When a dog earns a conformation or performance title, those titles are added to the dog’s registered name. Some titles will appear as a prefix and others as a suffix to the name.
Common Titles
| Title | Description | Prefix/Suffix |
|---|---|---|
| BIS | Best In Show | Prefix |
| BISS | Best In Specialty Show | Prefix |
| CH | Champion | Prefix |
| DC | Dual Champion (conformation + performance) | Prefix |
| FCH | Field Champion | Suffix |
| GCH | Grand Champion | Prefix |
| MBIS | Multiple Best In Show | Prefix |
| MBISS | Multiple Best In Specialty Show | Prefix |
| OTCH | Obedience Trial Champion | Prefix |
| JC | Junior Courser | Suffix |
| SC | Senior Courser (replaces JC) | Suffix |
| AX | Agility Excellent | Suffix |
| CD | Companion Dog | Suffix |
| CGC | Canine Good Citizen | Suffix |
| OM | Obedience Master | Suffix |
As titles are earned, they are added to the dog’s Registered Name with the AKC.
Some titles are only available to specific breeds. For example MHR (Master Hunter Retriever) is earned by retrieving dogs in the Sporting Group. Dogs in the Hound Group do not compete for these titles. Dogs in the Herding Group compete for herding titles and don’t compete for coursing titles (JC, FC, FCh). In fact, only sighthounds may compete for coursing titles. Scent-hounds, while part of the Hound Group, have titles specific for their purpose. And you will never see a Great Dane compete in earth dog trials (they’d never fit in the hole).
Some titles are open to all breeds, such as Obedience and Rally.
A complete list of AKC titles can be found here.
The BISS title is earned when a dog wins a breed club’s National Specialty. For Ibizan Hounds, IHCUS is the national breed club. Winning a National Specialty is considered a big deal (and a honor) because those shows not only draw large entries, they draw the best dogs from across the country. HareHill has bred several dogs that have won the IHCUS National Specialty multiple times.
Registered Names
The Registered Name is how a dog is listed with the AKC. There is no prescribed format except names must be unique and inoffensive.
Our kennel name (HareHill) always appears first. It identifies the dog with our breeding program. Most breeders do this.
Then we choose a name based on a theme. We pick a theme for each litter (e.g. More) to help to spot litter-mates in various records that are published (standings, show entries, etc.), or when researching pedigrees for breeding. A theme provides an easy visual reference.
We use a word or a phrase that is an obvious reference to the theme. e.g. HareHill’s Less Talk More Action contains the word “More”. All of the dogs in this litter contain the word “More” in some form or fashion. There were 16 pups in the “More” litter, so that theme was more than appropriate.
Call Names
A “call” name is everyday name that you would use to “call” the dog. HareHill’s Running Amok SC was know to us as Catdog. You wouldn’t call a dog by it’s Registered Name (that would be silly). The Call Name can be contained in the Registered Name or it can be whatever the owner wants. It’s like a nickname.