Paulie is the affectionate Italian-American diminutive of Paul, and on a dog it carries an immediate personality suggestion: this is an animal with street-level charm, probably opinionated, maybe vocal, and entirely too smart for its own good. The name has both a Sopranos wing and a talking parrot wing, which covers a surprising amount of pet territory.
The Pop Culture Roster
Paulie Walnuts from The Sopranos is the dominant cultural reference — a character defined by absurdist loyalty, erratic decision-making, and total confidence in his own perspective. Then there's Paulie the talking parrot from the 1998 film Paulie, which covered the other angle. Italian greyhound owners and Boston terrier owners both use Paulie with frequency, though the Sopranos connection makes it most common on medium-sized, scrappy dog breeds with strong personalities.
The -ie Diminutive Register
Paulie's -ie ending places it in a cluster of deliberately informal pet names — Charlie, Dougie, Freddie — that signal warmth and approachability over formality. The -ie ending is one of the most common pet name suffixes precisely because it makes any name sound affectionate without trying. Paulie gets to be both a full name and a diminutive simultaneously.
The Human Name Connection
The given name Paul has ancient roots and the nickname Paulie has been in Italian-American use for generations. As a pet name, it functions as a cultural touchstone — friendly, loud, and a little bit theatrical in the best possible way. See also the human baby context at Paul.