THRILLING DOG MYSTERY REVEALED

July 22, 2024 4:23 PM

I have stumbled onto some syllables that may unlock the secret to my dog's original name. What conceivable dog names might rhyme with DOIN'?

History: My most difficult dog, Kuiper, has lived with me for a little over 3 years now. He is (probably) 12 years old and of unknown provenance. His shelter name at PAWS was Kipper. They got him from a shelter transfer from someplace in Tennessee, where he had spent the prior 9 months. What his life was like before then? No one knows.

Kuiper is awful. Mean, anxious, on drugs, a bully, nasty, probably wanted for felonious assault in multiple states. I love him. It has been very very hard to connect with this boy, but we're still improving day by day.

So anyway long story short, a few minutes ago he was doing a very big stretchy. But instead of saying "ooh big stretchy" like I usually do, this time for whatever reason I said "oh are you doin' a big stretch?" When I said "doin'" he whipped his head around and stared at me like I had just said something very interesting. I said it again, and he did the head tilt (he never does this). When he started walking away from me I said "doin'" again, and he whipped his head back around and just gave me a LOOK. Like I've never seen from him before.

I've been testing this for the last several minutes and guys, I really think this is more than coincidence. I think his original name might share those syllables. DOO-en. Not DOO alone, not ewan or bruin or dune.

Can you please help me brain storm some conceivable dog names that contain the sounds in DOO-en so I can try them out?

posted by phunniemee to Grab Bag (37 answers total)

I have to mention this may not be HIS name. I had a friend who rescued a dog and every time a word similar to it's old owner's name was said, the dog would get all excited.
Could be a dog friend, a human from his other life, or what they called a treat.
posted by ReluctantViking at 4:26 PM on July 22 [3 favorites]

Not the doggiest of names, but Euan does rhyme
posted by space snail at 4:33 PM on July 22 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for the gut check. Eager for any and all words that might make this dog resent my affection less.
posted by phunniemee at 4:33 PM on July 22

Oops, sorry, you already ruled that out
posted by space snail at 4:34 PM on July 22

Doohan (pronounced doin') is a name - it's the name of the guy who played Scotty on Star Trek!
posted by capricorn at 4:48 PM on July 22 [2 favorites]

Dwayne.
posted by cocoagirl at 5:09 PM on July 22

Llewyn
Rubin
posted by sciencegeek at 5:19 PM on July 22

Doobie?
posted by lapis at 5:29 PM on July 22

Boone?
posted by tau_ceti at 5:40 PM on July 22 [2 favorites]

I found this name finder that lets you search by "contains". For doin, a boy name Baudoin was suggested. Doen and dooen bring up nothing, dwen brings up several girl names.
posted by Eyelash at 5:54 PM on July 22 [1 favorite]

Dewie
posted by deadcrow at 5:54 PM on July 22

I wonder if "Whatcha doin?" or some other phrase with "doin" in it was something someone used to say to him a lot. Maybe there was a person he liked who would come to the house and say, "How you doin, doggo?" and pet him or give him a treat. Maybe when he pooped they said, "Are you doin your duty?" Maybe when he was doing what he was supposed to do - lying on his bed or being quiet instead of barking, they said, "That's a good boy, you're doin good" and then they gave him a treat.
posted by Redstart at 6:03 PM on July 22 [9 favorites]

Bruin?
posted by bricoleur at 6:13 PM on July 22 [8 favorites]

Bruin!
Shoe-in?
He just flew in from Chicago… (WOOF)
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 6:15 PM on July 22 [2 favorites]

hehehe - bricoleur in a photo finish!
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 6:16 PM on July 22

Dugan?
Dougal?
Dewey?

Congratulations on your difficult rescue dog. It's heartbreaking when you can see the signs of their previous lives, good and bad. Ours (uncertain age) knew a variety of commands including Paw, and was afraid of the garden hose and most men.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 6:18 PM on July 22 [2 favorites]

When my son was just getting the sounds of language, he would say, musically adoin? because I often said Whatchadoin? Try asking Whatchadoin? Also Louis/Lewie, a dog I used to know, not felonious in the least.
posted by theora55 at 6:24 PM on July 22

Probably not, but "Ruin"?
posted by Calvin and the Duplicators at 7:06 PM on July 22

Definitely try “whatchadoin?” in a hyped up tone. That was an invitation to begin play and zoomies with some husky mixes I used to see regularly.

Names though, let’s see… Dewey, of course. Bedouin? Dawson? Dolman? Maudlin? Andouille (as in the sausage)?

If he is responding to atypical vocalizations from you, have you ever tried singing to him? Some dogs just love singing.
posted by Mizu at 7:09 PM on July 22 [1 favorite]

Doolin/Duelin'
posted by teremala at 7:09 PM on July 22

Response by poster: have you ever tried singing to him?

He is so tired of my shit like 95% of the time.

So far Dwayne has gotten the most reaction from him but I've definitely worn him out and he tends to do poorly after the sun goes down, so we'll revisit tomorrow.
posted by phunniemee at 7:17 PM on July 22 [6 favorites]

Dooin is a surname.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:25 PM on July 22

My first thought was also Duane or Dwayne but I think Bruin (pronounced like brew-in) is a closer to rhyme to doin' and also a good name for a dog. (It means bear)
posted by metahawk at 9:07 PM on July 22 [3 favorites]

Joey Tribbiani's immortal catchphrase, how-you-doin'
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:48 PM on July 22

Druid?
posted by saladin at 4:44 AM on July 23

My first thought was Reuben.
posted by yclipse at 5:32 AM on July 23

Puddin’? Not exactly to spec, but a very Tennessee dog name. Accent that “u” to get closer to “doin’”.
posted by momus_window at 7:07 AM on July 23

What's wrong with plain ol' Doin'? It has a nice sound to it, he likes it, and a cute connotation (like he was always doin' something as a puppy).
posted by bluesky78987 at 7:40 AM on July 23

Ruin would be a weird name for a dog, but what about Roone? (There's a character in that old Bette Midler movie, Big Business, with that name.)

I also agree that it's possible that a previous owner said, "Whatcha doin'?" a lot.
posted by leftover_scrabble_rack at 9:08 AM on July 23 [1 favorite]

I think doin' is a great name for a dog, but if you want to try discovering the original name some more, I'd give Godwin a shot.
posted by nobody at 9:27 AM on July 23

Try asking Whatchadoin?
I also agree that it's possible that a previous owner said, "Whatcha doin'?" a lot.

or maybe "How you doin'?" like Joey from Friends?
posted by rube goldberg at 10:39 AM on July 23

Maybe the previous owners were fans of Isabella on Phineas & Ferb. EVERY SINGLE "What'cha doin?" EVER.
posted by cocoagirl at 11:05 AM on July 23

Oh my god how could I have forgotten the What the Dog Doin’ vine/meme?? It was posted ten years ago and has had a few different moments of vitality in the following decade. It is possible that your mystery beast was named Doin as in the vine itself.
posted by Mizu at 4:23 PM on July 23

Doogan?
posted by adekllny at 6:03 PM on July 23 [1 favorite]

I also agree that it might be something to do with his old owners as well. Our antique Chihuahua (20y old). Now, we know nothing about Mr. Sam except that he was picked up running on the mean streets of Temple City and he conned my wife into adopting him when he was 5. (The little shit still has a big bright orange caution sticker on his papers every time at the vets office)

The one glimmer of his previous life is that for years when we would say the name "Lupe" or "Lupita" (don't remember how we stumbled on this) he would lose his gourd. Led us both to think he must have had a Lupe in his previous life because I can't see someone naming him that.
posted by drewbage1847 at 10:13 AM on July 24

Response by poster: Non update update, we have made no further progress, and since yesterday afternoon the only thing he's choosing to respond to in any way is the rattling sound of the treats jar. 😑
posted by phunniemee at 5:30 PM on July 24 [3 favorites]

The first thing that popped into my head was 'Bruin', pronounced like "doin'" with a 'B'. Maybe worth a shot, especially if he's a big old bear of a dog?
posted by Chairboy at 2:31 AM on July 26