Proper Etiquette For
Naming
Your Dog
You own several dogs and you compare their pedigrees and you see a sideward pyramid of names branching out and extending generation after generation. You notice that there are certain names that repeat themselves in the different dogs that you own. Some of these names sound very familiar to you as you have seen them on other dogs besides your dog's background as well. So what does all this mean? What do all these dog names have in common?
In the USA the proper etiquette for naming Labradors are that the name in front is the kennel who bred that particular dog. This identifies that dog as coming from that actual breeder. A second name or third name may be that of the kennel that purchased him. This gives the person that bought the dog the opportunity to "tag" the dog with their last name or their kennel name.
Let's take one of our current Partners Program dogs, Int Ch Carmays Duststorm At Chambray, aka "Dusty". We see that Dusty's first name is Carmay, which tells us that he was bred by Carmay Labradors. Dusty's middle name is Duststorm and this is the individual name that I chose for him, with the last name being Chambray, which of course is my kennel name, where he came to live when he was purchased and placed into the Development For Placement Program.
His sire is Ch Dovetails Walk Th Walk and his dam is Dovetails Diamond N The Ruff. By their first name, Dovetail, we can infer that both were bred by Lori Isenhath of Dovetail Labradors. A little more investigation will reveal that Dovetails Diamond N The Ruff (Nicole) was purchased by Carmay Labradors on a co-ownership with Dovetail and was co-bred to Dovetail's top stud dog, Ch Dovetails Walk Th Walk to produce the litter that Dusty came from.
Although the AKC registration papers that come with a new puppy state that the new owner has the right to name their dog, most established kennels, including Chambray require that the puppy carry the kennel's name in the forefront. Most of these kennels, including mine will attach a stipulation that all amenities, guarantees and other kennel extras all be voided if the kennel name does not appear in the official AKC registration. Most top kennels see this is as branding their wares, much as a car maker does when they manufacture a car and add their make name all over the car.
For dogs in competition, where their names appear in the catalogs, it is consider an affront when an owner does not abide by the time honored tradition of proper name etiquette and labels their newly bought dog with some off name, including their own last names or other nomenclature. Recently at a dog show, it was pointed out to me that a certain dog being shown at that show was bred by me, however it carried someone else's last name in the forefront and nowhere else was the name Chambray to be found.
To the uninitiated in any endeavor, it takes time and learning to acquire the appropriate ways of doing things, figure if you will at a golf tournament where Tiger Woods is getting ready to make the game winning putt and someone in the crowd takes out a trumpet and starts to belt out the notes to Taps!!!! How about at the favorite fishing hole a new comer comes along and starts to throw rocks into the water where you are fishing.
While playing a trumpet and throwing rocks into water are not wrong things to do, they are definitely not the appropriate actions at certain functions. Knowing what is proper at a gathering or at a function takes time and learning. Thus, those folk who do not follow the proper etiquette in naming their dogs will be out of place at venues where other folk are following the "time-honored, unwritten rules" . As long as they continue to show their dogs, there will be those that will question the inappropriateness of the name and the neophyte will forever be explaining their lack of knowledge about the dog show fancy's "by-laws". None the less, they will carry that stigma around for as long as they show that individual dog.
For the "True Breeder", the purist in the fancy, adhering to the proper naming of a dog is very important to us, for when looking at a pedigree or a show catalog, it is like reading a book and understanding each sentence read. Knowing a certain brand gives us insight into the quality of the product, likewise with the naming of a dog and using the kennel name from where the individual dog came from. It gives us a wealth of information on that dog and the ancestors behind it. By using the kennel name, we can infer who the breeder is and therefore the quality of the breeding behind the dog.
Using a mishmash of names creates a total unknown situation and renders pedigrees and catalogs totally worthless. When the knowledgeable look at a catalog and see a totally unknown first name on a dog, we immediately think "Who is this dog?" and "Who are these people that named it?" Worse case scenario for that "no name dog" is that it will be thought of as a "back-yard breeder dog". Back-yard breeders usually have no kennel names so the dogs they sell will be named by the new owners and we arrive at the myriad of unknown names adorning most pet dogs.
In recent years the AKC decided that they could make extra bucks in registering kennel names. So they came up with the idea of selling a kennel name for $100 for 5 years, even if a breeder had been using that name for years. They added the clause on the individual dog's registration about the "owner has the right to name the dog whatever they choose" to force the issue with the breeders, realizing that new owners would question the naming of the dog issue. So, breeders now armed with the ability to "buy" their kennel name are more intent on having that name on every puppy that they produce.
There has been a tremendous increase in AKC's registered kennel names in the last 3 years, as most kennels have feared losing their names to others that the AKC might "sell" it to. So, we see that time-honored tradition of naming Labradors has been aided by the AKC's decision to lock in a particular name albeit in the name of the dollar!
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