How we chose our cattle dog’s registered name
How we chose our cattle dog’s registered name
Meet Paws and Reflect's Something Wild, call name Scout
In late 2020, I decided to register my adopted blue heeler, Scout, with the American Kennel Club. I was then faced with what felt like an enormous challenge: picking her official registered name!
After much deliberation, we finally settled on “Paws and Reflect’s Something Wild”. Here’s the story.
Why register Scout with the AKC?
We registered Scout with the AKC just for fun. If we decide to dabble in sports or something like rally later on, she’ll need a registration number to be entered in events!
I was also interested in getting at least a few trick dog titles after I realized a lot of the lifestyle training and obedience commands we work on also counts as tricks (behaviors like middle, place, and heel). A week after her official AKC registration was processed, we earned both her novice and intermediate trick dog titles—later on we got her advanced title in an in-person group class.
Does dog registration really matter?
Yes and no. It depends! I do not believe purebred or registered dogs are any “better” than their unregistered counterparts. For us, getting Scout set up in the AKC system was simply a formality—a way to open the door to more activities down the line.
There are plenty of dog sports and events that don’t require American Kennel Club registration, like Do More With Your Dog trick dog titles. And even if someone does want to “prove” their dog for breeding purposes, there are reputable organizations like the Functional Dog Collaborative that aren’t directly affiliated with the AKC.
Nuance and different priorities for individual dog-human teams, as always!
AKC dog registration options
When registering with the AKC, there are two options to choose from if your dog didn’t come with purebred registration as a puppy:
1. Purebred Alternative Listing (PAL)
The AKC PAL program is designed to give purebred dogs who aren’t eligible for registration a chance to participate in AKC events. There are various reasons why a purebred dog might not be eligible for registration: Most commonly they’re from an unregistered litter with unregistered parents or have lost their papers along the way.
2. Canine Partners Program
The AKC Canine Partners Program is an all-encompassing program that welcomes mixed breeds and hybrid dogs to the AKC family. Enrolled dogs have the ability to participate in AKC sports and events.
Why we chose Canine Partners
Based on our Embark DNA testing, Scout isn’t a purebred Australian Cattle Dog. Because of this, we went with the Canine Partners program, the choice for mutts or “all American” dogs!
In hindsight, she definitely would have been a candidate for the purebred alternative listing program—she’s about 95 percent blue heeler—but alas. We don’t have real competition dreams. It’s not a big deal.
What is a registered name?
A registered name is a dog’s full name on record with the AKC. If you enter sporting events, it’s the name displayed with your dog’s results. Anyone can look a registered dog up by their official name through the AKC’s dog search page.
A “call name”, on the other hand, is the day-to-day name you use when working with your dog. In our case, Scout’s registered name is “Paws and Reflect’s Something Wild”, and her call name is simply “Scout”.
How do breeders choose registered names?
Once I understood what exactly a registered name was, I spent some time researching how dog-world veterans go about choosing them.
I found this article interviewing a few different breeders particularly enlightening. I like how it embraces the nuance—there is no one way to go about official names!
A few main takeaways:
Many breeders have a “theme” for each litter. This can be a general topic (like space), a specific work (like the movie Gravity), or something as simple as a letter of the alphabet (like “S”).
Most breeders include their kennel at the start of each registered name.
Some breeders pick registered names highlighting predicted personality traits based on the litter’s parents.
There is a huge spectrum in registered names. Some breeders are very strict and serious with their conventions, while others don’t invest as much into the decision.
We chose something personally meaningful
Inspired by breeders putting their kennel at the start of puppies’ registered names, I decided I wanted “Paws and Reflect’s” to be the start of Scout’s. From there, though, I still felt pretty lost.
At one point I had a list of more than 20 potential names in a note on my phone. These were a few of the top contenders:
Names inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird, the book that led me to call her Scout Finch in the first place (Little Mockingbird, Jean Louise, Hold Her Ground, Did Not Stand Alone)
Yellow-themed names (Courage in Canary, Yellow Mockingbird, Cloudy Day Sunshine)
Names inspired by songs (I’m With You, Something Wild, Don’t Want to Miss a Thing)
Inside joke and funny names (Weird Creature, Jumping Bean, The Floor Is Lava)
And many, many more. I’ll never be able to thank our Instagram community enough for rising to the challenge and brainstorming with me!
Something Wild by Andrew McMahon and Lindsey Stirling
We eventually landed on “Something Wild”. It’s the title of one of my all-time favorite songs, a melody that I’ve long felt is Scout’s anthem.
The chorus says:
Face the fear that keeps you frozen,
Chase the sky into the ocean,
That’s when something wild calls you home
I can’t listen to it without thinking about Scout and how far we’ve come.
This dog has challenged me, changed me, pushed me to the brink of frustration and brought me back laughing (then crying, then laughing again). I am so grateful she is willing to learn at my side—and so happy we found the perfect name to represent her.