The “80’s Dog” Opener (Style)

“Hey guys, I need a quick opinion about something. My friend just got two dogs, a Pugdog, and a Beagle dog. She wants to name them after an 80’s pop duo, but I can’t for the life of me think of a good one. Do you guys have any ideas?”
The game here is to keep presenting options to the group, and then disqualifying those options. The real sneaky thing here is that there are no well-known 80’s pop duos, so this conversation can last a long time, and that allows you to segue into a deeper conversation. Here are a few of the options you can talk to them about: “I was thinking Sonny and Cher would be a good one, because the Pug dog is a male and the Beagle dog is a female. But they’re 70’s, not 80’s, so that won’t work.”“Maybe Axel and Slash would be good, but they’re rock n’ roll hair band style, plus one of the dogs is a female, so that won’t work at all.”“Milli Vanilli was a thought, but those are both guy names. We need a female name.Plus, Milli doesn’t fit a Pug or a Beagle. That’s more of a Jack Russel Terrier name.”
And no matter what option your targets present you, find a way to disqualify it. Then use the times your target’s think about names to engage them in some other respect.This can be a fun Opener to do and can really open the doors to further conversation if you play it right.

When to use it

Use it in a park, an outdoor café or a relaxed bar with a small group of women who are chatting and not in a hurry. It suits a sunny afternoon especially well. Skip it when they are rushing or in a serious conversation.

Follow-up

When someone suggests a pair, play along and "disqualify" it with a joke, so they keep trying. After a few minutes ask the natural next question: "Do you have pets yourself?" and let them tell their stories. Introduce yourself then. If someone asks about the friend with two dogs, admit with a smile that you made it up for the fun. More animal openers: Park Animals and New Pet.

Why it works

It is a group puzzle with no right answer, so everyone can contribute, and arguing about names is fun. Animals are a friendly topic, and the conversation is about the dogs, not about you, so nobody feels examined.