2025's Most Popular Dog Names, New Dating App for Pup People, Novel Fix in Dog Custody Suit, and More!

For those who like their dog names listed as binary options, the most popular boy/girl names of the year are Max and Luna, according to Southern Living. photo: AdobeStock

Call Me Al:
The Year's Most Popular Dog Names

As 2025 lurches to a close, the results are finally in for the year's most popular dog names. On the male side, Max regained first place, bumping Milo, last year's titleholder, all the way down to #12. Things were a bit more stable in the good girl division, with Luna holding steady in the top spot for another year.

In fact, the top four names for female dogs remained unchanged from 2024, though Ruby made a surprise leap to fifth place from her previous standing at #16. On the male side, dark horse Hank bounded all the way to second place from his previous ranking at a lowly #35.

Ironically, the AKC actually recommends avoiding the most popular monikers so that Max doesn't get confused at the dog park when he suddenly hears eight other humans calling his name. No disrespect to Paul Simon, but Al didn't make the cut so if you're looking for something different for your pup, apparently you can call him Al.

Finally, bear in mind that these name rankings are based on official American Kennel Club registrations - meaning purebreds - which fail to represent the vast swath of beloved Heinz 57s, still the most popular dogs nationwide (and definitely at our house).

Check out the Top 10 lists below. Or see all the Top 100 names for girl dogs here and boy dogs here.

Source: southernliving.com 

Swipe left? photo: AdobeStock

Canines in Common:
New Dating App for Dog Lovers

Are you tired of Tinder? Bummed by Bumble? Feeling un-Hinged? Now a new dating app called Frolly seeks to connect dog people with each other for fun and romance.

A mash-up of "frolic" and "jolly," the free app launched in Charlotte in late October, but founder Cindy Himmel hopes to expand it to other cities soon. She eventually plans to charge a monthly fee and donate a portion of the profits to local animal rescue groups.

Himmel got the idea after a conversation with her adult daughter who had met a guy at a bar, only to drop him shortly afterward when she discovered he "wasn't that into dogs," which she considered a definite deal-breaker. So why not get that important info upfront?

"When you meet someone on the street and they have a dog, you just have an instant, you know, something to talk about and you light up," says Himmel. "Maybe this could spark joy in dating again because our dogs bring us so much joy."

While the app is in its early days, can ring-bearing pooches be far behind? Stay tuned for the first Frolly-facilitated wedding.

Source: washingtonpost.com

To the victor comes the spoils. photo: AdobeStock

Breaking Up is Hard to Do:
Judge Orders Novel Fix in Dog Custody Battle

Meanwhile on the down side of the love beat, a Delaware judge recently ordered an unusual solution to that most painful break-up question: who gets to keep the dog?

For the past three years, former couple Karen Callahan and Joseph Nelson had been fighting over custody of their adorable five-year-old Goldendoodle Tucker. Somehow the case wound up in front of Judge Bonnie W. David of the Delaware Court of Chancery, an elite business court that more typically hears disputes involving Fortune 500 companies or a scurrilous executive's multibillion dollar pay package (you know who we mean).

Callahan asked the court for an order of partition, a Delaware law written to resolve land and real estate conflicts, but which has been interpreted to apply to other kinds of personal property including, in this case, Tucker. Once the judge agreed that Tucker was fair game to be partitioned, the question was how to do it.

After finding both parties to be equally loving and able to care for Tucker, Judge David ordered the former couple to bid for Tucker in an auction, with the winner getting Tucker and the loser getting the money. While acknowledging that nothing can truly compensate for the loss of a beloved pet, the judge said an auction was the fairest solution because it maximized the value of the property for both parties. It is now up to Callahan’s and Nelson's attorneys to schedule the auction that will decide Tucker's fate.

For his part, Tucker remains blissfully unaware of the controversy swirling around his sweet furry self. As the judge noted in her ruling, "It is undisputed that Tucker is a very good boy."

Source: washingtonpost.com

Teaching dunking as a cooling technique in hot climates can save a life. photo: AVMA

Dunk and Done:
New Way to Ward Off Canine Heatstroke

It may be chilly outside where you are, but canine heatstroke is a perennial problem in warmer climates, especially for working dogs with strenuous jobs like search-and-rescue. Now a University of Pennsylvania veterinarian has found a simple way to cool overheated pups: training dogs to voluntarily dunk their heads in a bucket of water.

Dr. Cynthia Otto, executive director of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center, spent years researching ways to combat canine heatstroke before landing on the head dunk method. This new technique takes minutes to train and can lower a dog's core body temperature just 30 seconds after exercising. "When you cool their head, it cools the dog," says Otto. "We're talking to all sorts of people in the field who are now utilizing this to keep their dogs safe and cool."

Veterinarians have long known that immersing a dog completely in water will cool them, but Otto wanted a more practical solution for times when a large pool or many gallons of water were unavailable. (Note: Researchers caution that the head dunk method shouldn't be used on a dog who is already experiencing severe heatstroke. In that case, full immersion is still the way to go).

"I spent my first 20 years of my career at Penn in the emergency room," Otto says. "I would hope that there'll be fewer dogs that come in because of heat injury...I want dogs to be able to work and play and be safe at it."

Source: phillyvoice.com

Wounded pup Cookie Marie has stolen the hearts of firefighters and EMS at Station 81 in Grangerland. photo: Montgomery County ESD 9

Stray Pup Sniffs Out New Career:
The Mystery of Cookie Marie

When a stray black-and-tan pup wandered into a first responder station in rural Texas a few months ago, it didn't take long for her to steal everyone's hearts as a self-appointed therapy dog.

Marie, as she came to be known, began waiting at the back of Station 81 for firefighters and paramedics coming off their shifts. Then she'd lovingly walk them to their cars before returning to the station to wait for the next batch of workers who might need her special brand of care and attention.

But just as the staff was planning a fence to keep her safe, Marie was hit by a car on the road in front of the station. That's when firefighters took her for treatment and discovered she had a microchip that was traced to a previous owner...in California!

The station staff immediately contacted Marie's original family who told them that the dog, whom they called Cookie, had gone missing about six months ago. While they were thankful she'd been found, her California family, who had been experiencing some health problems, ultimately decided the dog would be better off staying put with her new work friends in Texas. "It was hard on them," said Chief Raymond Flannelly. "But they truly knew what was best for the dog."

Now known as Cookie Marie, this very good girl spends her days lounging at the station, offering comfort and companionship to anyone who needs it. How she got to Texas remains a mystery, but it seems this pup is right where she needs to be.

Source: yahoo.com