At a recent writers group meeting, we discussed how to properly capitalize dog breed names. Whether mentioning the breed name in text or as a title, the author should know the correct capitalization for dog breed names. Foreign words in dog breed names that cannot be translated into English proper names do not justify capitalization.
Unless your audience is primarily dog lovers, only use elements in dog breed names that are derived from proper names. According to a grammar expert, parts of dog breed names derived from proper names are capitalized, while parts from common names are not. Most dog breeds are written in lowercase unless they contain a proper name, such as "German Shepherd", in which case the proper name is capitalized, but the common name is written in lowercase.
What are the top 10 dog names?
- Molly (all breeds)
- Buddy (all breeds)
- Daisy (all breeds)
- Max (all breeds)
- Molly (Labrador Retrievers)
- Buddy (Beagles)
- Daisy (Greyhounds)
- Max (German Shepherds)
- Lady-Bug (Bull Terriers
- Lucky-Dog (Cocker Spaniels).
Do not write animals with a capital letter, but in some cases capitalize the name of the breed (the dog is a German shepherd). Dog breed names are often descriptions rather than proper names, in which case they should not be capitalized. In some countries, the dog is not called like we are, so the name of their breed may not begin with a noun.
The rule for capitalizing on dog breeds is that if a breed is named after a place or person, capitalize that breed. In these cases, when you see a race with the daemon, as above, the part will be capitalized. As a general rule, breeds containing proper names or names derived from proper names are written in capital letters, while breeds whose names are derived from common names are written in lower case letters.
Check Merriam-Webster for exceptions, as some breed names may be capitalized. There are certain times when some animal names can be capitalized. For example, another poodle hybrid, the Labradoodle, is listed in Merriam-Webster as "often capitalized".
Thus, the preference for "labradoodle" could be defended on the principle that it derives from a proper name. Or the reader may wonder why the word "dog" was included, since many people simply say "German Shepherd", omitting the last word of the breed's official name.
Let's say you're writing about a dog breed - or even your favorite dog - and you need to mention the type or breed. If you are writing for a dog-loving audience, such as an article for a dog website, a sales letter to dog owners, or web copy for a breed association, yes, capitalize every word in all races. The more the dog targets your writing, the more you may want to benefit from all the breed titles.
When it comes to capitalizing on breed names for dog lovers, the American Kennel Club (AKC) breed list is a great resource. Unless you're writing for a dog-focused magazine that follows the American Kennel Club's capitalization style, avoid this embarrassment by looking up individual breed names in a dictionary. As you might expect, the AKC (American Kennel Club) capitalizes every word in the breed name.
Although the American Kennel Club website and dog specialty publications such as Bark and Dogster magazine seem to capitalize all words in breed names, the Associated Press rule for dog (and cat) breeds is that part of the name, derived from a proper name, used with a capital letter. and in lower case the part of the name derived from the common name. When you say "Garfield the cat", the word "cat" is in lower case because it's not part of the name. A confusing exception to this rule is apparently "Felix the Cat", whose full name includes the word "cat", meaning that in this case it is capitalized.
Dog, however, falls under the category of the common name as it is a label/species name and not a specific name. There are several Japanese native dog breeds that are capitalized, including the part of the name that simply means "dog" in Japanese. German Shepherds, Portuguese Water Dogs, Newfoundland Hounds, Dalmatians, and others that include the corresponding term capitalize these terms. First, some races are used as proper names, usually because they are associated with a place or group of people.
Secondly, this means that proper nouns do not allow and do not need any other word that serves as a modifier to modify, qualify or restrict them (for example, the use of adjectives or adverbs). You can do this by researching the country of origin of each breed, translating the name if necessary, and then using only proper names. General FAQ about dog breed names written in capital letters summarizes the article so that you can get all your questions answered.
For example, you may find that some websites or magazines capitalize all dog breeds because they want the differences to stand out in the text. This is usually a specific geographic region (Anatolian Shepherd), a group of people (Samoyeds), or the name of a dog breeder (Gordon Setter). Following this dog breed capitalization rule, if one were to write about "the adventures of a Great Dane", it is not clear whether these were the adventures of a dog or an important person from Denmark.
Rules for capitalization include whether the name begins with text, a paragraph, or a sentence, whether a breed is named after a person, and whether the name, or part of it, refers to its geographic origin. With compound nouns, remember that if the first word is capitalized, the rest are optional. This class usually accompanies other proper names (usually, but not always) to distinguish one breed from another within the same class.
