Congratulations on your new puppy!
By Sass Levine, TheK9club@aol.com
When purchasing a purebred puppy from a reputable breeder, your puppy may already have been registered or you may need to register him/her yourself. Breeders often register entire litters, using their own kennel name. For instance, if you purchased a puppy from Hilltop Golden Retrievers in New York, the breeder may have already registered the whole litter as Hilltop's Running Wild or Hilltops Crazy Ace. When your breeder sends you home with your puppy, you will also have registration paperwork to file along with a specific name.
There is specific paperwork necessary to register your dog. If you do not have the proper paperwork, there can be alternative ways to register your dog by submitting a photo in order to prove that your dog is a particular breed.
Go to www.akc.org/reg/registeralitter.cfm for further information on registering a litter or an individual puppy.
Reputable breeders want to follow up with the puppies they have bred to see just how the genetics influenced their temperament and structure. This feedback will enable them to know if a particular line they are developing is turning out the way they'd like it to. It is common for breeders to keep track of individual litters and puppies by naming all the puppies from a particular litter with a catchy "theme" , such as, "the music litter", or "the flower litter". This helps breeders, as well as others, to quickly identify all puppies from a particular litter without having to look up each one individually as the years go by. For instance, your puppy may have come from such a "theme" litter and from "the music litter" and has a registered name of "Hilltop Mountain Dulcimer"., while her litter mate may be named "Hilltop Fiddler Boy". You will both keep that registered name but you will also choose a personal "call name" like Dulcie or Fiddler .. or you may also just call your dog SPOT.
It is much easier to use a short one or two syllable name like these for your actual dogs name. This is the personal name that you choose to call your dog that is easy to say and easy to hear, such as "Spot or Rover". Try not to name a dog with a similar sound to a common word or command so that they will know when you are speaking to them. If your puppy comes from another source and is not registered, you may inquire about registering your puppy and choosing a name yourself, or you may just give your puppy any name of your own choosing and skip any registering at all.
Understand that if you choose to compete in specific breed shows or agility trials, that your dog will need to be registered.
Go to www.akc.org/public_education/regpromo.cfm for further information regarding registering your puppy.
Certainly if you don't plan on competing with your dog, or your dog is a mixed breed, then you can always just go ahead and name him anything you like and not be involved with any formal registration with a particular club like the (AKC) American Kennel Club.
Guidelines for choosing a call name for your dog
Choose a name your dog can easily recognize. Dogs usually respond best to one or two syllable names like "Jack or Cooper" .. also its easier for you to call a dog that doesn't have a name like" Rudolf Van Bubble Butt the third" If you do want to go for a dramatic and unusual long name, consider whether you can easily shorten it to something a bit simpler for your dog to understand.
Avoid 
dog names that sound like the standard commands of No, Stay, Sit, Come, Down or Fetch. For example "Joe" is probably too close to "No". It can be difficult for dogs to tell the difference between similar sounding words.
Choose a name that's both easy to call out and one that you are happy calling out. Remember, you will be calling your dog's name out in public places at times and shouting out "SHARK" at a local beach, which would cause quite a stir! You also want a name that will work well when you are straining your voice trying to get your puppy back as he disappears into the sunset chasing after a rabbit!
Looking For Dog Name Inspiration
Start with the obvious. Take a long hard look at your new little friend he may be telling you his name without you knowing. Look at his appearance, behavior, personality, and disposition. Names like Spot or Red may come to mind. How about Bandit for a dog who steals things or Rebel for a stubborn dog?
Then look elsewhere for inspiration. You can name your dog after another famous dog, for example Pluto, Pongo, Lassie or Digby. What about your favorite sports, movie, music or comic strip star?
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