Hello all,

I am German, and I can shed some light on this.

First of all look at this link here .
That explains where the von and vom comes from.

Then the grammar for von and vom:

von means from.

vom means von dem. (in English you use similar shortcuts - example it's instead of it is)

We have von (one word) and vom (two words).

von, if it is on its own, is followed by a name. For example von Detroit (Detroit is a name).

You could say vom Birkenwald (von dem Birkenwald) (From the Birch Forrest). In this case it is an object we talk about > the forrest.

Now, a kennel has the male gender in the German language, if you talk about the physical object the kennel you could use vom, but if you talk about the kennel name, then you would only use von.

Leerburg is a very good example. It is a name. A dog would be named for example Rex von Leerburg. But Leerburg could also be an object. Leer means empty, and burg means castle. Empty castle. Rex von der Leerburg would be that dogs name.

The more you think about it, the less headache one gets... ;-))

"The more you think about it, the less headache one gets.."


Not necessarily.


But the Leerburg example did give me another big piece in the puzzle.

Thank you all of help with the German grammer! Just so I get things right here, my dog did come with papers however its asking for a dog name. The breeder did not specify if he wanted me to use his kennel name; This was his first litter and im not sure if he has a kennel name. Under the Sire name it does have dog "x of the leerburg" as an example. For clarification purposes, does this mean I can name my own dog with my kennel name? As stated before, I want to do some Schutzhund with this puppy and I dont want to run into any issues down the line. Their seemed to be some contradiction in advice given in this particular thread.
Thanks again!

You really can name your dog anything you want to--as long as the name isn't already another registered dog's name. If the breeder cared, the name would have been given to you (or sometimes a contract condition to use a breeder's kennel name). Absent that, use your imagination. His registered name will have nothing to do with his ability to compete in any sport.

IF your going to use your breeder's name in the dog registered name I would first make sure it's ok with the breeder. Some expect it. Some don't want it.

 Quote: Bob Scott

IF your going to use your breeder's name in the dog registered name I would first make sure it's ok with the breeder. Some expect it. Some don't want it.

More and more new info ...

If a breeder feels very strongly about you using their kennel name it is normally in the contract or the breeder has already registered the individual pups.

It is certainly something that is normally addressed!