Shortly after my husband and I got engaged, we took our first big leap as a couple – we adopted our first dog, Gracie. She was our baby, long before we had kids, and bringing her into our family was one of the best decisions we ever made. Shortly after we brought Gracie home, I realized that my husband used an odd baby voice when talking to her; quickly thereafter, I was dismayed to discover I was doing the same thing!
While the exact tone of voice we used as she got older changed, we both still use voices different than normal when talking to her and her “sister,” a now 1-year-old Golden named Lucy.
Pretty sure I am not alone in my dog-nerdiness, I turned to a pet forum to see what other silly or crazy things pet-owners do with their animals. There are some good ones! Check out a few of the goofiest things I’ve seen others do (and, okay, maybe I do too!) when it comest to their dogs!
Silly Things We Say and Do with Our Dogs
Giving your dog a truly awesome, quasi-crazy name.
Some of my personal favorites (share your funny dog name in the comments!):
- Raymond Reddington Lateagain Gold Coast of the Woofiest of dogs
- McLoven the Stud Muffin
- Scrappin Scruffy Macdoogle of the Highland Macdoogles
- Kanye Westie
- Sir Winchster Mcsniffems
- Jabba the Pug
Nicknaming your dog, even if they already have a truly awesome, quasi-crazy name.
I’m big-time guilty of this one. I call Gracie “Gracie-face,” and my husband sometimes shortens it to “Face.” Lucy? She’s “The Goose.” It started by calling her “Lucy-Goose” and quickly shortened. One pet dad with a dog named Zeke instead calls him “Creature Guy.” At random times, he will throw in other made up names such as “Bunger,” “Nose-guy,” and “Zeke-ji.” Do you call your pup something other than his or her name? We’d love to hear what it is!
Playing dress-up.
This one really speaks for itself. It takes a certain level of love and commitment to put your dog in a sweater, a set of booties, or a costume. The Internet is fodder for some great dog dress-up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e66wnB-O4jk
Making up words (another form of baby-talk).
With a dog as a pet, there are things that happen each day for which there just are not words in the English language. So, we make them up! What words do you have to add to the list?
- “Kiskers” – one dog owner gives his dog kisses on the whiskers and calls them “kiskers.” Adorable!
- “Feep” – the nasal whining sound of a bored and frustrated dog. Genius! We all know that noise, and this is as good a word for it as any (from the Made Up Words Project).
- “Furwhumpf” – the blizzard of fur when you shake out a blanket after your dog has been cuddling with it.
- “Smashjoy” – that noise when your dog uses plastic food containers as toys, smashing them around the house on walls and furniture, and the sheer joy they get from the act.
- “Smatching” – purchasing clothing in the same shade as your dog’s fur so people won’t see you are covered in dog hair.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udAJier14ZQ
Our dogs love us in spite of (or probably love us more as a result of) our dog-nerdiness. What’s even better is that in a community of dog-lovers your dog-nerdiness is celebrated.
