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Nicknames for your best buddy
- By Author Specified in Link
- Published 12/11/2008
- Main Category
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http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/peters/2008-12-09-pet-talk_N.htm
Call your dog a nickname, and he'll come
Back in the days when dogs had actual dog names — Blackie
and Queenie, and Spot and King — that's what they were
called. Rover was Rover. And that was that.
Now that dogs have human names like Jackson and Gracie,
and cutesy names like Chablis and GinFizz, and celebrity
names like Mylie and Tyra, and destination names like
Montana and Vegas, most seem to have nicknames as well.
My neighbor's dog Piper is also regularly called "Pippy." My
friend's dog Al is also known as "Doodlebug." Both dogs,
according to their owners, respond to not only to their given
names but their nicknames.
Each of my pets, I confess with … well, maybe some
mortification, has an assortment of nicknames. Jasper the
mutt who looks to be mostly Australian shepherd (but he is
not, and in fact is so many generations removed from pure
blood even geneticists can find only hints of whence he
came) has five nicknames.
The little neighbor kids couldn't say "Jasper" when they met
him years ago, so their version, "Dass-Paw," spawned three
variations that stuck: Dasspoo, Dasspy and Dass. Then, at
some point, I also began calling him "Buddy" sometimes,
and Buddy became, in ways I can't recall and probably
shouldn't, "ButterButt." He responds cheerfully and unfailingly
to each and every one of them. Really.
My other dog, a wise old 80-pound malamute/German
shepherd mix named Rufus, has the predictable "Rufe"
nickname. Rufe morphed into "Boof" which, over time,
enlarged to "Diggity-Boof," which got abbreviated to "D-B."
Yeah. Well. These things happen. They make sense to
Rufie-Doof, and he responds to all of them.
It could be argued that most dogs are good-natured enough
to respond to almost anything you call them as long as you
use the right tone. There's truth in that, to be sure. But I have
long been convinced that many dogs recognize not only their
own names but nicknames. I base this on the fact that when
I call for Jasper by any of his various nomenclatures, he'll
come running. And Rufus stays right where he is. Doesn't even
twitch an ear. His thinking is clear: "This has nothing to do with me."
The converse is also true. Jasper completely ignores me if I
call to Rufus using any of his multiple names (but keeps an
eye on what's transpiring, just in case, for the first time in
recorded history, I slip Rufus a treat on the sly).
All of that amounts to pretty compelling evidence that they
know not only their names but also their nicknames. At least
as I see it.
Still, I'm familiar enough with the level of fantasy the loving pet
owner is capable of that I felt the need to consult with an
unbiased expert. Can a dog really and truly recognize his
nickname?
I turned to Harrisburg, Pa., trainer/animal behavior consultant
Lee Livingood, a woman respected in her field — a rock-solid
sort who seems almost constitutionally incapable of goofy
flights of whimsy, even when it comes to animals, which she
clearly holds in the highest regard.
Without the slightest snicker or hesitation, she responded to
the "can they?" question. "Yes. Absolutely. If you've used it
often enough to create an association with the name that
makes it relevant, certainly."
The fact is, she says, dogs make associations all the time, like
those that have learned that when you pick up the car keys,
there's some chance that a car ride is possible, and they leap
and pant like crazed coyotes.
So if you use the nickname often enough in ways they recognize
apply to them — you give them a treat or pat them on the head
as you're saying it, or tell them it's time for a walk — they
remember it and add it to their personal list of AKAs.
They will not, on the other hand, make special note of other
oft-repeated words, like, well, invectives that might get
repeated 30 or 40 times a day around your house, since
you're clearly not looking at him or praising him or drawing
him in. Just so you know.
Is there a limit to the number of nicknames a dog can learn?
Well, "that probably varies from dog to dog; some dogs
generalize a lot faster than others." That's polite dog-trainer
talk for some dogs are smart and some are dim bulbs, and
the latter probably won't learn multiple nicknames very quickly.
—Sharon L. Peters is an award-winning pet journalist who
lives in Colorado. She has two dogs and a cat.
Call your dog a nickname, and he'll come
Back in the days when dogs had actual dog names — Blackie
and Queenie, and Spot and King — that's what they were
called. Rover was Rover. And that was that.
Now that dogs have human names like Jackson and Gracie,
and cutesy names like Chablis and GinFizz, and celebrity
names like Mylie and Tyra, and destination names like
Montana and Vegas, most seem to have nicknames as well.
My neighbor's dog Piper is also regularly called "Pippy." My
friend's dog Al is also known as "Doodlebug." Both dogs,
according to their owners, respond to not only to their given
names but their nicknames.
Each of my pets, I confess with … well, maybe some
mortification, has an assortment of nicknames. Jasper the
mutt who looks to be mostly Australian shepherd (but he is
not, and in fact is so many generations removed from pure
blood even geneticists can find only hints of whence he
came) has five nicknames.
The little neighbor kids couldn't say "Jasper" when they met
him years ago, so their version, "Dass-Paw," spawned three
variations that stuck: Dasspoo, Dasspy and Dass. Then, at
some point, I also began calling him "Buddy" sometimes,
and Buddy became, in ways I can't recall and probably
shouldn't, "ButterButt.
to each and every one of them. Really.
My other dog, a wise old 80-pound malamute/German
shepherd mix named Rufus, has the predictable "Rufe"
nickname. Rufe morphed into "Boof" which, over time,
enlarged to "Diggity-Boof,
Yeah. Well. These things happen. They make sense to
Rufie-Doof, and he responds to all of them.
It could be argued that most dogs are good-natured enough
to respond to almost anything you call them as long as you
use the right tone. There's truth in that, to be sure. But I have
long been convinced that many dogs recognize not only their
own names but nicknames. I base this on the fact that when
I call for Jasper by any of his various nomenclatures, he'll
come running. And Rufus stays right where he is. Doesn't even
twitch an ear. His thinking is clear: "This has nothing to do with me."
The converse is also true. Jasper completely ignores me if I
call to Rufus using any of his multiple names (but keeps an
eye on what's transpiring, just in case, for the first time in
recorded history, I slip Rufus a treat on the sly).
All of that amounts to pretty compelling evidence that they
know not only their names but also their nicknames. At least
as I see it.
Still, I'm familiar enough with the level of fantasy the loving pet
owner is capable of that I felt the need to consult with an
unbiased expert. Can a dog really and truly recognize his
nickname?
I turned to Harrisburg, Pa., trainer/animal behavior consultant
Lee Livingood, a woman respected in her field — a rock-solid
sort who seems almost constitutionally incapable of goofy
flights of whimsy, even when it comes to animals, which she
clearly holds in the highest regard.
Without the slightest snicker or hesitation, she responded to
the "can they?" question. "Yes. Absolutely. If you've used it
often enough to create an association with the name that
makes it relevant, certainly."
The fact is, she says, dogs make associations all the time, like
those that have learned that when you pick up the car keys,
there's some chance that a car ride is possible, and they leap
and pant like crazed coyotes.
So if you use the nickname often enough in ways they recognize
apply to them — you give them a treat or pat them on the head
as you're saying it, or tell them it's time for a walk — they
remember it and add it to their personal list of AKAs.
They will not, on the other hand, make special note of other
oft-repeated words, like, well, invectives that might get
repeated 30 or 40 times a day around your house, since
you're clearly not looking at him or praising him or drawing
him in. Just so you know.
Is there a limit to the number of nicknames a dog can learn?
Well, "that probably varies from dog to dog; some dogs
generalize a lot faster than others." That's polite dog-trainer
talk for some dogs are smart and some are dim bulbs, and
the latter probably won't learn multiple nicknames very quickly.
—Sharon L. Peters is an award-winning pet journalist who
lives in Colorado. She has two dogs and a cat.
