donald
posted by 4ster at 2:40 PM on December 12, 2015


Finn
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 2:45 PM on December 12, 2015


Mr MMDP suggested Zaphod Beeblebrox and I said no

Porthos.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:46 PM on December 12, 2015


Mio from Mio, My Mio from an Astrid Lindgren child's book.
posted by Bella Donna at 2:50 PM on December 12, 2015


Fjolnir (various spellings) and Odin. Or Loki, but I think that might constitute "buying trouble."

I got stuck on Norway.
posted by SMPA at 2:54 PM on December 12, 2015 [5 favorites]


Or how about Birk, from another Astrid Lindgren children's book, Ronia the Robber's Daughter?
posted by Redstart at 2:55 PM on December 12, 2015 [1 favorite]


What a handsome pup!

To go with the fantastical children's stories theme, you could name him Pan (short for Pantalaimon) after Lyra's dæmon in the His Dark Materials series.

I really like the suggestion of Puck, as well.
posted by litera scripta manet at 3:03 PM on December 12, 2015 [1 favorite]


I have no idea why, but as soon as I saw him, I thought "That dog is John Malkovich." In keeping with alltomorrowsparties's advice, "Malko".
posted by Etrigan at 3:14 PM on December 12, 2015 [3 favorites]


Scruff
posted by littlewater at 3:41 PM on December 12, 2015


Response by poster: Many thanks for the suggestions - I did specifically ask whether he responded to Oslo and the answer was no, so the window of opportunity is still open.
posted by Martha My Dear Prudence at 3:47 PM on December 12, 2015


I would like to suggest Tralfaz as a name for your dog. The name Tralfaz has a storied history. The Jetson's had a dog named Astro. In the episode "The Coming of Astro", millionaire J.P. Gottrockets claimed to be Astro's former owner, saying the Astro's original name was "Tralfaz". (Ruh roh!)
posted by Rob Rockets at 4:44 PM on December 12, 2015


Hero!
posted by Hermione Granger at 4:49 PM on December 12, 2015


He is so adorable!
He looks a lot like our dog, except fluffier, and I am often stopped on the street because he reminds people of Dog of Footrot Flats. Actually, my idea was to call our dog Dog, but my family vetoed (and he would not like me to reveal his stupid name).
posted by mumimor at 4:59 PM on December 12, 2015


Vimes, Carrot, Rincewind, Binky (full disclosure: I have a dog named Binky and he is the best dog ever), Mort, Igor, Crowley, Wensleydale, Milo, Neville, possibly Ozzy.

(I don't actually think Oslo is a bad name, though.)
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 5:09 PM on December 12, 2015 [1 favorite]


Tintin.
posted by irisclara at 5:32 PM on December 12, 2015


Enjoy him! fwiw, when I got a new cat and friends suggested the name Zaphod Beeblebrox (I kid you not) but it seemed too long, I rolled it around a bit and ended up with Zephyr. And your dog looks like a fast runner.

I also like Marvin and Malko.
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 6:20 PM on December 12, 2015 [1 favorite]


Ged! What a gorgeous boy!
posted by theweasel at 7:48 PM on December 12, 2015 [1 favorite]


That's Bacchus.
posted by 26.2 at 9:52 PM on December 12, 2015


Bobo
posted by AugustWest at 10:36 PM on December 12, 2015


Dorio
posted by Quilford at 4:59 AM on December 13, 2015


I'm with SMPA that he needs a name of Norse origin.

Maybe something like Fenrir and you call him "Fen" for short?
posted by VTX at 12:45 PM on December 13, 2015


Otto
posted by calgirl at 2:05 PM on December 13, 2015


Well, hello there Orlando!
posted by h00py at 5:53 AM on December 14, 2015


If he's been answering to 'Oslo' then I suggest you pick a name of two syllables that ends in 'O'.
I did specifically ask whether he responded to Oslo and the answer was no, so the window of opportunity is still open.


Dang. There went the perfect opportunity to name him Milo (from one of the best children's books ever written, albeit a human character).

Well, I'm still suggesting Milo. For what it's worth, the dog character is Tock, but Milo is just a better "call" name.
posted by dlugoczaj at 9:03 AM on December 14, 2015


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