Be sure to read the warning at the bottom of this page!

As of July 1, 2008, The Dogue de Bordeaux is now an AKC recognized breed in the US. The DDB is no longer considered a "rare breed" in the USA. Thus, the "old" titles really no longer have much of a bearing on the future of our breed.  Have you ever looked at a Dogue de Bordeaux's name and wondered what all those letters mean? Hopefully this will be a guide for you...We hope to expand on this page more, input is appreciated!

 

The Basics on the Front of the name
AKC only offers ONE level of Conformation Championship up to May 2010, then they will offer a Grand Championship!
Ch or CH = Champion
AKC does NOT offer  Supreme Grand Champion but will be offering new Grand Champion program starting in May 2010

The Basics on the Back of the name
AKC and other organizations offers numerous other working titles on the back of a dogs name:

CGC = Canine Good Citizen

Rally Titles through AKC

RN = Rally Novice
RA = Rally Advanced
RE = Rally Excellent
RAE = Rally Advanced Excellent

Obedience Titles through AKC:

CD = Companion Dog
CDX = Companion Dog Excellent
UD = Utility Dog
UDX = Utility Dog Excellent
OTCH = Obedience Trial Champion
NOC = National Obedience Champion
 

Agility Titles through AKC:

NA = Novice Agility
NAJ = Novice Agility with Jumps
NAP = Novice Agility Preferred
NF = Novice Agility FAST
NFP = Novice Agility FAST Preferred
OA = Open Agility
OAJ = Open Agility Jumpers
OAP = Open Agility Preferred
OF = Open Agility FAST
OFP = Open Agility FAST Preferred
OJP = Open Jumpers with Weaves Preferred
AX = Agility Excellent
AXJ = Agility Excellent Jumper
AXP = Agility Excellent "A" Preferred
AJP = Agility Excellent Jumper with Weaves Preferred
FTC = FAST Century
FCCP = FAST Century Preferred
PAX = Preferred Agility Excellent
XF = Excellent FAST
XFP = Excellent FAST Preferred
MFP = Master Excellent FAST Preferred
MJP = Master Excellent Jumper with Weaves "B' Preferred
MX = Master Agility Excellent
MXF = Master Agility Excellent FAST
MXJ = Master Agility Excellent Jumper with Weaves
MXP = Master Agility Excellent Preferred
 

Tracking Titles through AKC:

TD = Tracking Dog
TDE = Tracking Dog Excellent
VST = Variable Surface Tracking
CT = Champion Tracker

Versatility Titles through AKC (Obedience, Agility and Tracking):

VCD1 = Versatile Companion Dog 1
VCD2 = Versatile Companion Dog 2
VCD3 = Versatile Companion Dog 3
VCD4 = Versatile Companion Dog 4
VCCH = Versatile Companion Champion
 

Other AKC Working Titles:

F = F
I = I
R = R
R = R
S = S
U = U
U = U

Non AKC titles that may be on the back of a dogs name:

TDI= Therapy Dog International
TT = American Temperament Test Society

Club and Organization Letters
Most of the Ch's and GrCh's are preceded by the show organization or club abbreviation, for example

DDBS Ch = Dogue de Bordeaux Society Champion

DDBS = Dogue de Bordeaux Society (no longer offered after January 1, 2009)
ARBA = American Rare Breed Association***
CKC = Canine Kennel Club***
FIC = Federation of International Canines***
IABCA = International All Breed Canine Association
R = Rarities/North American Kennel Club
RBCSWO = Rare Breed Club of South West Ontario
SKC = States Kennel Club***
USBC = United States Bordeaux Corporation (no longer in existence)
UKC = United Kennel Club

Within these organizations, there may be different level of Championships available:

GrCh or GRCH = Grand Champion
SGRCh or SGRCH = Supreme Grand Champion

***These groups are also "registries" who used to offer shows, see the registry page

International Titles
A dog that is FCI registered Or Dual full AKC and FCI registered (overseas, Mexico, Puerto Rico and other countries) can compete anywhere in the world and obtain true International titles. This would be:

FCI Ch. along with any thing from the country it is received in, i.e. Dutch FCI Ch, French FCI Ch etc.

Also a dog from the USA that competes in Mexico or Canada can earn their championships in those countries and also be called international champions. (for example Rare Breed Club of South West Ontario or Rarities). These will be noted by

Rarities Int'l Ch
RBDCSWO Int'l Ch
Canadian Ch (the DDB is NOT Canadian Kennel Club recognized, a Canadian CH would be with show orgs other than the CKC)
Mexican Ch. etc.

BEWARE!
A Dogue de Bordeaux that lives in the USA can only achieve the true title of INTERNATIONAL if it is shown internationally (i.e. overseas, Canada, Mexico, anywhere outside of the USA and only FCI or full AKC registered dogs can compete in most FCI shows overseas).

Some people attend shows offered by the INTERNATIONAL ALL BREED CANINE ASSOCIATION (IABCA) in the USA. This organization offers an IABCA title and also a title they call the IABCA International title. Unfortunately a dog does not have to go outside the USA to obtain this title and they don't need competition with this group either. Reputable show people who are not interested in deception by a twist of words will list this as IABCA Int'l Ch which is the CORRECT way. BUT some people choose to just use Int'l or International Champion in their dog’s title when in fact the dog never traveled outside of the USA to obtain this title, sometimes not even out of the state it was born in and with no competition! This is deception by twisting words. Be warned, always ask to see proof - do not assume the dog is a TRUE international champion!