The Fédération Cynologique Internationale is, as its name says, an association, a combination of ninety-one national canine organisations, defending common values, sometimes defending their own values, having however, a constant interest in mind : the DOG.

The FCI has to deal with, sometimes, 91 different points of views and each FCI member, in its turn, has to deal with a number of standpoints which is equal to the number of breeders/members affiliated to them in their country. It is therefore easy to figure out the multiplicity and the diversity of opinions with which we, FCI, have to deal daily.

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Y. De Clercq
FCI Executive Director
The directory of kennel names registered with the FCI

What is a kennel name?

A kennel name is a breeding name that appears in all official documents such as pedigrees.
A kennel name may be used as a

  •  prefix – ex.: CHARMANT bobby
  •  suffix – ex.: Bobby de la VERTE VALLEE

How to register a kennel name with the FCI

Breeders should contact their national canine organisation http://www.fci.be/en/members/ to lodge a kennel name registration application. The list of all kennel names registered in the FCI's international directory is available on http://www.fci.be/en/affixes/. All breeders are encouraged to visit our website when choosing a kennel name in order to check whether or not the kennel name they wish to have registered already exists.

  • All member countries –full members, associate members and contract partners– should send their registration applications to the FCI General Secretariat.
  • The FCI Kennel Names Department will deal with these kennel name applications in the order in which they are received. Once confirmation and encoding have been completed, the list of applications is sent back to the national canine organisation, bearing an official stamp to indicate that the kennel name was granted and registered.
  • The FCI General Secretariat notifies the canine organisation when a proposed kennel name has already been assigned to another country. In such circumstances, the breeder should submit a proposal for a new kennel name to their national canine organisation.

All member countries manage their own kennel names departments under their own national regulations; thus, the FCI is not able to provide breeders with advice.

A kennel name that is registered in the FCI's international directory of kennel names MUST appear on all official documents. As can be seen from the FCI's website http://www.fci.be/en/affixes/, all kennel names are registered as one word, in non-diacritical characters, in order to have an accurate and comprehensive view of all names and thus avoid any potential duplication. This is also the reason why determiners are enclosed in brackets at the end of the name, e.g.: VALLEE VERTE (de la). However, this does not affect the official kennel name as requested by the breeder and granted by the FCI General Secretariat. All computer text symbols (e.g. @, www…) will be rejected.

What is the joint ownership of a kennel name?

Pursuant to the Standing Orders of the FCI (http://www.fci.be/en/Standing-Orders-of-the-FCI-40.html)

  • art. 9, 4. d), “A breeder cannot register more than one kennel name for all breeds bred by him”;
  • art. 9, 4. e), “Breeding associations of two or more persons must apply for their own joint kennel name; the above rules apply*. The FCI must be notified of any change in the composition of the association.”

* Items 4) a) b) c) and d) of article 9 in the Standing Orders of the FCI must be taken into account:
a) Dogs cannot bear a kennel name other than that of their breeder. Deemed to be the breeder is the owner of the bitch at the time of mating. When a pregnant bitch is sold, the seller's written permission must be obtained before the purchaser's kennel name can be given to the pups.
b) A dog's name and kennel name cannot be altered once they have been officially recorded.
c) A national canine organisation can add the FCI registered kennel name on the pedigrees if the breed in question is recognised by the national canine organisation issuing the pedigree and/or by the FCI.
d) A breeder cannot register more than one kennel name for all breeds bred by him.

Explanation:

If the owner of a kennel name wishes to enter into the joint ownership of another kennel name, they must ask for the removal of the kennel name they might already possess on their own account.

If the two owners of a kennel name wish to create an association, two options are provided:

  1. one of the two owners should have their kennel name removed, and enter into the joint ownership of the other kennel name

    or
  2. both owners waive their respective kennel names and apply together for a new kennel name.

What is the transfer of a kennel name?

Should the owner of a kennel name move to another country:

  • they should notify their national canine organisation beforehand, stating that they will no longer use their kennel name in the country, and request the transfer of the latter to the other country;
  • then they should get in touch with their new national canine organisation to make sure their kennel name is transferred to the organisation.

Both national canine organisations will then liaise with the FCI General Secretariat in order to set things straight.

Any matter arising in connection with kennel names should be directly submitted to the national canine organisation of the breeder's country of residence.

Marie-France Grulois and Graziella Soravia
FCI Kennel Names Department