When I was growing up, we never gave our dog nicknames.
Then I met my husband and realized he was the king of animal nicknames. He had a cat named Ernie. I loved Ernie. Ernesto Puh-gwa-lo (that’s a long a sound, and please pardon the Hooked-on-Phonics version of the spelling). I don’t know how spell that name, but it was the coolest name ever, so I thought. It was fun to say because of the way the words rhymed and rolled off the tongue, it was awesome.
Why Do We Give Dog Nicknames?
Somewhere along the way, we deviated from cool nicknames to action-based nicknames. In other words, we called our animals names from the actions they performed. I feel this is how most animals get their nicknames.
Why do we come up with nicknames for our dogs and other pets? Let me give you the un-researched, un-verified, reasons. Otherwise known as personal opinions on why we give our dog nicknames.
- We named our pet and as our pet grew the name no longer seemed to fit. An example of this would be a family that picks up a tiny cute fluffy puppy and names her Schnookums. Four years later Schnookums has grown into a lumbering, snarling beast, that is only appeased when food is plunked down in front of her. Eventually, the family gives the dog the nickname, Her Grouchiness.
- We used an eleven-syllable name for our dog and then learned that’s much too long to say all day long. An example of this might be that the kids couldn’t agree on a name, so it became a mishmash of names that became, Annabellastasianatashalyn. Clearly the dog isn’t even going to remember her name. Then the family notices that the dog loves princess movies and they give her the nickname Princess.
- The dog does something cute, funny, or annoying. And the next thing you know the dog has five new nicknames.
The fun of dog nicknames
The other day we gave Pandora a new nickname. That’s when I realized, some of her nicknames no longer fit her. The names were stages of her life growing up and each one is an easy way for us to remember those moments that she earned the nickname. And that’s when I got emotional, because, you know, that’s what I do when people and pets I love grow into new phases.
If you think back to some of your dog’s nicknames you get visuals clearer and brighter than any scrapbook can capture of those moments. I think that’s why we give our dogs nicknames.
Here are a few nicknames we’ve given Pandora
I’m sure a lot of these are given to many dogs, they aren’t special only to our pup. But the memories we get are special to us and your memories are equally as special to you and your dog(s).
- Air Shark – This was the first nickname we gave Pandora. We had called her Land Shark a few times, but this one came after she was in the middle of zoomies and came running to me as I sat on the floor. It was great until she leaped. Thankfully, I quickly dove to the right because as Little Miss flew by my head, all I could hear was the snapping of teeth. We are beyond the Air Shark days. We’re okay with that.
- Little Miss – We started using this early on and we still use it. This nickname denotes she has done something like chewing up toilet paper (in the height of the pandemic shortage, I might add), stealing shoes and hiding them in the yard, chewed up pepper plant, you know, stuff that’s not great, but not horrible.
- Little Miss Athletic – A different version from above. This is for all her athletic skills. The frisbee leaps, the twists and turns. The leaps we’ve grown accustomed to and miss when others see her do something like leap onto the four-foot-high rock wall. Or her vicious cuts when she’s sprinting. By that I mean, she will have another dog chasing her (playfully) and Pandora will run full speed toward the fence and cut right before she hits it. Usually, the other dog can’t turn as quick and runs into the fence. I’m pretty sure they are playing, but there is a bit of evilness to that move.
- Barky McFarty – shortly before she turned one, Pandora was a barking fool. And she went through a horribly gassy phase. Those phases mixed together for a spell; she would bark and then a deadly odor would waft by our noses. We are now past this phase, thank goodness.
- Wags – This nickname will last forever, I’m sure. As she gets older, I’m sure the wag will come solely from the tail, but for now, it’s the full body wag. You know the one, it’s like the wag winds up the body and the body is going all over the place. Wag powered.
- Grumbles – This one is about six months old now, but it’s definitely fitting. Pandora is very grumbling when the cats or us humans aren’t doing what she expects. And she will grumble and sigh and grumble some more. Of course, it makes us laugh which makes her grumble even more.
- Gladys Kravitz – This one is a new nickname for her. And I thought it was a bit original. It’s not. Apparently, it’s a dog thing. Pandora is nosy as all get up. She’s always kept tabs on what is going on at all of our neighbors. However, we just got some new neighbors with little kids and Pandora has become embarrassingly nosy. She will walk right up to the top of the hill and stare down into their yard. Whenever the kids are outside, Pandora has got to see what they are up to. She doesn’t bark, half the time she’s holding her frisbee or her stuffed skunk. But she pays close attention.
