AKC and Other Dog Registries

The American Kennel Club (AKC) contributes to allow dog overpopulation, the breeding and sale of pet shop dogs, and the pervasiveness of genetic defects in purebred dogs. AKC registration does not guarantee proper breeding conditions, health, quality or claims to lineage. CAPS was responsible for the “20/20” piece that exposed alleged fraud by the AKC (9/23/94) and a major investigative article on the AKC in the Philadelphia Inquirer (12/31/95).

In July 2000, the AKC began requiring DNA samples for all sires producing more than three litters a year or seven litters in a lifetime. A number of commercial breeders, therefore, are now using other registries. A pet shop puppy might come with registration papers from Continental Kennel Club (CKC), America’s Pet Registry, Inc. (APRI), American Canine Association (ACA), Universal Kennel Club International (UKCI), United All Breed Registry (UABR), Federation of International Canines (FIC) or Canine Registration and Certification Services (CRCS). CAPS often receives complaints from pet shop customers who have purchased a “registered” puppy and received papers from a registry other than the AKC. It seems that some pet shop employees are using the word “registered” without specifying a registry name.