Your dog will likely have 3 different names in his or her lifetime, not including the nicknames you come up with down the road.  Let's break this down so you can see why that is.

Puppy Name

First of all, the kennel will name each puppy with a short 'call name' in keeping with their registered name.  i.e. Barrett's registered name was Daintree's Last of the Privateers, a well-known Nova Scotia song.

Some kennels use colours or numbers.

Registered Name

Your dog's second name will last for the duration of his or her lifetime and then some!  Each dog registered within the CKC must have a unique name unto him or her only.  It is comprised of no more than 30 characters (alpha, numeric, space or apostrophe only), and is often confined to a certain theme, letter of the alphabet, or word in common.  Topaz is registered as "Tollwest's Wild Blue Yonder".  This is because he came from Tollwest and the theme was 'wild'.

Most registered names are puns, play on words, movie titles or something that brings a smile to one's face.  Think racehorse names, sayings, phrases.

Since our first litter was known as The Gratitude Litter, each of the puppies has a name inspired by gratitude, thankfulness, appreciation, etc. 

For pet puppies, Daintree will usually assign all of the registered names to puppies based on their litter theme.  If you have a clever idea for a registered name or are a show or competition home, you may name the dog yourself with the theme as your guideline.

Call Name

Once you have the puppy in your possession and he or she is living with you, you are free to name him or her whatever you wish for the day-to-day name.  This does not have to have anything to do with either the puppy name or the CKC name, although it is nice to try and match the registered name to the call name, such as Pikkinokka's Sailor Mini Moon, call name Luna.  There are a lot of websites and books written solely for the purposes of helping you to name your dog.  There are certain sounds which dogs respond to better than others, and a definite argument for keeping it short (2 or fewer syllables.)  Most importantly, try to imagine yourself yelling it at the top of your lungs, repeatedly, for those moments the dog is running in the opposite direction to you at the dog park!  ha ha  "Poncho" rolls of the tongue a little easier than "Mr Bojangles."

Names to Avoid

While it is fine to name your dog anything you wish, I have compiled a list of common Toller names (based on experience and the listings in the NSDTR Club of Canada's Directory for 2008.)

Cabot, Ceilidh, Chilli, Copper, Digby, Piper, Ginger, Maverick, Ruby, Scarlet

Over-used names in general:

Abby, Annie, Bailey/Baylee/Bayley, Bear, Bella, Buster, Cayley (Ceili, Ceilidh, etc.), Charlie, Cleo, Cooper, Daisy, Dakota, Diesel, Ella, Emma, Gucci, Harley, Jack, Jake, Jesse (Jessie), Jazz/Jasmine, Kaylee, Kona, Koda/Kota, Kita, Kina, Maddie, Maggie, Max, Molly, Murphy, Oden, Oliver, Otis, Oz/Ozzie, Pekoe, Pepper, Prada, Riley, Rocky, Rosco, Sadie, Sam, Sophie, Stella, Sydney, Zack, Zoe