Hey everyone. I'd really like to get my affix this year but I'm struggling to come up with something decent. My fiancée and I both work on the railway so it make sense to have something railway related and we own Hounds too (Beagles) unfortunately the best ones we could come up with are:

Railhound
Trainhound
Scenthound
Huntsrail

All of which are pretty boring. Please help me!

Melissa

Does it have to have the word hound in?  Lots of rail options, track, station, carriage, signal, points, engine, steam, coal, links, just the first few words I can think of.

If you go for something less obvious with the hound connection, look at origins of beagle, or hound, words associated with beagles - baying springs to mind, as does climbing, scents, smell, tracking works for beagle as well as rail connection

I would avoid anything breed specific -that's the mistake I made, and I know many others that have done the same.  You never know what will happen in the future. :) I chose Goldmali because I had Golden Retrievers and Malinois. I just have one Golden now, he will most definitely be the last ever, and my second breed is now Papillon, so really Goldmali makes no sense at all but it's far too late to change it. I really wish I'd picked something without any breed references in. For my cats I have Blondbella which is a mixture of my two first breeding queens' names -Blondie and Bella. You could try something like that to add to rail, making a new word from a dog's name + rail.

What's your fiance's name?

Trackfoot, Trackafoot, Beagles were designed to be used for hunting on foot, and Track has double meaning.

Quarail, combination of Quarry and Rail?  Harespot, Harespotta, from the Beagles quarry, the hare and Train spotter.

What about the initials of some of the famous Rail companiesas part of the name.  The one for my region is GWR

I too agree not to use anything with your breed name in it or the word hound, in 10yrs you might end up with a gundog for instance. Working with your names and initials, your partners and something to do with the railways, albeit maybe a rail network in another country or a train journey which is famous like the Orient Express... Something different that is like no other. Use parts of a dogs name or where you live or a favourite place you like to visit.
Some of the examples that Brainless has come up with I really like. I went with the name which is a vineyard in Cali and a hotel in Vegas. I needed some American connection and it was the best I could muster up at the time, it's a bit long winded(like this post) but it will do...

Or to take a slightly different tack what about using one of the Birmingham station names..Snowhill; Moorstreet. I think Snowhill has quite a nice ring to it but someone else may have it.

That's the problem with actual place names, as many old affixes are is that they are more likely to already be in use as an affix or very similar to one, and refused.  This is why over the last decades anagrams have become more the norm.

How about 'steampunk'

B,
Yes you are right, I know. Snowhill is almost certain to have been used before- it has a nice feel to it too.

I've just run a namecheck for Snowhill using my own affix and it doesn't say that Snowhill is an active kennel name, whereas it tells me some other words are; you might be lucky!

Can you tell me how to run a namecheck?  I've often looked on the KC site but have never found how to do it.  I want to apply for an affix, but it would be good to know ahead of time whether it's already taken.

Many thanks.

Have now got off my bottom & searched the forum & found it.  Very useful.  I agree about the KC site - it's pretty hopeless.  Mind you - when you call them the voice on the answer machine sounds like they are scarcely used to telephones!

Whoops - spoke too soon.  I've just put in my own dog's affix and then Joe Bloggs & of course it said it was fine.  Because for all the website knows I might be the person who owns that affix.  It only throws up an issue if you put in an exact full name.

There is a seperate kennel name checking tool, saw it the other day when looking for something else.  So search for 'kennel name' not 'affix'

> Whoops - spoke too soon.  I've just put in my own dog's affix and then Joe Bloggs & of course it said it was fine.  Because for all the website knows I might be the person who owns that affix.  It only throws up an issue if you put in an exact full name.

You need to leave the 'kennel name' box empty, and put the full name into the 'name' box.

Many thanks for the tip.  Have just been back to the KC website and can't find the jolly page - even searching under kennel name.  It is absolutely useless.  Reminds me of the RHS - scarcely being dragged kicking & screaming into the modern age.  OK - rant over - will seach the champdog pages again to find the link & will then SAVE it . . .

http://www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/services/public/namecheck/Default.aspx

Thank you!

Sadly it's not a reliable method.
The name I hoped to register as a kennel name last year STILL comes up as not being a name already in use, but the KC claimed it was.

Roxylola - No doesn't have to have Hound in it. That was just something I came up with.

PDAE - His name is Richard. Already thought of the split our names thing. He hated it with a passion.

Brainless - I bow down to you! Those names are really good. I like the whole double meaning too. Will run those ideas past the OH. Thank you!

FreelancerUkUk - Never thought of using station names. Snowhill does have a nice ring to it but as the OH works at New St I doubt he'd want to use a station on the 'Dark side' (Local nickname).

Lunamoona - Not so keen on that. Thanks though.

> the OH works at New St

I wonder if Newstreet is already taken?

> Sadly it's not a reliable method. The name I hoped to register as a kennel name last year STILL comes up as not being a name already in use, but the KC claimed it was.

It's a good guide as to which ones are definitely taken though. Others might not be taken but be too similar to an existing kennel name.

> It's a good guide as to which ones are definitely taken though. Others might not be taken but be too similar to an existing kennel name.

They definitely said it was already an existing kennel name. I tried changing the spelling and they still said no.

Good luck I applied for mine after doing those checks all 6 rejected after already being kennel name or too.close to an existing kennel.name. then refused as to commonly used as a KC name and I submitted my most recent 2 over a month ago and they haven't got round to looking at them yet! Took my money quick enough! Humph. Guna give them til Friday and then spend another £3 on a call to ask what the crack is