A few years ago, I went to gocomics.com, and I read some of Schulz' very early Peanuts material. I hadn't really read many of the strips from before the 1960's at the time. So, I was quite surprised to learn that the strip was very different in the beginning. Not very much like how we know it today. There was a sort of love triangle going on between Charlie Brown, Shermy, and Patty. Violet was introduced sometime in the spring of 1951. Also, I don't believe that Snoopy was really Charlie's dog to begin with. He spent most of his time with Shermy or Patty. (However, in the TV specials, Charlie Brown explains how he got Snoopy from the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm.)
And, he didn't really have a name at first. Below are some of these strips, credit
to gocomics.com.
And here's when the strip was officially labeled Peanuts.