AKC Registration Only

AKC (American Kennel Club) is a registry for purebred dogs. Although there are various other registries such as CKC, APRI, etc, I always felt that they were not as quality but I didn't understand exactly until more recently.

AKC has the strictest guidelines for registry. They are also the only registry that does spontaneous breeder inspections. AKC inspectors come to a breeder's facility and they go through documentation of litters, check identification records against the dogs in person (they scan microchips and/or check tatoos), they pull up records on puppies sold and who they went to. They go through a breeder's records in detail to check that breeding and whelping dates match, etc. They will also do DNA checks on present puppies, and check parentage. They view the facilities and make notes on kennel conditions, cleanliness, and the conditions of the dogs.

Inspections are completed on breeders who breed 7 or more litters a year. My first kennel inspection was in 2006 and I was scared to death of this "big mean AKC inspector" that was coming to "investigate" me and my dogs. I was literally shaking as he drove into the drive. Having learned all the documentation on my own and having AKC be less than helpful in the process, I was just sure he was going make me cry! I was pleasantly surprised to meet a gentle man, and when I asked for any information or guidance that would help me become a better breeder, he offered tips and advice along the way. After carefuly going through all my paperwork he even told me how impressed he was, that I passed with flying colors and did much better than most on a first inspection. I was proud to have a little "AKC Compliance Report" that proved I was in fact a "real breeder" with a great big "In Compliance" and a whole lot of "acceptables" on it! Of course it's still stressful to know they can come unannounced at any time from that point forward. In the mornings, when there's poop in the kennel runs and I have puppies who've gone home with their paperwork all in a pile waiting to be filed and organized, I get a panic feeling of "What if they showed up right now. I would just die!!!" I'm sure they've seen much worse, but it takes a lot of work to look good and have everything ready for scrutiny at any moment's notice.

Now AKC isn't perfect to work with. I've had more errors in my records with my records mixed up with people I've never heard of. I've had them lose paperwork, later to be found in their system that just got separated from the rest, they've sent me pedigrees for dogs and breeds I've never heard of. Sometimes I wonder why I would ever put up with so much. But I do like the fact that they give the breeder the right to say what puppies are to be spayed/nuetered and live life as a pet, and what puppies are either quality or are going to the correct environment for showing and breeding.

A breeder can give full or limited registration. Full registration means that the animal can be shown in AKC licensed events for confirmation, to prove it's quality as a breeding animal. They can also be bred and their offspring registered through AKC. Limited registration means that they are an AKC registered dog themselves, but are to be spayed/neutered and can not be shown or bred. This gives the breeder control in a couple ways. For puppies that aren't up to the standards for breeding, they can ensure that the puppy is not used for breeding. But they also don't want their puppies ending up in a back yard breeder, bad breeder, or puppy mill environment, so by giving limited AKC registration, this enforces that the puppy go to an appropriate pet home. For ethical breeder's, it's a device used for quality control.

What I didn't know is that some registries accept a registered dog regardless of full or limited registration and they allow all dogs to be bred. So when you purchase a CKC or APRI dog, you have no idea if the animals were all breeding quality. A dishonest person can purchase a pet puppy, register it with a different registry and produce puppies to make money. I didn't want to give the secret away to any dishonest people that might read this blog, but then I figured dishonest people probably already know about this. If we want to promote healthy puppies and quality puppies, lets just buy AKC and the people making money off of various other registries won't have a market! When you breed pet quality dogs over and over again, guess what happens to the offspring? You get pet quality, health disorders, and some day you get dogs that don't even resemble the breed standard. People say they don't care about show quality, they just want a pet. But don't you want a cute Cairn that actually looks like a Cairn? And don't you want a pet that is healthy and doesn't die at 9mo of age of liver failure!? (happened to a customer of mine that bought a pet store puppy from unknown origin) Ethical breeders and quality control is how you maintain production to resemble the breed standard and have the healthiest puppies possible.

Another story recently was that a guy had a dog that resembled a Great Pyranese. It wasn't of registered stock, but looked like one. So he sent photos of him to a registry, they said "Yep, looks like a Great Pyranese" and sent him papers for him!! What kind of registry sends you papers for your mutt!? It's against all reasons for having documented pedigrees and known heritage in the first place!

Here's a new one, The American Hybrid Club. Lets take our breeds, mix them up, create mutts and register them as "Designer Dogs". Now I will admit, that there is purpose to some designer breeds such as labradoodles which create a hypoallergenic service dog. In some cases outcrossing to a different breed expands the gene pool on a breed that is overbred and is ridden with health problems. But just creating mixes to make money is unethical. My own brother in law heard my piece of mind when he failed to spay his beagle and the neighbor's schnauzer bred her. She had 9 healthy beagle schnauzers and I jokingly made up a sign for him to sell his lovely "Schneagles" just to see his hair turn more fiery orange and his face turn red. Come on, spay & neuter and don't become part of the problem of pet overpopulation! It's not fair to these 9 little puppies who may or may not find quality homes. Nothing makes me more angry and I'm not afraid to make family members mad by saying so!