NAMING THE PUPPY.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 660, 13 January 1933, Page 9

NAMING THE PUPPY.

Unimaginative Names are the Rule. PROBLEM OF THE NEW DOG. When a new puppy arrives there is always a great deal of discussion in the household about, its name. A wellloved puppy with any personality about it deserves something better than Spot or Patch or Ginger or Snap. Yet it is surprising how few people think of giving their dogs apt and imaginative names, although they .always seem delighted when they find friends’ dogs charmingly or unusually named. Sometimes, of course, the commonplace is deliberately chosen. A puppy friend of mine was bought at the door for half a crown. He was supposed to be a smooth-haired terrier, but his nose was short and slightly upturned, his body was shapeless, and on his neck there was a goitre. In fact, he was unmistakably plebeian. Shortly afterwards he answered to the name of Smith. Quite right, too. Down the road, on the other hand, there is a dog about whose ancestry the less said the better, whose ears are odd and whose coat grows in all the wrong places. No one would mistake him for a Vere de Vere. But. his mistress thinks there is not another dog like him in the world, and no one could truthfully contradict her. Out of her love she calls him Ronald. More suitably named is a rare blue-roan cocker whose quiet content, it has been since puppyhood to sit in a motor-car and look down his nose at everyone, including his owner. This dog’s name is Cholmondeley. Some names are merely insulting. T know a Scottish terrier, a Scot of Scots, one who would rejoice the heart of Mr Compton Mackenzie and the Scottish Nationalists. Was it fair to call him Harry? There is often virtue in simplicity. Bill takes on a new dignity when applied to a sleepy old bulldog. Indeed, the breed is often the key to the name. Irish setters, for example, are easy. Molly, Meg and Flinders are always good. Their red coats suggest Rufus and Riot, too. An Airedale bitch needs nothing lovelier than Jess. Gundogs want something short and sharp. I know a retriever called Night and a creamy Clumber spaniel called Park, both well named. There is also a charming cocker spaniel, with a small white waistcoat, nicely named Star. Once you get interested you start collecting names. In the Lake District this year I met a foxhound beautifully named Crystal. At the same farm (they were people after my own heart) there was a sharp little terrier called Tiptoes. Both those names I treasure. They will be used again one day. Of course, the whole question is one of personal taste. A puppy’s nature suggests so many things to different people. But if pursued with enthusiasm it is another of those many joys which are known to those who delight in keeping a dog.