The American Kennel Club offers breeders the Registered Kennel Name program to protect the usage of their kennel's name in the naming of AKC registered dogs. Kennel names of prominent breeders were recognized as early as September 1887, soon after the founding of the AKC. The first publication of registered kennel names was in the January 1889 issue of the Gazette, which listed names such as Blemton, Fordhook, Kilmarnock, and Maizeland. However, most dogs of the day, even if they were owned by a kennel, were generally registered under simple names such as Spot, Don and Rover. Therefore, it is difficult to trace the exact history of the Registered Kennel Name program and probably impossible to determine the first kennel name registered with the AKC.
The first official rule governing kennel names appeared in the January 1, 1903 Rules for the Government of Dog Shows, which stated: "No entries can be made in a kennel name unless the name has been registered with the American Kennel Club. The partners in a kennel will be deemed equally culpable in the case of fraud perpetrated in their name." On February 14, 1934, the rules for registering and protecting kennel names were made more specific. The new rules stated that the AKC would not "protect any person against the use by any other person of any kennel or trade name as part of the name of a dog or in connection with the sale or showing of dogs unless the permission to use that kennel or trade name has first been obtained from the AKC." The rule further stated that if the owners of a kennel name failed to register any dogs under that name for a period of six years, the ownership of the name would expire.
More rule changes were implemented in 1949, the most significant being the limiting of kennel name ownership to a five-year period, after which the owner had to apply for renewal. To date, these rules remain essentially unchanged. (See the Rules Applying to Registration and Discipline, Chapter 3, Sections 9-14.)
In June 2001, responsibility for the Registered Kennel Name program was transferred from the Registration division to the Special Services Department, whose staff members have over 165 years combined experience in purebred dogs. Shortly thereafter, the requirements for obtaining a Registered Kennel Name were clarified to more consistently follow current AKC policies and practices. The requirements are now listed in detail on the Registered Kennel Name application form, and are as follows:
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS CAREFULLY. ALL REQUIREMENTS MUST BE MET AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION FOR THE GRANTING OF A REGISTERED KENNEL NAME. APPLICATION INFORMATION WILL BE VERIFIED THROUGH REVIEW OF AKC RECORDS.
- Have a documented background of involvement/participation in AKC events. You must complete the Event Participation Worksheet listing dogs by AKC name and registration number.
- Be a breeder in good standing with the American Kennel Club with a record of breeding and registering purebred dogs in conformity with AKC registration rules and policies.
- Meet one of the following breeding requirements:
- Bred at least 5 registered litters in the past 5 years;
- Owned stud dogs that have produced at least 40 registered litters in the past 10 years.
- A breeder, who has bred at least one AKC registered litter, may be granted a registered kennel name on a five-year provisional basis. The breeding requirements above must be met during the five-year period to be eligible to renew the registered kennel name.
- May not have an interest in a pet store or dog dealership.
- A maximum of two Registered Kennel Name owners is allowed.
- The name may be a unique word created by the applicant.
- The name may contain a maximum of two words and a maximum of 15 total characters and spaces.
- The name may not have been used more than incidentally and rarely by other breeders in the naming of dogs in the past 10 years. This will be verified through the AKC registration records.
- Ineligible words would include, but are not limited to, conflict either phonetically or in spelling with: the name of a breed, AKC titles, names of cities, family names, corporations or trade names, names of famous and universally recognized persons, living or dead, or words commonly used in the naming of dogs.
- A kennel name may not contain any derogatory or discriminatory words.
When a kennel name is registered, the American Kennel Club will exercise reasonable care in protecting the name for the use of the individual(s) to whom it has been registered. Currently, a Registered Kennel Name is protected in all positions of a dog's name. For example, if the name "Bob" was a Registered Kennel Name, then the name could not appear anywhere in the name of a dog without the written permission of the owner of that kennel name. Further, a dog or litter cannot be registered with a kennel as its owner unless the kennel name is registered with the AKC.
Once a kennel name is registered, it must be renewed every five years. Should the owner of a kennel name fail to renew the protection, the name would be released for general use. A kennel name can be passed from a parent to a child by following the standard transfer procedures. However, if an owner of a kennel name transfers a Registered Kennel Name out of his ownership to the ownership of a non-related individual(s), the transferee must meet all of the requirements listed above. The American Kennel Club does not register breeders or kennels, and the granting of a Registered Kennel Name does not imply endorsement of any kennel or its stock by the American Kennel Club.
Registered Kennel Names granted on or after July 1, 2004 are granted on a breed specific basis. An applicant may request the name to cover multiple breeds, but the applicable fee would be required for each breed requested. For more information on the Registered Kennel Name program, please email info@akc.org.
