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Monday 21 January 2013

A new trend? Giving your pet a human name


At the end of 2012 the Co-operative pet insurers released a list of the most popular pets’ names of 2012, and there seems to be an interesting trend: people are beginning to call their pets the same names as their children. The most popular dog names were Alfie, Molly, Poppy, Charlie and Max. The most popular cat names were Charlie, Molly, Poppy, Oscar and Alfie. The survey showed that pet owners are moving away from traditional pet names such as Rover and Whiskers, and are now choosing human names. The top two pet names also appear in the recent list of most popular children's names.
We have noticed this at Broad Lane Vets with people even using names that can’t be shortened into handy “calling” names, such as Christopher, Andrew and Margaret.
This new approach to pet names reflects a change in the way that we view our pets - they are now  seen as members of the ‘human family’. Many of us see ourselves as “pet parents” rather than “owners”, so it seems natural to use children’s names rather than animal versions.
Is there anything wrong with this trend? Should we just relax and enjoy the fact that we see our pets are little furry children?
Problems however sometimes begin when we ‘overhumanise’ our pets. Many of the most common behavioural problems in dogs
 are connected with the way that we interact with our pets. It’s just worth remembering somewhere at the back of your mind, that you’re not interacting with a fellow human being. So yes, go ahead and humanise your pet, but don’t let yourself be completely fooled. Charlie is adorable, but he sees the world through dogs’ eyes; and Oscar may look wise and thoughtful, but he’s still a cat
Top 10 Dog Names 2012
1 Alfie
2 Molly
3 Poppy
4 Charlie
5 Max
6 Bella
7 Daisy
8 Millie
9 Ruby
10 Oscar
Top 10 Cat Names 2012
1 Charlie
2 Molly
3 Poppy
4 Oscar
5 Alfie
6 Daisy
7 Millie
8 Tilly
9 Bella
10 Tigger

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