Hang out with a snobby show dog breeder or owner long enough, and you’ll realize that their dog’s name isn’t “Max,” it’s BEST IN SHOW BEST IN SPECIALTY SHOW PLATINUM GRAND CHAMPION CORNELIUS MAXIMILLIAN BEST OF TIMES VON TRAPP IT UP IN VIENNA CGC VX RDX.
Who the CRAP comes up with this stuff, right?! And what the heck is this for?!
When dogs are entered in competition, the catalogs list their “registered names.” For example, here’s a show catalog:
Inside is a cover page that gives you details about what the competition is, who’s hosting it, and where it is:
And then once you get into it, there’s a bunch of numbers and really weird names, all divided by breed and category:
A dog’s AKC registered name is usually [AKC title abbreviations + kennel name + litter theme (explicit or implied) + explicit or implied statement related to the call name + more earned title abbreviations]. But of course, that’s not what you’re going to “call” your dog. Your dog’s “name” can be anything. 🙂 Bonus points if you can relate that to the registered name, but it’s not a requirement. If you’re not going to have your dog shown or competing in peformance events, no one’s ever going to see the registered name in the catalog, so it doesn’t really matter! On the chance that you think it’s wise for your dog to have a fancy registered name, read on…
Let’s look at dog # 9 in the above photo. This is my dog, “Boulder,” by the way. Officially, he is GCH KNIGHT N’ BARRETT’S PIONEER MOUNTAIN MAN. This is how he got his name:
GCH = “Grand Champion.” He’s earned the right to have these abbreviations added to his name because he has completed all of the requirements to become a show grand champion.
KNIGHT = This is the kennel name of one of his breeders, Holly McKnight. Her name went first because the litter Boulder came from was primarily arranged by Holly.
BARRETT = This is the kennel name of the other breeder, me. 🙂
PIONEER = This was the litter theme. It was my first litter, so I went with a “Pioneer” theme.
MOUNTAIN MAN = I was vacationing through Boulder, Utah. I spent a fair amount of time on Boulder Mountain with my friend… so when I came home, I decided to call the new puppy, “Boulder.” Mountain Man seemed fitting to add to the registered name.
Dog # 11 in the previous photo came from a “Gambling” litter. In his registered name is “All In.”
Dog # 14 in the previous photo came from a “Baseball” litter. In his registered name is “Silver Day on the Mound.”
…
Here are some more examples:
The 2016 Royce x Seren litter had a “Love” theme:
- “Barrett’s Love of the Ancient Gladiator,” is “Roman”
- “Barrett’s Love is All You Need” is “Lennon” (After John Lennon/The Beatles)
The 2014 Torque x Friday litter had a “Circus” theme:
- Barrett and Star’s Under the Big Top, “Zanie” (after Zanie the clown) <— you’ll also notice that there are two kennel names there, for mine and the other owner who is a breeder and owner of the sire. We acknowledged her by using both kennel names in the registered name.
- Barrett’s Star Elliephant Act, “Ellie” <– that one is more literal, but she was born with “Elliephant” as her nickname and it stuck
- Barrett and Star’s Flying Spectacle, “Bug”
- Barrett’s Star Zirkusdirector
- Barrett’s Star Circus Monkey
The 2015 Bo x Mika had a Transformers Autobot theme:
- Barrett’s Autobot Moonracer, “Luna”
- Barrett’s Autobot Beachcomber, “Cali”
Finally, for your amusement, here’s another breeder’s take on registered dog names. Enjoy!
Ready to name your puppy?! GO!!!
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