# 3 syllable name too much for a pup?



## Mog (Aug 10, 2012)

Hi,

I've always liked the name Maximus and I have a 4 year old daughter who loves it, as it's the name of the horse on Tangled 

I should know in 2 weeks or so, if I'll be able to get a male from the litter I'm interested, so trying to decide on names now 

I know we can use Max for short, but I would like to use Maximus as well. Should I start with Max and slowly introduce Maximus? Should I use both when I bring him home? Is it a bad idea to use 3 syllables?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. All my pets have had 1 or 2 syllable names... not sure if 3 would be pushing it or not.

Thanks!

Alex


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Delgado answers to his name just fine from the start . Though in a hurry it comes out a garbled Gado! Lol


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## GusGus (Oct 24, 2012)

I don't know any dogs with more than a 2 syllable name, but if you started with Maximus and he didn't really respond well I'm sure he'd get max. I decided to name my boy Augustus and I just call him Gus. I don't know that I've ever really used Augustus? Lol


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## Caledon (Nov 10, 2008)

When I call Dakota, I place very little emphasis on the da, drag out the ko and highlight the ta part. 

I would have preferred two syllables but I was outvoted on the name.

After 4 years of calling her name, we are both used to it.


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

My pups name is Berlin and I call her B half the time 

You'll probably end up shortening it to Max anyway


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

It's not a no no...but he'll probably just start reacting to "Max." The reason you don't want more than 3 syllables is because after 2 they're already reacting to it and know what's coming next so you're just wasting YOUR breath saying it. If you call him Maximus, I'd be shocked if he didn't react to a quick Max, Maxim, Maxy, or anything else you can think of that starts with Max.

It's not a big deal...but in training you'll kind of be delayed by having to say his full name and then telling him a command. You usually want to keep things as short as possible since they have quite a short attention span when it comes to vocabulary and figuring out what it is you're trying to tell them they did right or wrong.


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## AHWooWoo (Jan 15, 2013)

We named our new puppy, "Apollo". I was also concerned that the name was too long, but it has worked so far. Our puppy trainer actually asked us not to say his name when giving a command. For instance, we're told to say, "Sit", not "Apollo, sit". I don't know if that is the most effective technique, but it's the one used by this particular obedience instructor. So, for this kindergarten class, a longer name is not impacting the training.


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## mandiah89 (Jan 18, 2013)

I know a few dogs named maximus, most of the time they are shortened to max, but nontheless they dont have a problem knowing their full name


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Alex, I promise you, your pup will have no problems with what ever name you call him. 

"Maximus" might pose a problem for you when you are attempting to sheild your ankles from his razor sharp puppy teeth while screaming his name....but your pup won't mind one bit. 

In fact, I'd be willing to wager that you'll call your pup your child's name and your child your pup's name more than once!


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

I have 4 dogs with long names:

Ironhide: gets shortened to Heidi (she is a girl, Ironhide is apparently a "boy" name, so my friends husband started calling her Ironheidi, and then the shorter "heidi" stuck)
Gladiator: only my husband shortens it to Gator
Cream Puff: Shortened to Puff, Puff Puff ( my trainer couldn't get her name right for a long time and added butter muffin, Muffin Puff and a few others to the list of things she would respond to LOL)
Duke Nukem: Just gets shortened to Duke

We always started the dogs off with calling them by their full name, and then the shortened version just sort of happened. Mine have always done fine, and even with Gladiator, I do not shorten his name, I just learned to say it faster!


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## Mog (Aug 10, 2012)

Thanks for the replies all!

I'm sure I'll get my daughter and pup's named mixed up a few times  Especially when we're all out playing in the back yard. 

Lilie, point well taken! lol I started laughing when I pictured that happening, which I'm sure it will 

I guess I was wondering more if he would be able to learn a 3 syllable name... I plan on using Max for training because it's short, but want to be able to use Maximus as well, so wasn't sure if I should begin with one or the other.

Since there isn't much training the first few weeks, I think i'll start with Maximus and I'm sure by the time we pick up the training speed, he'll respond to Max as well.


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## TommyB681 (Oct 19, 2012)

mines kennel name was 4 shortened it to 2 made it easier for her to learn


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## Mooch (May 23, 2012)

My mastiff x was called Maxine - she always got called max or maxi  


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