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Dog mum's dilemma after choosing 'common' name: 'Doesn't suit him'

By Kristine Tarbert|

A dog mum has shared her regret over the name she chose for her puppy, taking to social media to ask whether it was acceptable to change it.

"Is it wrong to change his name at five-months-old?" the new pet parent asked on a Reddit thread of fellow dog lovers.

"Named him Ollie and it's not fitting. It's also a super common dog name around here."

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dog named ollie
A dog mum has shared her regret over the name she chose for her puppy Ollie. (Reddit)

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After also sharing photos of Ollie, the post received close to 200 comments, with plenty of rescue dog parents sharing that changing a puppy's name isn't a problem.

"Animals learn new names very quickly. It's mostly the way you sound and behave when you say their name that gets a response, not the name itself," one person said.

"It's the command to get their attention or call them over. Don't feel guilty about changing the name."

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The post was also flooded with suggestions for other names including ?Ozzy, Dexter, Benny, Bob, Toby, Peanut, Dudley, Rusty and Elvis.?

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Some people also recommended simply finding a nickname instead of changing the name.

"We have so many nicknames for ours that she responds to all of them, Maggie, Maggie Moo, Moo Moo, Mahmooski. I think it's more about the inflection than the name itself," one person wrote.

While another agreed: "We call ours so many nicknames he probably doesn't even know what his name is and he's five months too."

In the comments, the owner thanked people for their suggestions before revealing the new name they had decided on.

"Renamed him Richard, nickname Dicky. Dick on a bad day. Much more fitting," she said.

Engraved name tags
The pup has since been renamed to Richard. (Greyhound Rescue)

Aussie vet Dr Katrina Warren recently shared some advice with 9Honey for choosing a name for your pet, including revealing what to avoid.

?"While naming a human baby after ?loved ones is largely considered an honour, when it comes to pets, not everyone sees it as such จC therefore I suggest avoiding names of relatives and friends if they are likely to be offended," she warned.

"Similarly, keep in mind your pets, dogs in particular, will need to be trained. As such, avoid naming them something that sounds like common dog training commands, for example, Joe sounds like 'no' and Pitt sounds like 'sit'."

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