My sister in law has chosen a west highland white terrier from a show breeder, but the breeder will only sell the puppy to them on condition the breeder approves of the name they have chosen and it must be a scottish name!!

Surely its up to the new owner which name they choose, has anyone come across this before?

KC Name or pet name??

Weird! What has it got to do with the breeder what the dog is called?
I'd call it whatever I wanted and just lie to the breeder I'm afraid.

>What has it got to do with the breeder what the dog is called?

It depends if the breeder is giving the owner a say in the choice of the registered name, which is very unusual. Normally the breeder chooses those according to his/her own theme (in this case it seems there must be a Scottish link!) or method. The pet name, of course, is entirely down to the new owner.

If the breeder doesn't like the pet name that has been chosen, and my sister in law won't change the name to one the breeder prefures, then the breeder won't let her have the puppy!!

The breeder said if she finds out she has chosen a silly name for one of her puppies then she will take the puppy back.
My brother said ''what's it got to do with the breeder what name we choose!!

I told my sister in law to look for another breeder!

Crumbs, what a control freak!  If your SIL is happy with everything else though, then i would just 'play along with her' but of course the puppy would have your SIL name choice, its just the breeder that wouldn't know!

I was asked wheat i was going to call my first boy as she wanted to incorporate it into his KC name. I went through a lot of names before she decided what she liked. Ultimately i could of called what i liked, but the name i gave that she liked was in my top list of names and he's kept it.

I am sticking my neck out here and thinking either she has picked it up wrong or the intention behind the request.

Will send you a PM.

If my sister in law chooses the name they want, and after they have paid the breeder surely the breeder can't take the puppy back!

OMG, how bizarre!

I wouldnt have thought it would matter what they called it. What an odd request! (Or should that be demand? lol)
Ive had new owners say we're calling him/her such-and-such, mostly nice names but there have been a few "ah thats a lovely name!" all the while you're thinking "Blimey, poor bugger!" lol.

At the end of the day if the pup ends up with a daft name its the owners who are the ones shouting it in the park, not the breeder! ;-) :-D

She can tell the breeder any name she likes, doesn't mean the dog will be called that name ! My Cavalier puppy is called Roodee & lots more besides if he's being a naughty little boy !!!!! His KC name just happens to be Rudolph !!!

My Rjj is actually Roy, but comes to Rjeez or Mr Roy, or Pupster(& he is 4 !!)

I'm agreeing with the wrong end of the stick suggestion, I think it is the KC name they have a choice in, not the pet or call name :-)

I too think they've got the wrong end of the stick. Have they had a pedigree puppy before? (ie, do they know about registered names and pet names?)

No they haven't got the wrong end of the stick, when my brother & SIL went to visit the puppies, the breeder said she wants all her puppies to have a scottish name as the breed is scottish, for example she doesn't want one of her puppies called fido or some other silly name! The name my brother and SIL like is Jeannie, but the breeder doesn't like that name so they have to come up with another name that the breeder does like or they can't have the puppy!

Personally i would tell the breeder to get lost & buy the puppy somewhere else, but they have fallen in love with their puppy.

Yes they have owned pedigree's before, they used to have two springer spaniels.

Tell the breeder Jean , it is Scottish and English . Then when the dog is home call it Jeannie !

However i personally would be telling the breeder where to stick her Scottish name !!!!

My brother & his wife have always had dogs, and any puppy that went to them would be a very lucky puppy. All i can say she is a very silly breeder.

Hi Tricolours.
If you're correct in that it's the pet name they're talking about, not the KC registered name, then
I would seriously think about walking away from that breeder.
Your breeder should be the one person you can always turn to,
whenever you have a question to ask about your dog. Any worry should be welcome,
no matter at what time  of day (or night) Starting out having to lie about something as petty as a pet-name,
isn't promising for the future.

Of course I've sometimes whised my pups had been named differently, but the dogs
have no preferences,and as long as my pups are happy, I'm happy ;-)

> Ive had new owners say we're calling him/her such-and-such, mostly nice names but there have been a few "ah thats a lovely name!" all the while you're thinking "Blimey, poor bugger!" lol.
>

ROFL  :-)  :-)  :-)

I know that one so well!  Had one new puppy owner, several years back, called her Long Coat Chihuahua "TREVOR"  I thought it was awful!  But, as pugnut said, I wasn't the one calling him back!

RU sure that she's not asking you for a KC name?  I try and let my new puppy owners to be to pick their pups KC name but they do have to be Spanish!

Had one new puppy owner, several years back, called her Long Coat Chihuahua "TREVOR"

Hehe in my last litter there was an Eric and a Bruce. Bless 'em! :-D

You said it was a show breeder ( tried to get an answer from you via PM to tell you if I knew the breeder and that yes it was a well know decent breeder)  BUT what you describe just seems a bit odd.

I can't think of one show person just now or the last couple of years that have a Scottish theme repeatedly.  Tried to help :-)

I let my boyfriend name the lurcher, so I'm stuck with a Victor. Rubbish name for a dog, but not as bad as a cat I used to know though, it was a glorious white persian called Nigel!!!

Blue what you said to me via PM you sound as if you do the same!

Hi Tricolour,

Not sure if you deleted the posts or someone else :-)

My PM and message was as a Westie person trying to help point you in the right direction. You seemed to have gotten a bit confused with this.

I am not sure by your posts who this breeder can be none of the good ones I know or would be quite suprised if it turned out it was.

My best advise would be to contact the WHWT club of England puppy co-ordinators for puppy assistance.

What are you for real. I am trying to help you..  

I sent you a PM asking who the breeder was so that I could give you the nod that they are good or a hint to avoid..How hard is it to interpretate that..     Gosh I give up.  ( are you in the UK confused why you can understand a few simple sentences)

Message 1) Hi there, It is Blue from ******** WHWT    who is the breeder? ,I can help point you in the right direction or give a nod to the breeder if you like..

Message 2) No that isn't the breeder that is ME LOL  I am ********* WHWT  If you let me know why they are I can tell you if they are OK.. in confidence of course/  I know plenty of good breeders around the UK..

Reply from you ; "Are you the breeder im talking about on champdogs"?

Message 3)  NO   i AM JUST OFFERING TO HELP..

I give up.. I think you misinterpretated the  "Who is the breeder" in message one as a statement rather than a question but it clearly has a ? at the end of it.. :-D :-D 

I certainly have no puppies for sale and can't bare what I think it tacky Scottish themes :-D

An update, my brother & SIL are looking for another breeder as they don't like the breeders terms. I think they have done the right thing.:)

Hi Tricolours,

What were the breeder terms? Hope they find a puppy :)

Moonmaiden,

How do you actually pronounce your boys name - I always wondered when I've seen Rjj written :)

http://www.thewesthighlandwhiteterrierclub.co.uk/index.php?CATEGORY=B-Looking+for+a+puppy

he West Highland White Terrier Club of England Puppy Co-ordinators are:

Mrs F West
Phone:01977 791498
e-mail:west@tomlyndon.co.uk

Mrs Jean Abbey
Phone:01132 876910
e-mail:jean.abbey@btinternet.com

Hi Gemma, the terms were the breeder has to have a say in the pet name of the puppy, and if the breeder doesn't like the name chosen the breeder won't let them have the puppy.

But anyway my brother & SIL are looking for another puppy now.

Thanks for the link blue.

As it is written Rjj phoenetically Rjays !

Some of the people that came to visit did have some terrible ideas for names, but I would never use that as the reason not to let them have a puppy, I would just shudder inwardly! Luckily I liked the name one of my owners named the puppy, and the other owners loved the temporary name I'd called his brother!

I would just say it will be called "XXXXX" - how would this breeder ever know what they called the puppy day-to-day unless they are planning on showing the puppy and are likely to meet her at shows, or they live very close by.  It seems like she could be a hard person to deal with in the future if she's so het up just about names, so maybe a wise decision to go elsewhere!

> An update, my brother & SIL are looking for another breeder as they don't like the breeders terms. I think they have done the right thing.:-)

It sounds a little odd for the breeder to want to decide both the KC registered name AND the pet name.  Although I have had a similar experience albeit with a totally different outcome.

My breeder had a litter from her special bitch and wanted the puppys to have KC registered names beginning with a certain letter.  Her KC names are quite short and she hoped we could find something we liked enough to also use as his pet name.  We were happy to oblige and after much deliberation we found a name we could shout in a field AND use in the show ring.  (he just has a 2 word name - affix + name)

I didn't feel that this was in any controlling particularly as it was asked for in a very friendly manner.  It was also not compulsory, just hoped for! 

It's a shame that your brothers breeder was so inflexible.  If she was a very good breeder from a health perspective, and they were excellent puppy owners - you'd think that a compromise could be agreed. No name should be worth rejecting good puppy owners for - particularly in todays climate.  I sincerely hope that this doesn't push them towards a less ethical breeder :)

>My breeder had a litter from her special bitch and wanted the puppys to have KC registered names beginning with a certain letter.

To be honest I'm surprised that breeders give potential owners a choice in the registered name. Surely the pups would all be registered well before any potential owners had chosen their puppy?

Pet names, however, should be entirely the choice of the owner, not the breeder.

It really depends on how in depth the choosing of names takes you.. my last litter were in their new homes before I sent any paperwork off to KC.. I struggled to find good strong names for those going into the showring.. so asked my puppy owners if they had some ideas, and were given the theme (Russian/Russia)   and two of them, not going into the ring. were registered as their call names (chosen by the owner)

But I would never ever dream of dictating what a pups call name should be, some of my pups have weird and wonderful names, which over time, have grown on me.. including a black boy called 'Mandy'.. after Mandy Patinkin, the actor..

The breed could make a difference too. Mine need to be registered before they have their hearing tests at 5 or 6 weeks, and nobody chooses a pup until they're tested.

To be honest I'm surprised that breeders give potential owners a choice in the registered name. Surely the pups would all be registered well before any potential owners had chosen their puppy?

Yes but you can have buyers that are waiting (and vetted) long before birth and as soon as they know there is a puppy available, (i.e. as soon as they are born and all appear to be healthy enough to live), occasionally you get somebody who would like to have some say in the choice of name, and then the timing is perfectly possible.  Especially when you have a breed where all pups are (usually) the same colour so each name could apply to any pup of the sex in question. I register mine before microchipping them so names won't apply to particular pups until about 6 weeks of age when they are chipped.

Slightly along similar lines, if I sell to a breeder/exhibitor, when I can I try to pick a name for them that will be perfect for that person alone. For instance I sold a pup to a lady that used to own some of the dogs in the pedigree behind the pup. One was called Brownie, one was called Brown Warrior, so I picked the name Brown Sugar.

> Surely the pups would all be registered well before any potential owners had chosen their puppy?

Yes not sure how the timing works but we all chose the names before choosing the actual puppy it would belong to.  I gave 2 name options I think but my first choice was KC approved.  I didn't realise at the time how unusual it was to be given an opportunity to help name our pups, but I feel very privileged to have been included in the decision making.

Just seen Mariannes reply too - yes, we were vetted long before mating, let alone birth :)

> I register mine before microchipping them so names won't apply to particular pups until about 6 weeks of age when they are chipped.
>

This was what happened with Treacle's Litter, I think we had a choice of two or three kennel names and when we picked the puppy the name was matched with her chip number. We chose her pet name though. Bramble was called after her mum so is 'Kennelname' Bramble  which we just liked so much we decided to have it as her pet name too.

I wonder what my latest pup's breeder thinks of Geoffrey? :-)

Nicki xx

I was asked if i would like to choose my pups kennel club name...but only the last part...not the affix of course.
I was very happy to be asked,as i have never been given the opportunity before.
Im just waiting for my puppy now to arrive.

Sounds to me like a bit of a wind up!! ;o)

Does sound a bit mad - im sure theres some degree of misunderstanding going on somewhere...

Keldas breeder allowed me some input into Kel's registered name... she had a theme in mind, and some she particularly liked within that theme... the one ID have gone for was however barmy... (t'was 'Custard Pie' i think... ) and was rightly vetoed haha! Im sure had I chosen a not ridiculous one (which had I particularly minded I might have but I'm not bothered, and its her reputation etc thats at stake when we are in the ring or win things (ha!) and people hear who she is, not mine) then we would have come to some mutual agreement. As it is I like what Kelda got anyway (Carouselambra) even if it gets misspelled from time to time.

As far as pet names though... whilst I'm sure eyebrows would have been raised had I called her something awful or really numb, at the end of the day shes my dog.. and anyway we use all manner of silly nicknames (Shes currently staying with her #'other mum' (As well as her 'real mum')), Floss, Twinkletoes, Hairyfairy... Mooface..

>As it is written Rjj phoenetically Rjays !

Thanks - it's something I've often wondered too. :-o I'd imagined it was either pronounced 'Rye' or 'Ridge'!

I was on the waiting list for my boy. The breeder and I discussed what I wanted as a kc name one of which we use as his pet name. I cant imagine my breeder being that controlling and would be unhappy doing business with someone who I would feel could try to dictate everything I do with my dog in the future. Good decision imo to find someone that you are comfortable with and also has the right pups. 

I've never had a registered dog whose KC name had any connection to their pet name - even with the ones I bred myself!

I have a registered a few pups with KC names as call names..

Penny was Penny of Poldean
Ellie was ***** Ellie
Xanthe was **** Xanthe
Summer is *****'Ot Summer
Tarska is **** Tarska
Maisie is ****Maisie
And Hunter is **** Bounty Hunter
and a few others..
:-)