CHARLIE for dogs and Missy for cats - these are the most popular canine and feline names in Toowoomba.

Pet Insurance Australia's top 2016 animal names for our region also show pooch lovers embraced Bella, Bailey, Sasha and Max for their dish-lickers while Charlie, Lily, Misty and Shadow were the city's favoured kitten monikers.

The region's top 10 dog and cat names are short, sharp and simple, reflecting pet owners' innate ability to choose labels that pets will easily recognise and respond to.

Toowoomba's Coral Pethers has trained hundreds of tail-waggers over the past 40 years.

Ms Pethers said getting a pet to understand their name was one of the most important steps in training.

It was also vital to ensure the name did not sound like common commands such as no, sit, stay, come, down or fetch as animals sometimes struggled to tell the difference between similar sounding words.

"We recommend using names that are easy to call and that are easy for the dog to react to," the Toowoomba Dog Obedience Club head trainer said.

"You say the dog's name and when they react you give them something nice in return - you might play with them or give them treats.

"They learn that reacting to their name means something good is going to happen to them."

You can use dog name training techniques to teach cats to respond when called.

TOOWOOMBA'S TOP 10 PET NAMES

DOGS, CATS

Charlie, Missy

Bella, Charlie

Bailey, Lily

Sasha, Misty

Max, Shadow

Molly, Theo

Buddy, Tiger

Jack, Angel

Missy, Bluebell

Buster, Jack

Source: Pet Insurance Australia.

- ARM NEWSDESK