Songfacts®:

• This straightforward, traditional country song finds Blake Shelton in love and ready to settle down, "You name the babies, and I'll name the dogs" is the narrative of this ode to domestic bliss.
  
  "'I'll Name the Dogs' is a bit of a throwback song for me," Shelton said. "It's traditional country with fiddle and steel, and I've got Jimmy Olander from Diamond Rio playing the guitar solo. It brings the sound back a little more traditional for a minute, which I felt like needed to happen musically for me."
• Many fans interpreted the lyrics as a proposal by Shelton to girlfriend Gwen Stefani.
  
  I'm talkin' you and me with the same street name
  Same last name, same everything
  It's a real thing, a how I feel thing
  So I'mma go on and take a swing
  
  Stefani seemed to concur with the song's sentiments, as she made the single artwork her profile photo and posted about the song with handclap emojis.
• Blake Shelton officially debuted the song on September 10, 2017, during the Canadian Country Music Association Awards ceremony.
• The song's sentimental visual was directed by Adam Rothlein who also shot Shelton's "She's Got a Way With Words" video. The clip shows scenes of a bride and groom's family preparing for their special day with Shelton playing a wedding singer and naturally there are plenty of adorable dogs present, too. Stefani's two oldest children, Kingston and Zuma, appear briefly in the clip (around the one-minute mark). There's a sweet twist ending, which in case you haven't seen it yet we won't spoil for you.
  
• The song was written by Matt Dragstrem, Ben Hayslip and Josh Thompson. Hayslip told Taste of Country that Shelton didn't bat an eye at the song's subject matter of marriage.
  
  "He is such a high-profile guy, you're always aware of Blake's situation, whatever it is," Hayslip said. "Our job is to not write something he won't say, or write something totally against the situation he's in. I don't know that we talked a lot about trying to make this song about him and his relationship, but we just wanted to make sure that we don't do anything to turn him away. He's a TV star; he's a big, huge name and a big star, and when you get to that point, sometimes there's things you can't say and certain things that you don't want to say."
• Fans debated on social media over the possibility that "I'll Name the Dogs" was about Miranda Lambert, Shelton's ex-wife and a well-known dog lover. "That was never thought of," Hayslip said in an interview with Taste of Country. "We didn't go that deep into it. We just had an idea that we loved, and tried to surround that idea with great images. The main thing with an idea like that is ... you're writing the song with a smile. You know that. We didn't really think about the dog thing. I don't think that crossed anyone's mind. I know it didn't mine."
  
  Of the social media firestorm, Hayslip added, "I don't spend a lot of time reading that stuff. I like to feel good, not feel bad, so whatever I can do... it's like my friends. I want to surround myself with good people, and I want positive thoughts coming into my mind. That helps me be a better songwriter and a better person, so I try not to read too much."
• According to Hayslip's Taste of Country interview, Shelton had no issue with the "settling-down" theme of the song, even though they were both aware that fans would assume it was implying something about his relationship with Gwen Stefani. Two of Stefani's children even appear in the video for the song.
  
  Blake Shelton's "I'll Name the Dogs" lyrics and music put the singer right back into his main wheelhouse, and songwriter Ben Hayslip says that's exactly what he and his co-writers intended when they wrote the new single.
• The song was almost picked up by Florida Georgia Line, but Shelton had already reserved the right to record it first.
• Taste of Country journalist Lauren Cowling observes that "I'll Name the Dogs" continues the story started in "Honey Bee," showing the same couple thinking of marriage and starting a family. "The opening lines of each song are even similar," Cowling writes. "'Honey Bee' begins with the call to action of:
  
  Girl, I been thinkin' 'bout us
  And you know I ain't good at this stuff
  
  With 'I'll Name the Dogs' also asking for his lady's full attention."
• The visual won both Video of the Year and Male Video of the year at the 2018 CMT Music Awards.