Dog Names Meaning Playful

Although some of these names might be considered somewhat exotic, many of the names that mean play or playfulness are fairly popular, and they show up in many areas of our culture. Names that are playful and also give the impression of speed seem to be quite prevalent. Zip is the name of both the character and the canine actor who was featured in the 1995 American western, Last of the Dogmen, working alongside Tom Berenger and Barbara Hershey, and until he retired in 2013, the bat-dog responsible for retrieving bats and balls for New Jersey’s minor league baseball team, the Trenton Thunder, was a Golden Retriever named Chase, known locally as “That Golden Thunder.” 

Another name that gives the impression of both speed and playfulness is Colt, the name given to a very specialized service dog that helps keep Janaye Kearns, a woman who suffers from regular seizures and blackouts, safe from harm. Janaye developed her condition due to a traumatic brain injury that occurred several years ago, and banging her head on the floor during a seizure could be deadly, so Colt has been trained to alert her when a seizure is about to start, put his body underneath her head in the event that she starts seizing, and if she blacks out to listen for her heartbeat and to lick her face and hands until she awakens. 

Instagram also seems to have its share of playful celebrities. Instagram is where you will find Loki, a low-content wolf-dog from Colorado whose owner posts pictures of their backcountry adventures and where you will find Otter, a rescued Pit Bull type dog whose dress up escapades and silly facial expressions have garnered him a following of over 16,000 viewers as of January of 2018. 

Instagram is also where many of us got our first glimpse of Piper the airport guard dog, a Border Collie from Michigan. Piper’s primary job was not as an Instagram star however, Piper’s actual job kept him so busy that he barely had time to notice the camera. The job of a wildlife control dog to the Cherry Capital Airport was a full-time gig, Piper generally worked four 10-hour shifts each week, chasing birds and wildlife off of the runway often in relatively close proximity to moving aircraft. In order to do his job safely, the black and white Border Collie was outfitted with goggles, specialized ear protection, a protective vest and boots, and a tracking harness. While Piper could certainly be playful in his off time, he worked tirelessly at his job all the way up until he lost the battle to prostate cancer in January of this year, eventually logging an amazing total of 6,206 hours throughout his career during which he patrolled 1,917 miles and chased away 8,376 birds.