Whats in a name?

Ok, so I have a 6/7 year old mutt from the RSPCA I have had him for four years and love him dearly ( enough to get up at 5am every moring for walkies before work!! ) He came to me named Taz by the staff but when I looked on his papers he had bee brought in named Charlie?? So I used this name and discovered he aswered to both near enough with equal attention given to me with either name used. Since then I have always called him tazzer / taz.

When My other dog was stolen I started taking him everywhere with me as he had no company any more, so he would come to friends houses , barbecues, the shops etc so everyone got to know him, some of my friends started affectionately calling him stinky which was fine but now I am in the habit and call him stinky when we are in the house ( poor guy must be confused!!) anyway now he will also answer to stinky. So the poor little guy obviously dosnt know his name but reacts to the 'commands' of Charlie, Tazzer and now stinky! He is one of the happiest dogs you will ever meet and has anything he could wish for and more, he is healthy and bouds about like a puppy - he wakes me up every morning for his early morning walk and has loads of play mates at the park. Should I be encouraging people to use his name Tazzer which i have been using for 4 years or does it not matter that people call him stinky and he responds? I will do anything to make sure this doggie has a wonderful life after being dumped at the RSPCA with 2 damaged vertebrae and scars from a muzzle! Maybe I am panickig over nothing, but its worth a try to ask you guys with your wealth of knowledge...sorry for going on so much!!:pawprint:

Claire and Tazz:o

IMO, it doesn't matter. We've got a gazillion names for Boo and Jemma and both know all of them pretty well. My dad calls Boo "Snot" and Jemma "Spook" and they don't mind that either. :)

man, i'm suprised my cat even listen anymore, we got: midget kitty, sox, soxxy, momma kitty, pest (this is ONE cat) i htink animals jsut respond to the attention, if u call them by a diff name but use the same tone they get the hint.

Cooper is Cooper, and he is Cooper Dooper and Dooper Dog, and Coop, and the mutt, and puppy. Joey was called Joey and sometimes The Joe.

Chase had half a dozen nicknames and answered to all of them as she saw fit. :cool:

Rusty - not so many nicknames. But he does answer to The Rustinator. Who could ask for more?

I think most people have nicknames for their pets. Both my two dogs and two cats have lots of nicknames and answer to them all. :D