I know this topic is covered all the time for show horses in other categories, but I need your creative minds! I have a new puppy coming in a couple of months and I am trying to come up with a show name that will combine the themes of the grandmother, mother, and father. The kennel name comes before each one, but I don’t want to disclose that here. The three names I’m trying to work with are:
(Kennel name)'s Spellbound - this is the dad
(Kennel name)'s A Little Piece of Heaven - this is the mom
(Kennel name)'s Celestial Heaven - This is the mom’s mom
I’d definitely like to stick with the astronomy theme as much as possible. We are likely going to get a female, but it is also possible for a male so I would love suggestions for both. Help me COTH!
(Kennel name)'s Heavenly Body
Call name Venus or Luna
For a bitch
Not really coming up with a good male name -
(Kennel name)'s Milky Way
(Kennel name)'s Spiral Galaxy
I think it might depend on the breed. Spiral Galaxy would be cute for a pug or a another breed with a corkscrew tail. But something like Milky Way could be cute for a white breed like a Bichon.
I’m terrible at naming; my last two registered names were chosen by other people but they did a great job.
Does the litter have a theme? I spent 3 hours the other night with my breeder as we tried to come up with the litter theme. She finally came up with smoke so:
Kennel Name “Smoke A Little Smoke/Smoke Gets In Your Eyes/etc”
The thing about litter themes is that they are only for differentiating the puppies until they are placed. A lot of the owners don’t like it and/or have other thoughts. So unless the breeder is going to register the entire litter, it’s usually just a fun theme that gets dropped after the puppies go home.
Sometimes if the breeder is keeping one they might use the litter theme, but it seems from my observations that those themes don’t usually make it into the registered name.
I have a 4 month old show prospect and the breeder wanted a certain naming theme, but in the end even she didn’t use it for the puppy they kept. I chose a name that reflected the dam side grandfather, who is my own dog as well as the stud’s line. Of course we have the breeder kennel name, so all parties were represented.
For what it’s worth, AKC won’t let you use “Hell” in the name. I tried.
@S1969 “The thing about litter themes is that they are only for differentiating the puppies until they are placed. A lot of the owners don’t like it and/or have other thoughts. So unless the breeder is going to register the entire litter, it’s usually just a fun theme that gets dropped after the puppies go home.”
Sorry… multiple quotes isn’t working for me.
The above can depend on the breed.
For example Dutch Shepherds have a letter year (similar to in some horse breeds). All pups born in that year would have a name beginning with that years letter.
GSDs have a litter letter, starting at A with the breeders first litter & continuing through the alphabet for each subsequent litter.
For example one of the breeders I know has been breeding for a long time & is on her 2nd round of the alphabet.
Granted most pet breeders don’t give a rats behind about what’s proper or not.
As well as many AKC show breeders (they typically have a theme for each litter).
Most every reputable breeder I know will register the entire litter & then transfers registration to the puppy owner.
This ensures the pup is properly registered & that the name can not be changed at a later dates.
Wow, I don’t know any breeders that do this. And I am talking about reputable breeders that are active nationally, so definitely not pet breeders. Not for show litters or field litters (or dual) litters.
They may have some rules; my puppy’s contract requires the kennel name to be used, but the naming is up to the owner.
Obviously some breeders might have their own ideas, but it is definitely not the norm in my breed (or the other few similar sporting breeds that I know other breeders) for this to be so regulated by breeders. I just acquired my 6th well-bred puppy and have been able to name every one of them whatever I wanted (other than using the kennel name and sometimes multiple kennel names).
Some of the other puppies were sold with limited registration, but even those (I think) were allowed to give them a registered name.
I never said they didn’t allow the puppy owner to pick out the name.
Heck the breeders I know encourage it. As long as it falls within the set parameters of naming.
I’ve had GSDs from the following litter letters (not all the same breeders) & have been allowed to pick out all the name for their registration papers, along with said kennels name.
These do not include my own litters.
C, E, F, G, H, M, S, W
BUT you might get away with something milder. I had a red rescue Doberman, who became the bane of my life. He got his “registered name” (for obedience trials) one day when he wouldn’t come in when called—he was shown as “Darnit Garnet.”
Yes - his name ended up being “Hellbent for Leather” - had to make one word.
OK. Still, I have never heard of this in my breed. It might be a thing in GSDs but it’s not universally a thing in all breeds. None of the breeders I know do anything like this (where puppies are all registered with a specific letter, etc.)
The example above was given as “Smoke” that is often how litters are themed in my breed. E.g. a litter born near Christmas had a Christmas theme and all the puppies were given “nicknames” (not names) that had a Christmas theme. This is often just to identify the puppies better as they grow up. Once owners registered them, I don’t think most of them kept the nickname or the theme.
I try to make the name be recognizable to those in the breed (or at least region) as likely an offspring of the parents, if they know them. People who know my dog will know why I chose this name; those who know the line might smile at how I inferred to that the connection. His littermates do not have similar names; it’s likely people would not know they were related only by their name.
But, my breed is definitely less popular than GSDs. Those who are in show or field circuits can often tell a line by the way it looks, or might at least guess.
FWIW, both my late corgis came from the now-defunct Larklain Kennels in Denver. They were VERY successful in the big-time show rings in the 90s. They didn’t use themes for the litters (based on my dog’s names—instead each puppy got a name based on a combo of its parents’ names), but both were registered by the kennel to ensure the Larklain prefix before I took them home.
Funny corgi story—everyone recognizes them now, but when I bought Snaffles (Larklain’s Double Sweet) back in 1997, no one had a clue what she was. Everyone would come up and talk to us in the park because she was so cute, but none of them had ever heard of a corgi and assumed she was a weird-but-cute-looking mutt! After I added Andy in 1998 (Larklain Flare’s Andrew), people started to guess that they were meant to look like that, but they were still really uncommon (in Colorado at least) back then.
Interesting. I’ve only heard of one instance where a breeder required a certain theme or letter for naming and that was not in my particular breed. This will be the third dog I have owned from this breeder and I have always been allowed to use whatever name I chose. I do keep the kennel name in front as respect for the breeder but even that wasn’t required. This is also a nationally known kennel…multiple top ten placings at Westminster…and not a pet/backyard breeder. I guess it is different for each breeder and not the norm?
Thank you for all the name suggestions! Lots of great ideas to think over. I currently have a “Celestial Magic” from the same bloodline so that one is off the table.
This will also be one of the last litters that the breeder is doing from the Celestial Heaven bloodline so I was thinking maybe “Celestial Twilight” …can anyone think of a call name for that?
