A Dog by Any Other Name
What’s in a name, you say?
Oh, just EVERYTHING.
When it’s a dog’s name, it has to serve so many purposes. Especially when you need to be able that name short and sharp for the agility course. But when you’re like many dog folk–and writer folk–it’s got to have MEANING, too. Even if only to amuse your very own self.
The new Beagle youngster started out with a call name of Cubbie. Totally cute! And to build on that, his registered name became Albedo’s Charter Member. (Albedo = kennel name. Charter Member = allusion to the first Mouseketeers.)
Which really, is a nice little package. Especially for a dog headed for the show ring where such things are appreciated.
And then he turns out to be a one-ball wonder (both must descend to make it to the show ring), and THEN someone like me comes along and says, “Er. Cubbie isn’t a good name for agility.”
‘Cuz it’s not. If I tried to say “Cubbie” while running, not getting lost on the course, keeping an eye on the dog, and using the right timing–well, it would come out, “Kuh!” and never find an ending. I’d get all stuck on those bbbbbbs.
But, you know…we still wanted to be clever. So it went like this:
Us: What about “Musketeer” instead of “Mousketeer”? What does that give us to work with?
Muttering: Porthos, Athos, Aramis, D’Artagnan.
Well, Porthos was Captain Archer’s Beagle so that would be cute, but…see above, not a good agility name. None of them are…
But oh. Wait a minute. Did I not hear of one of Patty’s (The Write Horse!) clients, just this spring? D’Artagnan Horse, nicknamed Dart?
Dart, the very perfect name not only for the agility field but for this snake-quick, zoomie little boy dog?
I am not above borrowing.
But…
Us: Shoot, we wanted to do something with “Albedo” if possible, too.
googlegooglegoogle
Oh look! There’s a DART technique for measuring/determining the albedo of various regions of the Earth!
(Disclaimer to scientists who don’t think I said that just right: I know.)
Dart = WIN!
So I would like to introduce this dignified creature in his favorite pose, airing his singular ball, with bone:
Albedo’s Charter Member aka D’Artagnan Beagle aka…
At any given time, this is the view in the office: D'Artagnan Beagle, showing off his most prized possession
Dart!
August 16th, 2010 at 05:13
So cute and I bet the name decision was a lot harder then you just made it seem
August 16th, 2010 at 05:37
Hullo Dart!
August 16th, 2010 at 07:36
Awwwww. Dart wants his tummy rubbed. He’s cute. ^_^
August 16th, 2010 at 09:00
Peggy–He went nameless for quite some time, and answers happily to “Puppy!” ;>
Ruth–Dart is one of those dogs who doesn’t go “wag, wag, wag” but WAG WAG OMG WAG!!, so that’s his hello back!
Crysta–and he is quite used to getting his tummy rubbed and being, er, handled, as he was inspected often to see if that errant little ball had decided to come down yet. We-ellll, once he’s mature, the vet will go up and GET IT! (Turn your heads, guys).
August 16th, 2010 at 09:16
He’s a cutie.
I’d totally steal that name, too.
I’m a firm believer that registered animal names aren’t ready until you reach at least two levels of puns. For me, call names have to be related to the registered name. which is how, for instance, Prospero became Sparrow, and Oberon became Ronnie, etc.
August 16th, 2010 at 09:36
LOL! You are so right…
Sometimes it’s hard to carry off–I do my best to have a hand in the registered name, to make it happen. In this case, we really had to work for it, because the name was a done deal and already working with the call name… And as his breeder says, “No one will get either of those things without a score card!” And she’s right, but *we’ll* know.
Connery = CH MACH Cedar Ridge DoubleOSeven CD RE EAC EJC CGC (his was a litter of seven, and I got to pick the name (brainstormed in my newsgroup!), but the breeder had approval.
Jean-Luc = Cheysuli Jean-Luc Picardigan, OJP NAP OJC NAC CGC (as I was writing a Trek book not long afterward, it only seemed right!)
Belle = Cheysuli’s Silver Belle, CD RE PAX MXP4 MJP3 OFP EAC EJC CGC (Born on Christmas Eve, a blue merle. She is, of course, the classy one of the bunch, probably because I didn’t name her at all; she was a breeder gift at 6mo old).
So now there’s Albedo’s Charter Member, CGC aka Dart!
August 16th, 2010 at 10:08
I always find that I have to wait a little while before naming a pet, so that I can see their personality a little bit. I am a cat person, so I have to watch their demeanor; playful, quiet, lovable, reserved, etc.
SI by the way.
August 16th, 2010 at 10:11
My god daughter shows dogs (She used to show horses), so I understand the name thing. However, when our daughter got a kitten she insisted it had to have a ‘real’ name “Like Ippy’s (Skip N Chase). So, she said that it looked like a butterscotch sundae and she got the kitten on a Sunday, so Sunday’s Butterscotch Sundae was born!
SI
August 16th, 2010 at 10:13
We started pondering from the beginning, but had the puppy for three weeks before settling. Same reason, among other things!
For Duncan Horse, I knew I would be changing his stable name, and I had a list of potential names prepared, with one favorite. He stepped off the trailer and said, “My name is Duncan.” Okay, then. You get what you want! So I named him as soon as I saw him in person, but…well, it was his choice!
(SI!)
August 16th, 2010 at 10:36
Wow, that was quite a process to figure out the name for your puppy
When I had my cat, I gave her the name from one of my favorite shows ‘Serenity’… I loved the show… plus, she was very serene, so it worked, lol
Dart looks so happy in his pick
SI
August 16th, 2010 at 11:04
I think it’s a wonderful name for an adorable dog! It’s always difficult when it comes to decisions like these…you never want to name your pet something you might regret!
SI
August 16th, 2010 at 11:40
When will Dart be mature enough for the vet to…um…take another dart in his underline? Since he’s not destined for the ordinary show ring (as Connery clearly was) would it be done earlier to ease the hormonal storms, or not?
August 16th, 2010 at 11:51
Due to issues of health and bone maturity, he’ll be at least 18 months before the big snip.
Connery was done at 2 1/2, after his breed championship; I suspect Dart will be done about 2yo when all is said and done. We’ll have to target the timing, for one thing–he’ll be running by then (a late start–by his age, Connery was running low-jump courses and channel weaves at 4″ were his favorite thing), and because the vet will have to go fetch the errant ball, it’ll be a bigger surgery than usual.
August 16th, 2010 at 11:53
Stephanie–boy, is that the truth! (SI!)
August 16th, 2010 at 11:55
Alicia, ooh, I loved Firefly! Serenity is a great name for a cat.
Dart had some difficulty with the transition here, but he’s beginning to feel more secure and content. That particular pose didn’t show itself until into his third week here, but now I see it all the time, and I know it was his favorite at his first home, too!
(SI)
August 16th, 2010 at 11:55
Karin, that’s a clever name for a kitten!
(SI)
August 16th, 2010 at 12:03
We figure that no matter how you spell her name you are correct :>)
August 16th, 2010 at 12:14
Enjoyed reading the comments. I give my dogs full names- Johnny Ringo and Lily Cigar are my very active Jack Russell terriers. My vet assures me that he remembers which dogs they are when I call about them. He says that all of his patients have only one name and some of those are questionable as to why they are called that. My dad called any dog he ever had John Wayne because that was his favorite movie star. Sins of the fathers!
August 16th, 2010 at 12:41
Greetings to Dart. He is a cutie and I hope he lives up to his new name by darting (skillfully) round the agility courses. At least he has one ball, my poor Alfie had both his removed before we aquired him.
Oh yes – “SI!” if it counts here
August 16th, 2010 at 13:04
Joye–It’s been fun reading about other pet names!
You know, many of my animals have had at least two names over the years…Dewey Lake, Trudy the Babe (dogs), Rainbow Chameleon (kitty), Valerian Mist (horse), Beauregard le Kitty (obvious!)…the only animals who have a single name are the ones with registered names, so by default they already have two. Although for whatever reason, the Beagles do have “Beagle” as part of their call names. ConneryBeagle, D’Artagnan Beagle…
We humans are funny.
August 16th, 2010 at 13:06
Ilona–Oh, yes, this is the SI place!
Dart’s breeder was of much relief to hear I wanted to wait to neuter until he was done growing. It’s important to have that choice when you can (and that’s why you’ll find me opposing all mandatory spay/neuter laws for dogs. People should make their own health decisions for their animals.)
Gosh, I guess I know what next week’s blog will be about!
August 16th, 2010 at 13:47
Dart is a cutie-pie!
August 16th, 2010 at 13:50
I once named my dog Misty after the song Misty and the Clint Eastwood movie Play Misty for Me. Now my dog’s name is Sandy after Little Orphan Annie’s dog in the funny papers. When I was little that was my favorite comic I liked read to me. So I guess we usually have something in mind when giving our dogs names…not just Spot or Duke.
August 16th, 2010 at 14:28
He is even more cute rightside up when he’s stuff THREE squeakie toys in his mouth!
August 16th, 2010 at 14:29
Oh yeah. It’s got to come from somewhere! ;>
August 16th, 2010 at 14:37
I’m not an animal person, this will count as my lesson
for the day! LOL! Hey, you never know when the
information will come in handy! I’m a grandmother
of ten and the questions they come up with! Oy!
Pat Cochran
August 16th, 2010 at 14:48
Pat–Ten grandkids! Gosh, that’s enough to keep you busy…
August 16th, 2010 at 15:14
SUCH AN ADORABLE PICTURE! I PUT MY AMERICAN ESKINOMO TO SLEEP AFTER 13 YEARS OF HAVING HIM MY BESTEST FRIEND.
August 16th, 2010 at 15:21
Dart is a fine name for horse and dog–and I may just go ride Dart the horse shortly, if I can get this head ache to recede! If I can be in the contest, put me in! SI!
August 16th, 2010 at 15:21
I guess names can be hard to come up with. I’ve never named a pet, at least that I can remember. unless it was a goldfish that died not long after.
However, when my little sister named her Alsatian puppy Ivanhoe so many years ago, I think the rest of our family felt that the name was just a little pretentious. To give such a knightly name to a dog that wasn’t yet potty-trained and tended to be scared of his shadow seemed a too much. However, we got used to the name. Whenever I came home from university or my father from work, Ivanhoe would be the first to greet us, jumping up and around us, and if he was especially excited he’d christen us by piddling on our shoe/foot.
But where he really shone was in the car. He’d sit up tall on the back passenger side facing forward. We soon noticed that whenever we passed a car or one passed us, all the heads in that car would be gazing back…at our knightly, honey-hued Ivanhoe and we’d bask in the reflected glory.
I still miss him sometimes and certainly remember him very fondly although it’s more than 40 years ago.
August 16th, 2010 at 15:27
HI! My dog sleeps like that too! It’s her favorite position! Her name is “Stormie”,
because she was like a little whirl wind storm creeping up on you when I first got her! Thanks!
“SI!”
August 16th, 2010 at 15:46
Linda, I’m so sorry about your Eskie friend. That’s really hard!
August 16th, 2010 at 15:46
You be in! Glad you approve of the name. ;>
August 16th, 2010 at 15:47
Ranurgis — Aww! Ivanhoe sounds quite memorable indeed!
August 16th, 2010 at 15:48
Hi, JoAnn, and SI! Belle Corgi sleeps on her back, too, but not quite as persistently as Dart–and not quite with that “head at right angles to body” thing going on!
August 16th, 2010 at 17:05
My Border Collie “Honey” often sleeps in the same position though often prefers to be up on one of the outdoor chairs, though not exactly supposed to. She looks so cute SI! it’s hard to growl her. You know how it is when they turn those big innocent eyes on you with that “who me?” look!
August 16th, 2010 at 17:09
Trish, I’m not much of a softie for the eyes, I’m afraid. “Oh, aren’t you cute! No, you may not.” Heh heh.
August 16th, 2010 at 17:45
He’s a cutie no matter what way you look at him… SI
August 16th, 2010 at 18:32
Suzy, Upside down or not! ;> SI!
August 16th, 2010 at 18:54
Hi Doranna,
I love your Sentential series. Waiting for more. SI!
August 16th, 2010 at 19:09
Kai, thank you so much! I can’t wait to write Tiger Bound–that’s after the Demon Blade book I’m working on now.
August 17th, 2010 at 11:51
a dog by any other name is very interesting SI!
August 17th, 2010 at 13:53
Hi, Sylvia! Thanks for stopping by!
August 17th, 2010 at 18:48
Aww—Dartie!
Dart looks very much at home.
August 17th, 2010 at 19:02
I think he’s starting to believe.
August 17th, 2010 at 21:48
I am not so original with our dog (who is now been with us 6 yrs). The boys brought her home and she was the cutest thing ever so I said what about Bella. My boys loved it and that was that. She was answering to it almost immediately.
SI
Vicki H
August 18th, 2010 at 10:10
Hi, Vicki–hey, sometimes a name is just “right”! (SI!)
August 18th, 2010 at 15:09
Scruffy turned up on our doorstep at 4months of age, lookin’ very scruffy indeed. She too named herself. LOL
(When she’s had her biannual buzzcut she’s affectionately called Nudey.)
August 18th, 2010 at 22:33
Oh, Scruffy!! I hope she’s doing fine!