Hunting dogs and their names

Nimrod - a mighty hunter before God

What kind of hunting dog? Birds? 'Coons? Retriever?

I kind of like Remington.

I like Nugent a lot--very funny.

My BIL hunts, and he names his dogs regular girls' names, or if the breeder picked one, he generally keeps it. Just saying, you can go against type or be ironic, too.

It does rather depend, as mentioned above, on what kind of hunting dog it is.

From your list, I'd choose Remington.

Once knew a beautiful Blue Tick with the name Rommel (as in Desert Fox.)

REMLIG said:

The owner/character is a big game hunter but also hunts birds, upland game and he is also a fisherman.

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A big game hunter would likely want something to trail animals (more hound variety), while a bird hunter usually wants a retriever/pointer/flusher.

Those traits (trailing and retrieving/pointing/flushing), as far as I know, aren't skill sets that overlap in a single breed of dog. So you might want to pick whether the MC has a hound dog or a bird dog first, before trying to come up with name.

As far as the names: I love the name Remington, but I am biased, because I've got a ridgeback named Lord Remington LaRoo of Tsavo. (Coincidentally, out of all those names, he answers to none them *shrugs*)

ETA: We call my dog Roo, because as others have mentioned, one-syllable names seem to work better. Hunting scenarios can be intense, and therefore the less time you spend saying your dog's 37-word/syllable name, the quicker you can get to the command that's needed.

REMLIG said:

The owner/character is a big game hunter but also hunts birds, upland game and he is also a fisherman.

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What kind of a man is he? Is he practical, naming the dog something easy to shout, and not to be confused with another command? Crockett, maybe. Is he sentimental, naming it after a family dog? A traditionalist? (All our hounds have been called 'Bugle') Would he name a dog for a moment's joke? Or just give it a generic name, a quick label? "Blue".

Okay, while I like the concept of giving a dog a name that is cute for it's job, you have to look at the practicalities of the name as well.

Hunting dogs - and by that I mean real, working dogs (not just hunting, but any working dogs) tend to have short, one syllable names. Just look at sheepdog trails - you'll have Meg, Con, Jim, Bill, Sal etc - short names that can be fired out like a command.

The same goes for hunting. I've had collies and spaniels all my life, and the same ting applies - short, sharp names are the most effective.

Look at it this way - calling a name is like issuing a command, the longer and more complicated the command, the easier it is to get lost in translation. Short and neat.

I had a springer/collie that I stupidly named Elizabeth - in practical terms that didn't work. Ended up as Bess.

You'll also want a name that doesn't sound like a command, so the dog doesn't get confused - this is especially important in environments or situations where sound might not travel well, or get distorted - such as wind etc.

For the record, out of all the names you have chosen, Boone is the one I would go for because it fits all the practical boxes.

EDITED TO ADD:

You need to consider the type of dog you are looking at. You mentioned 'big game' hunting - to me that is lions etc, and for that you would be looking at something like a Ridgeback - with the size and strength - a spaniel is going to be no use to you here.

If you are hunting small animals - rabbits etc - then you want a terrier - a jack russel, or a dachshund.

If you are hunting birds then you want a fetch and retrieve dog - something like a spaniel, or a labrador - although cocker and springer spaniels are the most effective here.

Some breeds have in built tendancies - look at Border collies - they have a herd instinct. Our current collie, without any herd/sheep training, does it on his own - he rounds up the chickens on his own, seemingly for fun, and I've watched while he corners, directs and herds the cat to where he wants her to go.

The point I'm making is similar to a point that's been raised above - different breeds have different skill sets and different abilities, and they are not necessarily interchangable.

Cheney...

How about Scout, or Shadow? I do like Remington...maybe "Remi" as a nickname?

frimble3 said:

What kind of a man is he? Is he practical, naming the dog something easy to shout, and not to be confused with another command? Crockett, maybe. Is he sentimental, naming it after a family dog? A traditionalist? (All our hounds have been called 'Bugle') Would he name a dog for a moment's joke? Or just give it a generic name, a quick label? "Blue".

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THIS. Start with the owner -- his character, background, education and interests.

Is he an educated man who might choose a name from mythology or literature? Ex-military, who might name him after a famous general? Sci-fi enthusiast who'd choose something Trekkie? etc...

My test for a dumb name for a dog? Shout it out in front of a command.

"Remington, sit!'
"Winchester, down!"
"Hemingway, stay!"

We presently have four dogs, two of which are hunting beagles. While all the dogs have two syllable proper names, when push comes to shove, all the dogs have a one-syllable nickname that they respond to and gets used whenever it's a situation where we need to get their attention and reaction quick.

So, Daisy becomes "Daze". Hector becomes "Pud" (long story there, but he answers to it). Bastian becomes "Baz" and Londo become "Lon".

But as there is some thought that dogs only hear the first syllable anyway, it makes sense to me why they respond to a shortening of their names.

mirandashell said:

My test for a dumb name for a dog? Shout it out in front of a command.

"Remington, sit!'
"Winchester, down!"
"Hemingway, stay!"

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hahaha.

My dad currently has two ridgeback pups he's training to trail deer. They're wee devils, so when no one else is around, I call one Damn and the other It.

"Sit, Damn It!"
"Damn It, NO!"

LOL!

What i was asking was more the type of dog and what it hunted. That establishes what the dog does (retrieve, track, course, tree or actually harry as in a pig dog) and what it looks like--also whether it will be voice commanded in a pack.

In my experience hunting dog names are short and just names, not hunting themed. If there is only one dog, "dog" is not uncommon. Most of the names on the list seem too fancy to me.

But if he is a dilettante and the dog is not trained for a specific kind of hunting, I guess he could call it anything. (But hunters might laugh at him behind his back).

The best hunting dog I knew was a lab named Maddie. That guy was a very serious hunter, but I don't know how the name came about.

We had a Walker named Dan The breeder chose the name.

I think Cheny would be funny and unusual. It could be like Maddie, where the second syllable isn't really emphasized when yelling it.

Since the character is a big game hunter, it might be fun to name the dog after a famous explorer. Something like "Dr. David Livingstone" might be fun.

Back woods hunters tend to give their dogs fairly simple names. Big game hunters, on the other hand, might be more literary since they are probably of an upper class. Shamus for an Irish setter, or Dylan for a retriever. But, I don't know if big game hunters use dogs.

Field dogs tend to have a one or two syllable call name. I could see someone naming their hunting dog Remington but just calling him Rem or Remy. Something that doesn't sound garbled if you bellow it across a field.

My cousin's field lab is named Cletus. He's a hardcore upland bird hunter but that's the only thing he can do.

If you want a single dog that does both birds and big game, that's going to be a special dog. If your character is serious about hunting both it'd be more believable if he had two dogs, a bird dog and a big game dog.

What kind of big game are you hunting? Deer? Hogs? Coyotes?

Is the dog a catch dog or is he tracking?

What kind of birds is he hunting? Upland or waterfowl?

For catching big game, you see a lot of bulldogs, curs, some hounds, some mastiffs, and purpose bred mixes of all of the above. Stuff like:

American bulldogs
Catahoula bulldogs
American pit bull terriers
Plott hounds
Great danes (usually mixed)
Catahoula leopard cur
Blackmouth cur
Mountain cur
Deer beagles
American staghounds
Running walkers
Dogo argentino

Scent hounds are mostly used for tracking and baying at stuff. Sight hounds are for coursing and catching, though some will track too. The biggest legal stuff you can get with sight hounds is mostly coyote, though some states allow you to hunt deer with hounds and I know one crazy dude who hunts wild boar (successfully) with his saluki and a big knife.

Some hunters blend in giant schnauzer and airedale in their purpose bred mixes. There are other terrier breeds some hunters like to use or breed into their lines. Now, none of the above are used in bird hunting at all.

Then you have your bird dogs. All the spaniels, the pointers, the retrievers. In my experience, you probably won't find a bird dog that will willingly go head to head with large game. They have too much self preservation instinct. You can train one to track game.

Wirehaired pointing griffons are a great all purpose bird pointing/retrieving and big game tracking dog. One of the best things about the breed is how incredibly versatile they are as individuals. It's not unheard of for an individual griff to track boar, point on upland birds, do water retrieves, and hang out with the kids in between times. Ours was named Charlie.

Owned German Shorthaired Pointers for years. Used them for pointing and retrieving. Found short one syllable names work best. Think about trying to be quiet in the field- "Kate" is not as noisey as "Reminton". That is why many hunters use handsignals to hunt.