# Dog breeder picked my dogs name? Is that weird?



## Darkenor (May 1, 2012)

I've just received the paperwork for my new German Shepherd and it looks like the dog breeder filled out and picked the name on the AKC paperwork for my dog! This actually upsets me a lot, because I've picked a name out I like and, well, he's *my* dog. Is this a common practice? I've never heard of it. If it's the industry standard, I'd like to know.


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## juliemule (Dec 10, 2011)

Did the breeder maintain breeding rights to the dog?


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## Darkenor (May 1, 2012)

It said that he "does not sell for breeding" on the website. So I guess so? I'm not sure. I don't plan to breed him. There is nothing about that in the paperwork.


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## Aussie27 (Sep 25, 2010)

Cali's breeder did that as well, for organizational purposes. She did alphabet litters so the registered names would always be "Silverwings A___" or "Silverwings B____" but the call name could be whatever you wanted.  I admit that I was a little bummed too, but I was just glad to be getting her.


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

Yes the breeder sometimes chooses the dogs registered name, not always but it's not at all uncommon.


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## Darkenor (May 1, 2012)

Wow. You would think they'd have the common courtesy to ask if you like the name. Now I'm going to think of my dog as "Rocky" and get constant visions of 80s movies and a ******* pitpull I met named that once. Thanks for the info, everyone!


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

From a practical standpoint, you can call the dog by any name you like... and as many names as fit... regardless of registration. For example, Fido, Heel!; Snookums, ready for bed?; Baby, want to eat?; Rex A. Shepherd, did you eat that rug? 

As long as you're consistent, the dog will learn.


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

If you are wondering "why THAT name?" Then just ask the breeder it could be she/he had a theme for the litter that each puppy had to have a name that matched the other puppies in a certain way.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

The registered name doesn't mean anything, and you don't even have to hear it unless you show. You can name your dog whatever you want.


For the people who know these things--is there any process to change the registered name, or is it set in stone as soon as the papers go in?


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## Sighthounds4me (Nov 7, 2010)

Willowy said:


> The registered name doesn't mean anything, and you don't even have to hear it unless you show. You can name your dog whatever you want.
> 
> 
> For the people who know these things--is there any process to change the registered name, or is it set in stone as soon as the papers go in?


Generally, the registered name can be changed, if the dog has not received any awards.

But most breeders I am familiar with choose the registered name for their puppies. Rarely have I known one to allow the buyers to name the pup.

But I agree with Willowy: YOU can choose your pup's call name. YOU have to live with it, after all! Henley's call name was one we hated when he first came to us. But his reg. name is *Kennel* One of These Nights. We call him Henley after Don Henley of the Eagles, who wrote and sang lead on that song.


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## bgmacaw (May 5, 2012)

It happens with cats too. Our doll faced Persian cat had a breeder's name that we didn't like and we changed it soon after we got him. Our Chihuahua puppy, a rescue litter, didn't have a name.

We've kept the names for our adult dogs and cats since it's less confusing for the animal that way.


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## Luna'sOwner (Apr 11, 2012)

our Rottweiler also got a registration name (the breeder gave it to him) but we named him Rocky  It's pretty normal to do so.


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

It's not like it's going to cause problems when you register him for school because his AKC name isn't what you actually call him. 

Hamilton's name at the shelter was Duncan, but it's not like he knew it was his name or anything.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I have to say that my Rott's registered name has never really come up. I don't have his papers, and the only reason I needed to know his registered name was to look up his pedigree online. But that's not what I call him. You don't even have to put it on his vet papers.


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## PatchworkRobot (Aug 24, 2010)

Both of my dogs' breeders picked the registered names for all of the litter and for them, as with many breeders, the litter had a theme.

That being said, you can call your dogs whatever you'd like - I do.
Dreizehn's registered name is Rhapsody's Mystery of the Spanish Chest
Ruthie's registered name is Gaia's Bjort

Obviously, their call names don't have to have anything to do with registered names.


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## Nev Allen (Feb 17, 2010)

Breeders generally will register a litter of puppies before they are sold or before the buyer has supplied they name they want to call the dog. Your dogs registered name is what appears on any official paperwork including your membership of any dog club, official entry to any events or shows, and when registering future litters. What you actually call your dog is totally irrelevant to what appears on these official papers. You could call him s**t head if it suits you.
Some buyers choose to use the full breeders name when entering shows so you have an entry with the dog "Gypseyshepinblackmidnight" appearing and come prize giving the judge has to decipher who the frog that was. Can be fun sometimes.


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## Spook82 (Mar 16, 2012)

My GSD breeder also chose the AKC registration name for my puppy. Didn't matter to me, it's not like I call her that anyway. Call your dog whatever you like, the registraton is just a formality and unless you show the dog or compete, you will never hear the name again.


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## JohnnyBandit (Sep 19, 2008)

Very common for a breeder to either "A" choose the name, "B" must approve the name, or "C" have some requirement on themes or kennel name being in the name. 

I picked Merlin's name. But I have picked the names of a number of her dogs. 

She used to just write "CALL ME" (the kennel name) in the first spaces... Until someone picked are REALLY crappy name on a show prospect puppy. 


It may be your dog, but the breeder is connected to the dog for life and beyond....... They have a say....


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## luvmyfurballs (Mar 5, 2012)

I was given the papers to fill out on my own, I had one year to send them in. I don't think the breeder should register any dog that isn't theirs-they might register the litter but I don't think that is the same as registering each individual dog, because that is a personal choice of the new owner. I think that you can change that if you register the dog in your name. Just go to the akc website and call them.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

Darkenor said:


> I've just received the paperwork for my new German Shepherd and it looks like the dog breeder filled out and picked the name on the AKC paperwork for my dog! This actually upsets me a lot, because I've picked a name out I like and, well, he's *my* dog. Is this a common practice? I've never heard of it. If it's the industry standard, I'd like to know.


It's not unusual for a breeder to pick the registered name so they can be sure their Kennel is included and often the litter is 'themed' so the breeder can track the breeding. You can, of course, pick any call name you want.


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## JohnnyBandit (Sep 19, 2008)

luvmyfurballs said:


> I was given the papers to fill out on my own, I had one year to send them in. I don't think the breeder should register any dog that isn't theirs-they might register the litter but I don't think that is the same as registering each individual dog, because that is a personal choice of the new owner. I think that you can change that if you register the dog in your name. Just go to the akc website and call them.


If your breeder gave you the papers, then they did not care....

But since this breeder did name the dog, they obviously care...... Changing it, would be a very good way to get on the very bad side of the breeder very quickly.

I would go so far to say it is rare (as in VERY rare) for a breeder of well bred, performance, conformation dogs, to not have input on puppy names. At LEAST with the puppies that are going FULL registration. 

Frankly an owner should feel good that the breeder wishes to remain tied to the dog. Means they are proud of what they produced. Good or bad, a puppy carrying a breeders kennel name can follow them around much longer than the life of the dog. 

I am co breeding a litter in the fall...... The puppies with full registration will be leaving with names when they go to their homes. Depending on the buyers, they may or may not have a say in the name.


And now with the AKC's "Breeder of Merit" program, the puppies are registered at time of purchase with the breeder sending in the paperwork. Owners picking the registered name of their puppy is probably going to become more and more rare.


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## trainingjunkie (Feb 10, 2010)

I had to merge the name of two kennels and the word "hot." For example, I had to go with "Mountain Ridge Hot_____ of Wimbleton. I got to pick the word that went in the underlined space as long as it hadn't been already used and the co-owners liked it. 

My dogs name is utterly unrelated to her AKC name.


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

luvmyfurballs said:


> I was given the papers to fill out on my own, I had one year to send them in. I don't think the breeder should register any dog that isn't theirs-they might register the litter but I don't think that is the same as registering each individual dog, because that is a personal choice of the new owner. I think that you can change that if you register the dog in your name. Just go to the akc website and call them.


actually in order for a breeder to be an AKC breeder of merit the AKC REQUIRES them to register ALL puppies that they breed before they go to their new homes.


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## denise3099 (Apr 3, 2012)

My spanish water dogs breeder tracks thier health and has invested a lot of time is her breeding program. They all have part of her "company" name as their last name. She needs to track them and identify them as part of her program. I'm glad that she's made this investment in the health of her dogs.

Besides, even breeders call their show dogs different names. Watch a dog show and you'll see another name in quotes.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Years ago, through a long and boring sequence of events, I ended up with an adult Chesapeake Bay Retriever. Her name was Chessie, and the family I got her from gave me her AKC papers along with all of her other things and her registered name was also Chessie. But apparently a good number of Chesapeakes before her had equally uninspired registered names because it was something like Chessie XXXIV or whatever number she happened to be. I haven't thought of that in years, aheheh.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

Crystal came to me with her registered name. I got to choose Casper's, but the breeder had filled the kennel name in on the form. His registered name is "[Kennelname] Friendly Ghost" and I got to choose the "Friendly Ghost" part. But it really, REALLY does not matter. I've been to a lot of shows, and very few dogs at shows are called by their registered names in day-to-day life. The "call name" people have been mentioning is their everyday name, and that name can be absolutely anything you want.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Nia had her registered named picked for her too because she was a show holdback but was placed after growing out a bit. I got her on a limited registration and spay/neuter contract but it doesn't bother me for the breeders to pick the registered names.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

I plan to buy from a good breeder one day and I wouldn't care at all if the breeder picks the registered name. I would expect it.


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## hast (Aug 17, 2011)

Mandy's breeder gave me the option to come up with an "A name" ... so she's Drybrucke's Amanda.  My next pup, (I hope) will be Drybrucke's Contessa. It will be a "C" litter and if there's a female for me I'm sure he'll go for the name ... unless he has picked it for another pup already. lol


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## Foyerhawk (May 7, 2009)

My younger Whippet's breeder named him. I am okay with the name, and I picked a call name that is part of his registered name (but I could call him anything I wanted). My Borzoi was already named and show pointed and knew his call name when I got him, so I didn't change it, although I'm not crazy about it. I got used to it. My Greyhound's racing name was of course long since chosen, and she knew her call name. But it was half her race name, and I didn't like it alone (too common - "Pepper" - no way was I keeping that), so I call her her entire race name - "Pepperoni" and she responds to it! My older Whippet I named both call and registered name. My middle Whippet came to me at age five knowing her call name. I hated it, but got used to it, she knows it, and the nickname for it is cute. 

So, if you get a puppy, I think it just depends, really. A lot of breeders are afraid that pet people will pick really stupid, puppy mill sounding names, and one way to prevent that is to just name the dogs yourself. I would be horrified if my puppies got names like you see in most backyard bred pedigrees. I think I'd let them name their own puppy, but I'd want to approve of the name. And I would not approve something like "Miss Amber of Green Street" lol. Call name, though, I couldn't care less.


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## Sighthounds4me (Nov 7, 2010)

Some weirdo named my most recent Borzoi addition Russian Windridge Always in Style. LOL His call name is Armani. The same weirdo named him that, but we liked it, and kept it.

Hi, Jenna!


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## Foyerhawk (May 7, 2009)

Some brilliant Weirdo, what an awesome name. And since I sent him to you pointed, you're screwed  LOL


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

If the breeder already sent in the papers to register the pups then transferred ownership to you: if you really have an issue with the name they used, you can talk to the breeder and see if you can come up with a compromise that still fits their requirements for the litter theme/etc. Then you would need to fill out a name change request with the AKC (assuming the dog has no titles yet nor has produced an AKC registered pup) and have the breeder sign it and send it in.

The form: http://www.akc.org/pdfs/ADCG01.pdf

We did this with my youngest and it's really not a big deal, just an extra $25. In our case the puppy (and the rest of the litter) was already named and registered to the breeders, then ownership was transferred when they were old enough to go home. I had no issue with the name chosen but wanted "my" suffix added to the end of the name (so the registered name would appear [Kennel Prefix] [Name] [Shaina Suffix] -- since I do a lot of showing and such it's just kind of the way I like to tie my dogs' names all together. So we went through the above process and it was changed...not a big deal at all.


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## 03firefly (Jan 14, 2012)

I've heard of breeders doing this. The show name really isn't for you if you aren't showing the dog; it's more for the breeder to write down in their records.
As other's said, a lot of breeders try to keep themes with their litters. I know one breeder that does the alphabet. Her first litter was A, then B, then C... she's about to have her R litter.
Anyway, that particular breeder actually has a lot of names that she would accept and the buyers can pick from that list.

When I got my Mini Dachshund, I was actually allowed to pick my dog's name - no worry about theme - but only because I'm close friends with the breeder.


But... as everyone said, the AKC name has nothing to do with the name you call them. Yes, some people might do something like name their dog Foxfire's Blue Suede Shoes and call him dog Elvis, but you can have a dog named CHCC's Buddy Holly and call him Victor...... It really doesn't matter, so I wouldn't worry about your name needing to match the registered name


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## MrsBoats (May 20, 2010)

No...not uncommon. My breeder has a tradition for litter letters. As long as we stick with a call name and a registered name that meets the letter of the litter, we can go with anything we want. 

Most breeders don't care what the call name is for the dog. Ocean actually came with his call name...we loved it. So, we kept it.


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## CrazyDogLady (Dec 9, 2011)

PatchworkRobot said:


> Dreizehn's registered name is Rhapsody's Mystery of the Spanish Chest


I didn't know that Dreizehn was a Rhapsody dog! I went to High School with Irina. 

Although I just noticed that you have his registered name right there in your sig. Amazing what you can learn when you pay attention!


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## odiesmom (May 31, 2007)

when I got my first border collie I got to pick the name , the only request from the breeder is that it be a royal name ( lady, sir, princess etc ) and begin with the letter "B".... my last name was Weissert so it was just natural to name the pup Bud, on his papers his name is SirBudWeissert . Later we adopted his mate LadyCorona. Thier first litter of pups came along my kids named them ( 9 of them ) after beers, miller, heiniken, guiness etc


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## krystina alayne (Jun 23, 2011)

when horses are registered, they take part of their parents names and the breeder picks the middle name. my moms horse's name is "horsefeather oliver twist".. but he is called "twister". sometimes people call the horse something totally different from their registered name, usually because theyre too weird or long. my moms youngest horse is named "johnny's little keeper"..and she is a mare, so cant really call her "johnny"..


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

I named all my dogs but one.

Strauss is from a breeder who didn't care, I just got his papers and could name him whatever.

Mirada had to be given a name from a list of country songs by Miranda Lambert. I hate country music and picked he least country sounding name out of all of them. Gunpowder N Lead

Wesson came registered, but when the breeder offered her to me, she said I could put my kennel name on her. She had to sign off on the name change.

Mahler is from his breeder's J litter, so his registered name HAD to start with J. I chose Joplin (after ragtime genius Scott Joplin, not horrific Janis Joplin). His registered name may be Joplin Von Eichenluft, but I call him Mahler.

In another litter I was looking at, the pups names had to start with S. I would have named a puppy from that litter Seville


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## Spicy1_VV (Jun 1, 2007)

As a breeder I register the litter. I've named every pup I've produced and never allow it to be changed. 

Also some pups might not have owners and even if they are all spoken for which is going to who isn't decided until they are a little older. So it's not really possible/practical to let owners pick names anyway, at least for me. I register the litter around 2-3 weeks old.


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## 03firefly (Jan 14, 2012)

Xeph said:


> Mirada had to be given a name from a list of country songs by Miranda Lambert. I hate country music and picked he least country sounding name out of all of them. Gunpowder N Lead


To be honest... I think that Gunpowder and Lead is one of the most country sounding song titles, as well as one of the most country songs she has.
Did you not get the choice of Kerosene or Me and Charlie Talking, or maybe Sin for a Sin?
And I'm not at all trying to diss the name or anything because, honestly, I would probably go with Gunpowder N Lead for a registered name. I think it's an awesome name, just a little surprising to hear someone say Gunpowder and Lead is not country sounding



But... more on topic, I have no real care about registered name, considering I never plan on showing or doing anything with my dogs that require it. If it was a really cool name (Like Gunpowder and Lead  ) I might tell people, but other than that, there's no real purpose. As a 'pet dog' owner, just worry about the call name.


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

I got first pick of all those songs and hated em.

I picked Gunpowder N Lead because Mogwai has always been a firecracker of a bitch and my husband loves guns.


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## Bordermom (Apr 28, 2010)

Most breeders think of a theme, thinking of possible registered names to go with that (to make sure there's some cool ones). Often the new owner has no imagination or doesn't get it, so it's sometimes personal to tell them 'your name choice is retarded, not going to register the pup as 'frilly princess boo boo bear' or 'my special shadow' as many people seem to come up with. So they do the theme and pick the names and you can call your pup whatever you like, but if they then go to show the dog they're not standing out for the goofball name. If an owner can come up with something cool great, but it doesn't happen often. I think I've named quite a few dogs (registered names) for a friend of mine. My faves are 'what's the buzz' (what theme, dog's name is Honey), 'don't mind if I Q' (Q theme, dog's name is Q)....


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## Gina_1978 (Jun 3, 2012)

I´ve had 5 yorkies and the breeder always picked out the name that went on their pedigree paperwork.It didnt/doesnt bother me because I call them what I want regardless of what´s on those papers *shrugs* 
To me,they dont count unless you´re going to breed or show anyway.The name I picked out is what´s on all the vet paperwork anyway,so it doesnt bother me at all.


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