What is a Title?
by Sandy Mowery, writer for Front & Finish (The Dog Trainer's News)

"Not just a brag, Not just a stepping-stone to a higher title, Not just an adjunct to competitive scores".

"A Title is a tribute to the dog that bears it, a way to honor that dog, an ultimate memorial. It will remain in the record and in the memory for about as long as anything in this world can remain. Few humans will do as well or better in that regard, and though the dog himself doesn't know or care that his achievements have been noted, a Title says many things in the world of humans, where such things count".

"A Title says your dog was intelligent, and adaptable, and good natured. It says that your dog loved you enough to do the things that please you, however crazy they may have sometimes seemed".

"And a Title says that you loved your dog, that you loved to spend time with him because he was a good dog, and that you believed in him enough to give him yet another chance when he failed, and that in the end your faith was justified".

"A Title proves that your dog inspired you to have the special relationship enjoyed by so few, that in the world of disposable creatures, this dog with a Title was greatly loved, and loved greatly in return. And when that dear short life is over, the Title remains as a memorial of the finest kind, the best you can give to a deserving friend, volumes of praise in one small set of initials before or after the name".

A Title is nothing less than love and respect, given and received permanently".



DOG RELATED ACRONYMS

Have you ever wondered what the letters following a dog's name represented? This page will help make sense of all that "alphabet soup" and will become a valuable aid in understanding the success the dog (and handler) have achieved.

  • All titles are suffixes to a dog's registered name if not otherwise noted.
  • Acronyms listed alphabetically, except herding titles, which are in order of difficulty.
ORGANIZATIONS
AACAgility Association of Canada
AKCAmerican Kennel Club
CKCCanadian Kennel Club
NADACNorth American Dog Agility Council
UKCUnited Kennel Club (USA)
USDAAUnited States Dog Agility Association

PEDIGREE ACRONYMS
BISBest In Show. This indicates that the dog has won the top ribbon in an AKC sponsored all-breed or multi-breed show.
BISSBest In Specialty Show. The dog has won the top ribbon in a specialty (single breed) show; in this case, a Rhodesian ridgeback specialty show.
CHAKC Champion of record. This generally means a championship in conformation showing. To earn a championship a dog must win 15 points in an AKC sponsored show. At least 6 of those points must be won in 2 shows (majors) under separate judges. The purpose of conformation showing is to determine the best breeding stock for each breed.
DCDual Champion. The dog has won championships in two separate areas, usually conformation and a field event.
SA CHSouth African Champion
ROMRegister of Merit. This is awarded to a bitch who produces at least 5 champion offspring, or to a male who produces at least 10 champion offspring.
JCJunior Courser. The first coursing title, indicating that the dog has successfully run the lure 2 times. A dog must have a JC before running competitively against other dogs in lure coursing.
SCSenior Courser
BIFBest In Field. The top award in lure coursing. After the winner is determined for each breed, these winners run against one another for Best In Field.
FCHAKC Field Champion. Like the conformation champions, the field champions must earn 15 points in competition against their own breed.
AM/CAN CHAmerican/Canadian Champion. The dog has won two championships.
FLYBALL TITLES
FDFlyball Dog
FDXFlyball Dog Excellent
FDChFlyball Dog Champion
FMFlyball Master
FMXFlyball Master Excellent
FMChFlyball Master Champion
ONYX AwardBased on points earned; award was named after the first recipient
FGDChFlyball Grand Champion
AGILITY TITLES
AXAgility Excellent (AKC)
MXMaster Agility Excellent (AKC)
NANovice Agility (AKC)
OAOpen Agility (AKC)
NAJNovice Jumper With Weaves (AKC)
OAJOpen Jumper With Weaves (AKC)
AXJExcellent Jumper With Weaves (AKC)
MXJMaster Jumper With Weaves (AKC)
U-AGIAgility I (UKC)
U-AGIIAgility II (UKC)
U-ACHAgility Champion (UKC)
U-ACHXAgility Champion Excellent (UKC)
ADAgility Dog (USDAA)
VADVeteran Agility Dog (USDAA)
VAADVeteran Advanced Agility Dog (USDAA)
VMADVeteran Master Agility Dog (USDAA)
VSVeterans Snooker
VJVeterans Jumper
VGVeterans Gambler
VPDVeteran Performance Dog
AADAdvanced Agility Dog (USDAA)
MADMaster Agility Dog (USDAA)
SMSnooker Master (USDAA)
GMGambler Master (USDAA)
PMPairs Master (USDAA)
JMJumpers Master (USDAA)
ADCHAgility Dog Champion (USDAA)
ADCAgility Dog of Canada (AAC)
AADCAdvanced Agility Dog of Canada (AAC)
MADCMaster Agility Dog of Canada (AAC)
O-, S-Outstanding, Superior Peformance, prefixed to any NADAC title
NAC, NAC-V, NAC-JHNovice Standard, Veterans, Junior Handler (NADAC)
OAC, OAC-V, OAC-JHOpen Standard, Veterans, Junior Handler (NADAC)
EAC, EAC-V, EAC-JHElite Standard, Veterans, Junior Handler (NADAC)
NGC, NGC-V, NCG-JHNovice Gamblers, Veterans, Junior Handler (NADAC)
OGC, OGC-V, OCG-JHOpen Gamblers, Veterans, Junior Handler (NADAC)
EGC, EGC-V, ECG-JHElite Gamblers, Veterans, Junior Handler (NADAC)
NJC, NJC-V, NJC-JHNovice Jumpers, Veterans, Junior Handler (NADAC)
OJC, OJC-V, OJC-JHOpen Jumpers, Veterans, Junior Handler (NADAC)
EJC, EJC-V, EJC-JHElite Jumpers, Veterans, Junior Handler (NADAC)
NATChAgility Trial Champion (NADAC)
OBEDIENCE TITLES
CDCompanion Dog (AKC, CKC)
CDXCompanion Dog Excellent (AKC, CKC)
CTChampion Tracker (a dog with a TD, TDX and VST) (AKC)
The Champion Tracker title is not a competitively earned title and does not figure into Dual or Triple Champion titles, however the OTCH can be the third CH in a Triple.
OTChObedience Trial Champion (prefix) (AKC, CKC)
The AKC OTCh is much different and more difficult to achieve than the Canadian (CKC) OTCh. The CKC OTCh is equivalent to getting a Canadian UD.
TDTracking Dog (AKC, CKC)
TDXTracking Dog Excellent (AKC, CKC)
U-CDCompanion Dog (prefix) (UKC)
U-CDXCompanion Dog Excellent (prefix) (UKC)
U-UDUtility Dog (prefix) (UKC)
UDUtility Dog (AKC, CKC)
UDTUtility Dog title with a Tracking Dog title (AKC)
UDTXUtility Dog title with a Tracking Dog Excellent title (AKC)
UDXUtility Dog Excellent (AKC)
There are no combined titles for dogs with UDX and other tracking titles.
UDVSTUtility Dog title with a Variable Surface Tracking title (AKC)
VSTVariable Surface Tracking (AKC)
SCHUTZHUND
AD12 1/2 mile endurance run (can move from the other category)
BGerman equivilent of a CD and CGC test in one.
SchH I, SchH II, SchH IIIcomprised of three phases:
  1. tracking
  2. obedience
  3. protection
The dog must pass all three phases to earn the title.
FHadvanced tracking title (comparable to TDX)
WHwatchdog title
KKLKoer'd means the dog is certified as eligible for breeding under the German breed survey system
AKC HERDING TITLES
HCHHerding Champion (prefix)
HIHerding Intermediate
HSHerding Started
HTHerding Tested
HXHerding Excellent
PTPre-trial Tested
HERDING TITLES - AHBA (American Herding Breeds Association)

The official AHBA HTD titles can have up to 4 suffixes: "-d" for ducks, "-s" for sheep, "-g" for goats, or "-c" for cattle. The title will always have at least one of these suffixes.
HCTHerding Capable Tested
HTD1Herding Trial Dog, first level
HTD2Herding Trial Dog, second level
HTD3Herding Trial Dog, third level
JHDJunior Herd Dog
HERDING TITLES - ASCA (Australian Shepherd Club of America)

Titles with an asterisk (*) always have a suffix of "-s" for sheep, "-d" for ducks, or "-c" for cattle. Titles are earned separately on each type of stock.
ATDAdvanced Trial Dog *
OTDOpen Trial Dog
RDRanch Dog (dog has been evaluated by a judge while doing its routine farm tasks & certified to be a useful working dog) *
STDStarted Trial Dog
WTCHWorking Trial Champion (prefix) (dog has earned ATD on all 3 types of stock)
FIELD TRIALS - AKC, CKC AFC Amateur Field Champion (prefix)
(must be owner handled)
CFCCanadian Field Champion, (prefix)
CAFCCanadian Amateur Field Champion (prefix)
FCField champion, (prefix) (can be professional handler, open class)
FDField Dog (pointing, CKC)
FDJField Dog Junior (pointing, CKC)
FDXField Dog Excellent (pointing, CKC)
NFCNational Field Champion, (prefix)
GO TO GROUND/TERRIER TRIALS/TESTS
JEJunior Earthdog (AKC)
MEMaster Earthdog (AKC)
SESenior Earthdog (AKC)
COURSING TITLES - AKC
JCJunior Courser (suffix)
SCSenior Courser (suffix)
F.Ch.Field Champion (prefix)
COURSING TITLES - NAOFA (North American Open Field Association)
CCCoursing Champion
CMCourser of Merit
COURSING TITLES - NACA (North American Coursing Association)
NACC NACACoursing Champion
NACM NACACourser of Merit
HUNT TEST TITLES
GMHRGrand Master Hunting Retriever (NAHRA)
JHJunior Hunter (AKC)
SHSenior Hunter (AKC)
SRStarted Retriever (NAHRA)
MHMaster Hunter (AKC)
MHRMaster Hunting Retriever (NAHRA)
WRWorking Retriever (NAHRA)
WORKING CERTIFICATES (BREED CLUBS)
WACWorking Aptitude Certificate (Doberman Pincher Club of America)
WCWorking Certificate (various breed clubs, differs)
WCIWorking Certificate Intermediate (various breed clubs, differs)
WCXWorking Certificate Excellent (various breed clubs, differs)
WDWorking dog (ACC, American Chesapeake Club)
WDXWorking dog excellent (ACC) WDQ working dog qualified (ACC)
WDWater dog (NCA, Newfoundland Club of America)
WRDWater rescue dog (NCA)
DDDraft dog (NCA)
TDDTeam draft dog (NCA)
VNVersatile Newfoundland (NCA) American Water Spaniels
SDStarted Dog (AWSC, American Water Spaniel Club)
WDWorking Dog (AWSC)
WDXWorking Dog Excellent (AWSC)
WDSWorking Dog Superior
JWDJunior Working Dog (AWSFA, American Water Spaniel Field Association)
SWDSenior Working Dog (AWSFA)
MWDMaster Working Dog (AWSFA)
MISCELLANEOUS TITLES
CGCertificate of Gameness (American Working Terrier Assn)
CGCCanine Good Citizen Certificate
CHChampion (prefix)
HICHerding Instinct Certified
TDTherapy Dog
TDITherapy Dog International
TTTemperment Tested by ATTS (or other official organizations)
OTHER DOG-RELATED ACRONYMS
ACVOAmerican College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists
BJBroad Jump or Bar Jump (context)
CERFCanine Eye Registry Foundation
DJDirected Jumping
DORDrop on Recall
F8Figure Eight
HDHip Displasia (sometimes CHD)
ILPAKC Indefinite Listing Privilege for unpapered purebreds
LPUKC's Listing Privilege for unpapered purebreds/mixed breeds
PRAProgressive Retrinal Atrophy
OFAOrthopedic Foundation for Animals
ROFRetrieve on the Flat
ROHRetrieve over the High Jump
ROMRegister of Merit


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