# Can I change his name?



## KaiserAus (Dec 16, 2016)

I don't like the name Kaiser any more... and when his papers came through with his official registration on I see his official name is Winter Grey... would it be wrong of me now to change his name to Winter?

He is nearly 6 months old... will it cause confusion? Should I just stick to Kaiser?


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## Pytheis (Sep 23, 2016)

When I adopted a 10 month old puppy from another family, his name was Rory. I disliked the name, so from day one I called him "Rome". It was close enough to his old name, but also different. Rome had no problems switching names at all, so I think you could rename Kaiser if you wanted to. Often times rescue dogs have a few different names anyway, and they get along fine. I'd say go for it, especially with how young he is.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

You can call him anything you like. Plenty of dogs answer to more than one name. Carly answers to Carly or Girlie. Scarlet answers to Scarlet or Twinkie. And Russ also thinks his name is Big Dog, lol. 

I'd probably called him Kaiser-Winter for a while, then drop the Kaiser. Dogs are smart. He'll figure it out.


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## Slamdunc (Dec 6, 2007)

You can change his name with out any issues. My new dog was 4 or so when I got him, the fist thing I did was change his name. Actually, I never called this dog by his old name, I started right off the bat with his new name. I also changed some of his commands, he was trained in Dutch and had some bad associations. No problem with the name change at all and he was an adult dog.


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

I would wait until after your pre-kindy exam to avoid any confusion. All my dogs have several names and will respond correctly to each of them.


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## scarfish (Apr 9, 2013)

i wouldn't solely because winter is a female name.


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## KaiserAus (Dec 16, 2016)

scarfish said:


> i wouldn't solely because winter is a female name.


Oh, is it? Disappointing. 

Nigel - yes, I will wait till after our graduation. Thanks


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## MadLab (Jan 7, 2013)

> i wouldn't solely because winter is a female name.


Tell that to A boy named Sue, I dare ya... 

Nah seriously your not gonna give the dog a complex by calling it Winter. Like as if it really makes a difference. Any name that suits is good for a dog.

I renamed a few dogs with no bother at all.


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## ksotto333 (Aug 3, 2011)

And I thought you were going with Grey, I liked that name. ?


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## Dracovich (Feb 24, 2017)

I'm pretty sure my dog thinks his name is Bud. I always rename my dogs, some I get at 8 weeks some I get at 5 or more years old. The only problem I see is you and your family adjusting to a new name, I think dogs don't really care.


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## np307 (Feb 22, 2017)

Although I know they recognize certain words, they also recognize a certain tone of voice that gets used with their name. The dog we had growing up was named "hotshot" and responded to "shot" "shotter" "shot put" and "put". My parents' dog is named "Slinky" but responds to "Slink" and, for some reason, "Leroy". Who knows what name Roscoe will end up with as he grows up.


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## LeoRose (Jan 10, 2013)

You can call him whatever you want. He's your dog. My APBT was named Lucy when I got her. I promptly changed her name to Lily. 



scarfish said:


> i wouldn't solely because winter is a female name.


Um... I have a bitch named Leo....


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## Dracovich (Feb 24, 2017)

Be careful, people will think you're discriminating 

The question is not whether we like the new name but whether renaming is a good idea. I'm not one to talk about name preferences, my parents googled the Japanese word for 'white' for my solid white dog and that was good enough for me LOL . . . Before that I got a terribly behaving GSD puppy and I thought "Who is the most annoying and evil character ever?" and I remembered Draco from Harry Potter.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Super easy. You can do it in a few hours. Get some pieces of raw meat and call "Winter!" in a happy voice when he is not distracted. Of course he'll look and you give him a piece. Practice every 15 minutes and he will perk up at the sound of his new name. They don't have a sense of identity with a name. Ideally it is the sound of something fun coming their way. I can call Deja anything I want in a happy voice and she'll come. I like the name Winter. Nothing female/male attached to me.


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## np307 (Feb 22, 2017)

Also...how is winter a female name? Anyone ever heard of 'Old Man Winter'?????


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## NYCgsd (Apr 23, 2016)

What's wrong with Kaiser? I think it's the German version of Caeser, you can call him that if you like, and the Russian version is Czar. Not a fan of Winter lol, but if you're worrying it will confuse him I don't think it will. Say the name, wait for him to look at you, click, then treat. My bitch answers to her name and "hey" and "look".


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## Kazel (Nov 29, 2016)

I think he'll be fine with it, dogs don't seem to care much either way. I'm guessing 99% of shelter dogs and dogs that get rehomed get new names and it doesn't seem to cause any issues with them. The first thing we did with our new dog was give her a new name is she responds great to it.

Also this thread made me think of this:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ab/0f/f7/ab0ff7c156eb99ba88ae8bbdbaf11031.jpg


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## KaiserAus (Dec 16, 2016)

Thanks everyone... its up for discussion with the family so we will see how it goes... we will only start after graduation so we've got 2 weeks to think about it... need to get it right this time


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