now that my litter has been born apart from all the sleepless nights and everyday care they need i am now faced with the task of picking kennel names for my pups, i thought id make a start on doing it now ready for registering them in a couple of weeks, and to be honest its alot harder than i thought, just out of interest how do you all do it? my head is scrambled already and i never realised there were so many rules and regulations to follow when naming them im in for lots of fun by the looks of it lol :D

i found picking names easy i ended up with tons. it depends what sort of dog and what colour? mine were salt and pepper schnauzers so i began with silver lady, little silver lady, little lady, little lady lilly, lucky little lady and so on. the boys were easy because the owners knew which names they wanted so murphy became mister murphy and ralph became ralph the lad.

ive got loads of names so far, im just a little flustered and confused over the rule of not repeating words in the names , i know they say i can repeat a single common word as long as it cant be mistaken for another kennel name/affix but its knowing which words to and not to repeat thats confusing me lol

Or you could try thinking of a theme for the names? I have seen a lot that do this, and it is easier for you to remember the names then, if you are anything like me the names go in one ear and out the other!!!

Themes could be a favourite film, so calling the dog's with names relating to the actors/actresses, or a favourite singer, the dog's could be named after different songs or lyrics, or you could have a chocolate bar theme, or car's, football players etc. I heard of a breeder recently using butterflies as a theme, they have a book full of butterflies and there are thousands of different types, some make very nice names!

HTH :D

picking a theme isa really good idea IMO :) My parents chose french wines (red for boys and white for girls)  My grandparents had a different colour for each litter.  Our first aussie was from a states litter :) (bell air, arizona, indiana etc) nother theme has been Abba songs, Valentines theme (14th feb puppies) irish dances (for an irish breed) destiny X (choose what you want X to be), Harry Potter, name relates to mum or dads name.

Think of a theme and go with it. :)

If you think of a theme you culd let all us on CD make them up!!! ;)

I am really boiring as I use my affix and one other word which will be the same letter of the alphabet for each pup in that litter.

Just to complicate matters I name them all using Polish words as my Parents are Polish.

My last litter were Barbelka Kaliber, B. Kanasta, B. Kometa, B. Kamelia etc.

Having an affix (kennel name) identifies all my pups as bred by me, and having them all with same letter of alphabet identifies which oens are littermates better than a theme I feel.

My bitch was from a breeder using the Affix Ricstar, so when I bred her I adopted a Star theme (Goldobiel (my affix) Star Player, G. Shooting Star, G. Rising Star, G. Star Performer, G. Dazzling Star, G Star Maker, G. Star Attraction and G. Shining Star).

I used a Moon theme as my Affix is Glowstar. So I had - Fly me to the moon, Once in a Blue Moon, Over the Moon, Miss T Moonlight, Moonrock, Paper Moon. I had loads of idea but when it came to actually doing it I went for something simple :-)

Of course there is a limit to the length of the name which includes the affix.  I go for short names, but I think the maximum is 24 or 26 letters, so wtih my affix being 8 letters long gives me some 16 or 18 letters to play with, another reason for not having an overlong affix.

It's 24 not including spaces :)

from what ive read so far i take it i would get away with using names like lucky, lady, lass and little along side another name on more than one pup or would i be wrong ?

Do you have an affix? If so, that would go first then another word or phrase afterwards. The name must consist of at least two words.

I named one litter after chocolate deserts.  The next litter after the seasons. 

no i dont have an affix as this is my first litter and probably my last, i decided not to get an affix,
just to avoid any confusion :D i dont mean using those words along with the same name right through out the litter, im just wondering if i would be able to use say for e.g 'lady' or 'lucky' on more than one pup alongside a different name for each one?

No, I think you'd only be allowed to use each word once. 'Lucky Jim' would rule out using either Lucky or Jim again.

My friend usually starts a list when the puppies are born and picks a theme, usually connected to the parents kennel names. Then everybody who knows just adds to it when they have ideas till she has a big list.

Try to get twice as many as you need as the KC doesn't always let you have your first choice. If you are set on specific names for each pup, just spell it differently for your second choice.

ok thanks jeangenie, that were i was confused as on my application form in the guidelines to naming puppies  section d states that : a word cannot be repeated when naming puppies unless an application is made to register the word as a kennel name/affix. however, the repetition of a single common word may be allowed in the centre or at the end of of the name, providing it cannot be mistaken for a registered kennel name/affix. i wasnt sure wether names like lucky, lady etc might be classed as a single common word

If in doubt just avoid repeating a word, saves hassle and also confusion with their names later say if two were shown or bred on from.

Why don't you pick 2 initials say one from each of the parents KC names eg.  if the sire is called Gentleman Jim take the G from Gentleman, if the dam is called Pretty Girl take the initial P giving names like Good Prospect, Gallant Pirate etc.    Or your own initials?  

Wasn't there a very successful Greyhound breeder who used his initials R & P to name his dogs and he never had an affix?

ive got my names sorted now thanks everyone :D i used a mix of my OH hobby (fishing) by using the makes of his fishing equipment lol and the theme of our favourite places names and one pup has been named in honour of our baby grandaughter who is 1 week old today :D

My friend is looking for names beginning with H if anyone has any brainwaves - her affix is quite long so she only has 12 letter for the name part though.

I have a litter of four 2 week old puppies.Very unusually I was able to name them a couple of days later.I have named the boys Riot and Warzone,the girls Chaos and Mayhem.Maybe I should also add I have a 16 year old daughter named Sophie.Others with the same age children will understand my choice of names for my beautiful pups!!!!!!!Gail :) :) :)

Hi Gail,

You've got three of my pups' names in there - different breed (17 months old now) and were all given, deservedly, "naughty" names :D

I can understand re teenagers - expensive, exasperates, exhaustive, explosive, extreme and soon to exit!

only joking :D