One of the English Sheepdogs that Jean Arthur's character buys is named Snoopy. I have no idea why Charles M Schulz decided to call his character Snoopy(although I do now know, from reading the entry on wikipedia that "Sniffy" was the original name for the character, until if turned out there another "Sniffy" in a diofferent strip). Until I learn otherwise, I will enjoy thinking that he may have taken the name, consciously or unconsciously, from this great film.
shareAccording to Schulz, after he saw that "Sniffy" was in use, he remembered that his mother had always said that "Snoopy" would be a good name for a dog. Schulz's biographer suggests that she was thinking of the word "Snupi", a Norwegian term of affection (she was Norwegian). I suppose it's possible she had seen this movie, also...
sharewhile i did find it very amusing that one of the dog's is named snoopy, i think it was just coincidence. nothing else.
shareOf course Schulz's Snoopy was a beagle. If you've ever part of a beagle family, you'll know that Snoopy is a most appropriate name for that breed. The beagle of my youth was named Sniffy -- again, an appropriate appellative for so snoopy a creature whose nose, perpetually, is on the ground, checking for...? Well, for whatever beagles are curious about!
In the film, of course, Snoopy was an English sheep dog. I don't know about English sheep dogs and their degree of concern for other people's business.
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The main character of Kenneth Graham Duffield's 1920 children's book The Little Puppy That Wanted to Know Too Much (Philadelphia, Henry Altemus Company) is a puppy named Snoopie. (The moral of the book, as stated at the end, is "Too Much Curiosity About Your Neighbor's Business Will Always Get You into Trouble".) Snoopie has three siblings named Bouncer, Pouncer, and Rover. Based on the illustrations, I'd say he might be a collie, though I'm not knowledgeable enough to tell for sure.
Perhaps Charles Schulz and/or his mother Dena was aware of this book; or perhaps they were not aware of the book, but were aware of "Snoopy/Snoopie" as a dog name that was obvious (i.e., because dogs often like to snoop around) and well-known.
Regarding Dena's comment about her liking for the name, perhaps the real meaning of her comment was not that she was claiming to have invented the idea of using "Snoopy" for a dog, but rather that she had a particular liking for that already-well-known dog name because it happened to sound like the Norwegian term snupi.