It sounds a bit silly but one of the hardest things about getting a new small dog is choosing a suitable name for it that everyone agrees on.
Of course, as long as all the family like the chosen name then it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks about it.
That said, there are a few things that you should bear in mind when naming your dog.
Here are a few tips for choosing small dog names.
Choosing small dog names
- Try to choose a name for your dog that matches their appearance, for example their size, and/or their personality. The name should also match the gender of your dog too, of course. It looks a bit silly if you give your male dog a girl dog name, or likewise if you give your female dog a name that’s more suited to being a boy dog name.
- Your dog will be able to learn and recognize its name more easily if you choose a shorter name. So it’s best to stick to small dog names that only have one or two syllables rather than longer, more complex names.
- It’s a good idea to avoid names that sound similar to commands that you’ll be expecting your dog to obey. As an example, if you called your dog ‘Kit’, it could easily get confused between its name and the ‘Sit’ command as dogs really only recognize the frequency and overall sound of the words, rather than the actual words themselves. Similarly, your dog could easily confuse ‘Joe’ with ‘No’ and so on.
- Dogs respond well to sounds that start with sharp sounding consonants such as ‘s’, ‘sh’ and ‘ch’. So names starting with these sounds make good dog names. Names starting with ‘k’ and ‘t’ also work well.
- Dogs also respond well to words that end in a long ‘e’ or a short ‘a’ sound, for example Tilly or Simba.
- If you choose a very common name for your dog, it may well get very confused when you take it down to the park and there are lots of people calling out its name to their own dogs. Or you may find that when you call your dog, other dogs come running to you! For this reason, you may want to avoid one of the most popular dog names.
- Try your chosen name out for a few days to see how your dog responds to it. This will also give you the chance to see if you actually do like the name and it suits your dog. You can always choose a different name in the first few days if you do decide you don’t like the original name.
- Avoid small dog names that other people might consider to be offensive or annoying. Remember that you’ll have to be shouting out your dog’s name in public places.
- If you’re going to name your dog after a family member, it’s a good idea to ask them how they feel about it first. Not everyone may be happy to share their name with a dog in the family!
- Remember that your dog will have the same name all of its life, so choose a name that will still suit it when it’s older, not just when it’s a cute little puppy.
Small boy dog names
Below is an alphabetical list of all our favorite boy dog names for small dogs:
| Abe | Ace | Alfie |
| Ali | Angus | Archie |
| Art | Astro | Bailey |
| Bandit | Barney | Baron |
| Bart | Baxter | Beans |
| Benji | Bennie | Biker |
| Blackie | Bobo | Bogie |
| Bogart | Bonsai | Boss |
| Boxer | Brownie | Bruiser |
| Buddy | Bullseye | Buster |
| Butch | Buzz | Buzzer |
| Caesar | Capone | Captain |
| Caspar | Champ | Charlie |
| Chester | Chico | Clyde |
| Cody | Colonel | Comet |
| Corky | Cowboy | Curly |
| Dash | Deuce | Digger |
| Doc | Duke | Dusty |
| Earl | Eddie | Elf |
| Elvis | Face | Fang |
| Felix | Frankie | Freddie |
| Gizmo | Gonzo | Grover |
| Gus | Gusto | Guy |
| Hank | Happy | Harley |
| Harvey | Howie | Hunter |
| Iggy | Igor | Inch |
| Inchy | Jack | Jagger |
| Jake | Jakie | Jasper |
| Java | Jessie | Joey |
| Joker | Joshy | Jude |
| Kaiser | Kid | King |
| Lenny | Leo | Levi |
| Lucky | Mac | Max |
| Marley | Mickey | Micro |
| Midge | Midget | Milo |
| Moe | Monty | Mini |
| Mugsy | Nipper | Nitro |
| Obi | Odie | Ollie |
| Oscar | Ozzie | Pablo |
| Paco | Paddy | Patch |
| Patches | Paws | Pepper |
| Pogo | Prince | Pudsie |
| Quincy | Quinn | Racer |
| Radar | Raider | Rags |
| Rambo | Randy | Ranger |
| Rascal | Red | Rocky |
| Rollo | Rover | Rowdy |
| Rudy | Ruff | Rusty |
| Sam | Sammy | Sarge |
| Scamp | Scooby | Scooter |
| Scrapper | Scrappy | Scruffy |
| Shadow | Shane | Shorty |
| Shrimp | Slugger | Snoopy |
| Socks | Sparky | Spike |
| Sport | Spot | Spuds |
| Squirt | Stone | Taco |
| Tag | Tiger | Tiny |
| Toby | Tommy | Toto |
| Tramp | Trouble | Troy |
| Tucker | Tuffy | Tug |
| Ulysses | Vic | Vinny |
| Webster | Wellie | Whistler |
| Willie | Xander | Yoda |
| Yogi | Zack | Zeus |
| Ziggy | Zorro |
Summary
You should put a bit of thought into choosing small dog names. The name should be one that all the family likes and that suits your dog. Our lists of boy small dog names and girl small dog names should hopefully help you to choose the perfect name for your dog.
