Dogs' Titles

What do the letters before and/or after a dog's name mean?


Wherever in your reading you find reference to the results of canine competitions, or write-ups on individual dogs, you may have seen a series of letters before or after a dog's name, and wondered what they signify.

You may also have noticed that some dogs' names are written up differently: the usual practice is to put inverted commas around a pet-name, but not a kennel or pedigree name.

There is a bewildering array of 'titles' on offer to dogs in Dogsports competition in different classes of Obedience, Flyball, Agility, Jumping, Tracking, Herding, Conformation (the Show-ring) Rally Obedience, Retrieving, Earthdog, Dancing With Dogs, and others which are less common. 

Letters before the name indicate a Championship achieved, most frequently in the Show-ring, which will appear as Ch. or Aust. Ch.(you may also see N.Z.Ch.or Am.Ch.or similar, indicating titles gained overseas). There are Obedience Champions too, O.C. We also have in this Club a T.Ch. (Tracking) and at least one dog with a Dual Ch. (Championships gained in two different  disciplines, Conformation and one other) and even a Triple Champion who has gained her titles  in the show-ring as well as in Obedience and Tracking.

However, the initials you will see most  often, and may already be aspiring towards yourself, are:

 

  • C.C.D. - Community Companion Dog, the entry level title in Obedience
  • C.D. - Companion Dog; Novice Obedience           
  • C.D.X. - Companion Dog Excellent:Open Obedience       
  • U.D. - Utility Dog:Utility Obedience         
  • U.D.X. - Utility Dog Excellent
  • R.N. - Rally Novice
  • R.A. - Rally Advanced
  • R.E. - Rally Excellent
  • R.A.E. - Rally Advanced Excellent   
  • R.M. - Rally Master
  • F.D. - Flyball Dog
  • F.D.X. - Flyball Dog Excellent
  • FDCh. - Flyball Dog Champion
  • AFCh. - Australian Flyball Champion
  • F.M. - Flyball Dog Master
  • F.M.X. - Flyball Dog Master Excellent
  • FMCh. - Flyball Dog Master Champion
  • Onyx - Onyx Plaque
  • FDGCh. - Flyball Dog Grand Champion
  • A.D. - Agility Dog:3 passes in Novice Agility
  • A.D.X. - Agility Dog Excellent:5 Passes in Excellent
  • A.D.O. - Agility Dog Open
  • A.D.M. - Agility Dog Master
  • J.D.,  JD.X., &  J.D.M. - Jumping titles parallel to Agility
  • Ag.Ch. - Agility Champion which requires consistent excellence in both Agility & Jumping competition following ADM & JDM titles
  • G.D., G.D.X., & GDM - Gamblers titles in Agility Games
  • S.D., S.D.X., & SDM - Snooker titles in Agility Games
  • S.P.D., S.P.D.X., & S.P.DM - Strategic Pairs titles in Agility Games
  • T.D.,  &  T.D.X. - Tracking Dog, etc: Tracking titles gained over a series of increasingly difficult courses; only conducted in winter         
  • T.Ch. - Tracking Champion
  • FS.S. / H.T.M.S. - Freestyle & Heelwork to Music are two branches of Dances With Dogs in each of which there are four levels of competition leading towards
  • FS.N. / H.T.M.N. - Champion status, the introductory level class being Starters, followed by Novice, and progressivly Intermediate and Advanced.
  • FS.I. / H.T.M.I.
  • FS.A / H.T.M.A.
  • E.T. - Endurance Test: 20km supervised group ride/run with the dog being vet-checked at prescribed breaks; only conducted in winter.
  • Gr.Ch. - Grand Champion: Conformation (show-ring) title achieved by dogs being awarded their 'Champion' title ten times over