# Two dogs with names that end in "ie" sound a no-no?



## TerraFirma (12 mo ago)

I'm contemplating names for my next dog - and I'm terribly fond of "Archie" but am not sure if that would pose an issue as it's so close to "Izzie." For those of you who do a lot of training work, is this too challenging for dogs that live in the same home?

One thing led to another after Badger passed, and I got a note about a possible "needle in a haystack" SFT boy. I am going to be trialing him to see how he gets on with Izzie. He's been tested with a full range of bitches -- from dolls to bosses. He's an older puppy (6 months) who has tested out as _super _people oriented, unflappable, and totally non-reactive--he's beed dubbed an "old soul" and lacking typical boyish stupidity. He's not going to show as his back is a bit too long, throwing off his squareness. I've decided to hold on integrating a Standard Poodle until I feel 100% comfortable with a breeder, can schedule a couple weeks off for puppy training, and have made greater progress with Izzie's training. I suspect in 2-3 years the Poodle will arrive.  This young SFT boy is a good bridge, it seems, to a full fledged puppy, and I hope that he will be a good mentor/playmate to a Poodle. I am also.....intrigued at the challenge of training up an SFT who could handle some form of therapy work. If that doesn't work out, scent work / agility would be fun.

Other names I'm considering, none of which have the "ie" that Archie does:

Graham
Owen
Ferris
Julian (Jules)
William (Wills)
Jasper

Added photo of lil boy at 16 wks (ears set - they're free now). Hoping all works out!!!


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Sounds like a lovely boy.

Peggy spends time with a dog named Molly and, as far as I can tell, there has been no confusion.


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

Adorable!!!

We had 3 dogs all with -ie ending names at the same time, with no confusion.

Edit - and the 2/3 dogs that visited us regularly also had -ie names. We are really not a creative family apparently!


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## EJStevenP (Oct 27, 2021)

He is absolutely adorable!!! I love all of those names but especially Owen.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Oh the photo!


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

(He is totally an Archie.)


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## TerraFirma (12 mo ago)

PeggyTheParti said:


> (He is totally an Archie.)


Right?! I've been told that he's a bit of a klepto (well, "collector" was the term used) and will corral his toys before he sleeps at night and will also swipe slippers, socks, etc. I have a photo of him sound asleep in a bed with his mentor dog - toys in and around the bed. 🤗

We shall see if he and Izzie agree about this arrangement, and if so, which name _he chooses_. LOL


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## Happy'sDad (Jul 4, 2020)

I had Spanky with Happy. There was no confusion. She knew that was his name and will still look for him if I call out his name.


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## Cariboo Poodle (Nov 17, 2021)

When I started to do Obedience classes with both Gypsy and Pixie I realized how close their names seemed to be. All my other dogs names end in (ie) or  but don't seem the same like theirs are.


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## Wooster Tim (Nov 11, 2021)

Keke, gets confused I think when I call KC. She always gets up and comes to me.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Archie should not be a problem as a name since the first syllable in both names is quite different. However do you really want three dogs within a couple of years? If you really want a spoo I would wait for a spoo.


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## MaizieFrosty (Apr 12, 2019)

What a cute puppy. The ears are "set?" Is that a cosmetic procedure? 

Catherine is always my voice of reason on the forum, so I'm also wondering how you feel about having so many youngsters in a short timeframe and how that will be down the road. I have so much anxiety about the possibility of losing M & F close together, not to mention my father if all of them live to the age they're "supposed to."


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## SandyTopknot (8 mo ago)

What a cutie-pie!! And Archie is a great name.

(Um...full disclosure...one of my dogs is named Archie...)

In the house at the same time I've had Billy, Bonnie, and Duffy, all of whom earned lots of titles each and none of whom were confused. Bet you and Izzy and Archie will have SO much fun together as you await your Standard Poodle puppy.


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## Meisha (Sep 21, 2020)

Maddie and Eddie the dogs and Emmy and Elly the cats all figured it out at my place for the most part. Actually, Elly hid under the bed her whole life and Emmy eventually became The Cat. But the dogs were good.


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## Starla (Nov 5, 2020)

This week we are struggling with dogs Phoebe and Abby. Not just me, but everybody, kids and adults alike, as well as the dogs. What is funny is we turned down several names for being too close to names or nicknames not just for my kids but also for my brother’s kid and dog, and yet one we thought would work is confusing.


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## Meganf1027 (Oct 22, 2018)

We have a Rosie and a Harlee, no confusion!


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## TerraFirma (12 mo ago)

MaizieFrosty said:


> What a cute puppy. The ears are "set?" Is that a cosmetic procedure?
> 
> Catherine is always my voice of reason on the forum, so I'm also wondering how you feel about having so many youngsters in a short timeframe and how that will be down the road. I have so much anxiety about the possibility of losing M & F close together, not to mention my father if all of them live to the age they're "supposed to."


Generally you set them when teething starts to ensure you have a good crease in the right place - ears can do wild things during teething. It's precautionary and doesn't bother the dogs at all. Much less frustration to the puppy than posting ears. 

Izzie is 8 years old, so if this little guy works out, it'd be 8 years old, and then a 2-3 year split between Dog #2 and Dog #3. Of course 2 and 3 could go within a tight timeframe. I've lost dogs within a couple years of each other. It's quite hard, but, there is also always a puppy ready to have a home. I love a new project. We'll see how it all unfolds. If Lil Mr. doesn't pan out, I'll look towards a poodle next spring/summer, but if Lil Mr. does pan out - especially if he truly is a balanced, sane SFT - that's not one to pass up. SFTs will always be my 🧡 breed.


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

Good luck with this boy! Hope he works out for you! 

(After seeing the light-fingered...err...pawed? reference, I'll think of him as the Artful Dodger )

We had Holly and Noel, they became nicknamed Polly and Nelly (among so many others) and it was never an issue.

I do wish we'd realized the trouble we'd have initially with Remo and Neo's names. Strangers always do, and we still occasionally get the names jumbled to Nemo and Reo lol. So long as we have eye contact, it's not a big thing.


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## 94Magna_Tom (Feb 23, 2021)

Rose n Poos said:


> Good luck with this boy! Hope he works out for you!
> 
> (After seeing the light-fingered...err...pawed? reference, I'll think of him as the Artful Dodger )
> 
> ...


HaHa! Elroy gets called Leroy by many acquaintances that have met him before but don't really know him.

HaHa, Sorry! ...back to our regular station.


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## EJStevenP (Oct 27, 2021)

TerraFirma said:


> Izzie is 8 years old, so if this little guy works out, it'd be 8 years old, and then a 2-3 year split between Dog #2 and Dog #3. Of course 2 and 3 could go within a tight timeframe. I've lost dogs within a couple years of each other.


Our age differences are 14 years, 15 months, and 10 months. I think as long as you are knowledgeable and prepared it can work really well. It is a project for sure!


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## Oonapup (Oct 16, 2020)

I don't have strong opinions about name endings but I just came here to say, he is SO LOVELY and I hope it works out!


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## TerraFirma (12 mo ago)

EJStevenP said:


> Our age differences are 14 years, 15 months, and 10 months. I think as long as you are knowledgeable and prepared it can work really well. It is a project for sure!


I'm definitely open to what life brings. I tried to bring in a rescue dog back in 2020 (GSD cross), and that didn't work out. Then a Spoo this spring that ended in tragedy. I just passed on another Spoo litter because I didn't feel 100% comfortable with the breeder/breeding pair. And finding an amiable SFT boy was not the plan. I was planning on continuing to work with Izzie and looking at a Spoo pup from another breeder in the future (knowing I'd likely be waitlisted for a long while). When this guy's breeder contacted me about him, I was like - no way. And receiving the 40 page "puppy guide" from his breeder was like a cosmic gift! She's been totally transparent. The contract is logical too. I knew we were aligned but not to this degree.

Maybe I'm hopelessly optimistic, but I can see the long game here. I'm still redesigning my garage for the one-day Poodle and its grooming station!

We'll see what path emerges over the next months and years.

I'm glad that everyone has had general success with ie/y names. 😀


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## TerraFirma (12 mo ago)

Rose n Poos said:


> Good luck with this boy! Hope he works out for you!
> 
> (After seeing the light-fingered...err...pawed? reference, I'll think of him as the Artful Dodger )
> 
> ...


My parents' dogs get jumbled all the time: Winston and Finn. It's Winn, Finnston, HEY YOU more than not!


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## TerraFirma (12 mo ago)

EJStevenP said:


> He is absolutely adorable!!! I love all of those names but especially Owen.


Yes...this is a very close second to Archie and fits his soft eyes.


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## Pavie (May 4, 2021)

He looks like a lovely dog! 

Just a thought... you could call him "Archer" instead of "Archie" if the two "ie" names get too confusing. But hopefully it wouldn't be a problem!


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## TerraFirma (12 mo ago)

Well, none of the umpteen names we threw out the last 24 hours stuck until.....we hit Henry. Oh Henry! Dear Henry.... (cue that annoying Sesame Street Song - yes, we've sung it at him). He's been spoiled by his breeder and has some naughty habits I'm going to have a dickens of a time convincing him aren't correct...like getting on the furniture...


















He'll be six months the 7th of July.

He's putting my puppy training wheels back on for the future, and I realize I had forgotten how much work puppies are. Sure I knew it intellectually - but the WORK. My body forgot. Thankfully it's not the majority of their lives. LOL. I'm already ready for his sane brain to set in. 😂


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

You did it!?! 

Helloooooooooo Henry!


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Henry!!


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## 94Magna_Tom (Feb 23, 2021)

What a perfect name😍. Ohh Henry! Izzy and Henry will be best buds in no time! I'm sure they'll keep their names straight too!


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## TerraFirma (12 mo ago)

Rose n Poos said:


> You did it!?!
> 
> Helloooooooooo Henry!


Yep, my gut wasn't sitting right with any of the local Spoo breeders--key pieces were missing in their breeding programs. Beautiful dogs but...your analogy of the wood shingle roof is exactly it. The only ones I felt 100% comfortable with were on the coasts. I never thought I'd find another SFT given that Izzie has low tolerance for mayhem, but so far this boy is exactly as his breeder said - deferring, totally non-reactive, sturdy and _extremely_ social with dogs and people of all ages. He's full of joy with bursts of charming mischief. Watching Izzie and him zooming in the backyard last night was wonderful. She can be a workaholic and overly serious, so this is good for her as well.

I think he's going to be a wonderful mentor someday and will have the energy to keep up with a Standard without being overbearing. He's so gentle. He's going to train me up too...I've been pretty spoiled with "turnkey" retired shows. 

Interestingly, last week at Izzie's training class, one of the trainers commented on how she reminds him of a Poodle. I asked what he meant, and he commented on the similarities with independence and intelligence and always thinking outside the box, and asking "why?"...I said a Standard is in my longterm plans, and he laughed. "At least you're consistent!" 

This also gives my landscape time to grow up before a "big" puppy comes in.


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

The only time I have heard of dogs having difficulty discerning their names was when they were very similar, like "Willie" and "Wooly". The owner eventually changed the name of the new dog as both dogs kept responding to both names. For the record, she did not name the second dog. It came with the similar sounding name.


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## Dianaleez (Dec 14, 2019)

Our Aussie Terrier was Fred. 

My husband is Ed.

I'll leave the rest to your imagination.


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## Pearl Grey (Nov 20, 2019)

Congrats on your lovely boy. And thank you for starting this thread. I've been brainstorming names for the next poodle and I like Sidney. But I have Maisie and didn't know if that would be confusing.
Not that I have any plans for the next poodle yet! Maisie is quite time consuming enough all by herself!


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## Sylvia K (Feb 4, 2021)

I like Archie but Henry does sound really good for him!. My current mini poodle is Ernie and my previous two toys were Teddy and Toby. I can't remember ever having a problem with any of them getting confused but I often got confused and called the wrong name. Somehow the right dog seemed to know who I actually meant though and responded


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