ABOUT KENNEL CLUBS
Our dogs have AKC/UKCI/CKC registrations. All of our puppies are registered UKCI for pet homes only. We do not register our puppies with AKC. Many people are only familiar with AKC because as you know, advertising with a heavy hand is the ONLY way for people to remember a business of any kind. It takes hundreds, thousands and even millions of dollars to become a household name. The truth about The American Kennel Club is that they are just a canine registrant service like hundreds of others. While they do hold canine show/trail events....so do many other kennel clubs. It is the false misconception of many that a purchased canine with AKC registration is a canine of "standard" and one that has NOT been in-bred, line-bred or back-bred. AKC does NOT set the standard for canine. The facts are this:
1. Many AKC dogs are inbred, closely bred & linebred. Why? Because many show breeders from the very early years to include the present closely breed purebred dogs to continue specific traits within their lineage to continue their "show" status and qualities. There is a lack of genetics from which to pull from when this kind of breeding occurs. Many show breeders have an unwillingness to "outcross" their dogs. This means bringing in genes that are different than that of their own dogs. When the gene pool is small & lacking, there can be more hereditary problems and issues with undesirable traits in the created offspring.
2. Quality puppies and dogs do NOT begin with the type of Kennel Club a breeder uses. Quality begins with the breeder. A quality dog comes from a breeder who takes the time to educate themselves about the lineage of their breeding dogs. They are in close contact with their puppies and they spend an enormous amount of time on them. Being responsible is NOT all about paying through the nose for testing breeding dogs for every ailment known to dogs. Such testing has no bearing on created offspring. Tested dogs can be silent carriers and still produce genetic issues in their offspring even though, they themselves passed the tests. Until genetic markers become available to all breeds, the breeder is only providing a false security blanket to people who feel they have purchased a "quality" puppy from a "responsible" breeder just because their dog was tested. When a breeder has healthy ancestors in their possession of their created offspring, over time, their percentage of defects are approx. the same as a breeder who does NOT have the ancestors available but have tested their personal breeding dogs.
3. A "Standard" for a purebred dog did NOT begin with the American Kennel Club. Standards written for purebred dogs came from kennel clubs all across the globe, many years before the invention of the American Kennel Club. AKC adopted those standards only AFTER particular breeds of dogs became "popular" with the general public. Don't KID YOURSELF! AKC isn't a dummy where money is concerned! They know how to advertise their business and they are worth millions! Where did all these millions come from? YOU! The general public and those breeders who just HAVE TO HAVE AKC registered dogs and from breeders who show & compete their AKC registered dogs. Believe it or not, many kennel clubs REFUSED to allow their created dogs to become affiliated with AKC and would NOT allow their dogs to participate with their kennel clubs.
4. The world's very first Kennel Club was called "KENNEL CLUB" (KC) and was formed in 1873. This club was formed in England. In the 1800s, before canine societies existed, there were many more breeds of dog than there are today. Breeders all over the world could see that the danger of extinction loomed over regional breeds. They successfully categorized differences before they were lost forever. Over the years, we have lost numbers of breeds and this has occurred due to those who were or are still unwilling to adopt new breeds of dogs into their kennel clubs. Many clubs make it difficult to bring in new breeds or re-new old breeds that existed back in the 1800s.
5. The American Kennel Club DOES NOT uphold "breeder" or "Buyer" contracts. We learned this the hard way a many years back which is why we left their Kennel Club. They DO NOT assist any breeder or buyer of an AKC registered dog nor will they get involved in any legal disputes between a breeder or a buyer. When a problem crops up between a breeder and buyer, this kennel club will promptly tell you they are NOTHING MORE than a registrant service and they can not assist you with any dispute. Here is out story! We sold a Toy female Poodle to a woman in Georgia because we felt she was a poor breeding prospect...many, many years ago. This dog had been with our Toy Poodle male for quite some time, but we never saw them "tie". We placed her up for sale. Just 2 or 3 weeks had passed when someone emailed me letting me know that this female Toy Poodle had puppies and that the owner was registering the litter with the American Kennel Club, claiming her sire was the sire to the litter. That is completely impossible. I contacted her and told her I wanted a DNA test of the puppies so that I could either prove or disprove the puppies had come from my sire. We sent a letter to AKC and they refused to help us...their comment to us???
"I'm sorry...we are just a canine registrant service". This really made me mad considering the fact their website makes them look like the GOD of Kennel Clubs and that they pretend to care about the quality of dogs that are registered with their kennel club!!!! Their lack of caring caused us to seek services with a different kennel club....and the rest is history. The woman who registered OUR litter sold the puppies under fraudulent documents provided to HER from the AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB....now...you tell ME who sets the standards??? I am sure that many other breeders have had similar issues with this kennel club and they left them for all the same reasons that we did. Many years ago, someone tried to claim in a forum (and we all know how ridiculous postings can be in forums...they are so far-fetched, it is unreal!) we were KICKED OUT and suspended from AKC because we were "bad breeders"...that is completely ridiculous and not true at all! That is SOOOO LUDICROUS TO US!
When we left the American Kennel club years ago, approx. a year later someone who was affiliated with AKC came to our home and wanted to view our dogs and go over their "AKC" paper work. This, he claimed, was supposed standard procedure by a club who does NOT help their breeders or customers out when an issue comes up! We got into an argument over the issue about them allowing this woman to register OUR puppies using false sire information through their club. He was also promptly told that our dogs were re- registered with a different kennel club and that we no longer participated with their kennel club because of the poor service provided to us and the fact they allowed a breeder to register OUR litter through them by claiming HER sire was the sire to that litter when it was impossible and they never stood up to the plate to help us. I also told him that he could take his Kennel club and their poor service and shove it "you know where". AKC trying to look like some kind of Gestapo of dogs, wrote us a letter saying we could NOT use their service because we refused to allow their representative to view our AKC papers and our dogs. They in turn got a letter from US telling them that only only did they have NO AUTHORITY to view our AKC papers or dogs but that our dogs were re-registered with another kennel clubs and our dogs were NOT their property. Any documents that I paid for by the American Kennel Club were personal property owned and paid for by me...not the club. This goes for ANYONE who orders documents from AKC. If your money pays for documents ordered from that club...they belong, legally to you and no longer to AKC. The documents were a purchased item and once sent to you, belong strictly to you...not the club who sold them to you. It was because they never even required the woman to produce DNA of her sire and to allow us to provide DNA of our sire to show who the real father was before allowing registration of a disputed litter, that showed the true colors of AKC. They are all about money...not about quality. Who do you think pays for all those beautiful trophies that show breeders get? All that money that goes to the winner? IT all comes from people who fall for the AKC gimmick when looking for a dog to buy.
We have participated with The Universal Kennel Club for many, many years. As of 2006, we have been a breeder for ten years. We register all of our litters through UKCI . We do NOT participate in any show/trial events unless they are FUN events and we have the time. While many years ago we helped sell puppies that belonged to other breeders who used AKC, we personally do not sell any puppy with AKC registration or as breeding or show prospects. All of our puppies come with a spay/neuter contract because We DO ADVOCATE the spaying & neutering of pets & we own quite a few who are themselves spayed and neutered. MANY DOGS ON OUR PREMISES ARE SPAYED & NEUTERED...not to mention the fact, we have many senior (old- aged) "rescue" dogs that we provided a home for years ago. Presently, due to our limited funds and space, we can no longer provide any rescue service to those who contact us for assistance. Our canine expenses are paid out of our own pocket which has always exceeded what has come in. We have never taken in more than what has gone OUT for our dogs. While living in Germany, we were certified RESPITE & FOSTER CARE PROVIDERS. We have thousands of volunteer hours under our belt and we have many, many AWARDS, COMMENDATIONS & LETTERS OF APPRECIATION for our hard efforts provided to the Frankenthal & Mannheim, Germany communities...not to mention from the military that we proudly served. YES! We are ex-military and we are very dedicated and very hard working people. We do have ethics and it doesn't all come from the military...it comes also from our family and how we were raised. There are times when a dog has an issue at some time during its life, that people who are too quick to pass judgement, use the type of registration as a way to try and demean the breeder or person who sold them the dog. It's silly and quite unfortunate. Is it fine then to say that if YOU have children and you passed on an undesirable trait to YOUR created offspring that now you are an irresponsible parent? A bad parent? How many humans, do you know actually test themselves and the family they come from BEFORE becoming a parent? Very few. Are they now "human" mills? If someone has adopted or created more than 1 or 2 children...are they, themselves a human mill? I've never understood why some people say this.
If you are seeking a quality pet, registration is NOT necessary. Registration DOES NOT guarantee quality.....
Registration DOES NOT guarantee a healthy dog nor does Registration make your dog any better than the dog down your street. What you should be more concerned about is:
#1. Is the breed you are selecting the breed you'd enjoy for many years to come?
#2. Is the puppy you are selecting a healthy puppy?
#3. Is the breed you are selecting a breed that everyone in your household has agreed upon?
#4. Is the breed you are selecting going to fit in with your lifestyle?
#5. Do you have the time to commit to the breed you are purchasing?
#6. Do you have the funds to commit to the breed you are purchasing?
#7. Do you have the space available for the breed you are selecting?
#8. Do you plan to make a lifelong commitment to the breed you are selecting?
If you are unsure of any of the questions above, we highly recommend that you wait to purchase a canine of any breed regardless of its registration. Puppies or dogs that are registered will cost you more in the beginning than adopting a canine from an animal shelter or humane society or shelter. If you have limited funds but do want a family pet, please consider adopting a puppy or dog from your local animal control or humane society or rescue agency.
There are many great dogs of all ages who are homeless and in desperate need of love a family can provide to them and who want to become your pet! We are not above owning shelter dogs. We have rescued many dogs from shelters years ago. They are spayed and neutered and we did not get them with the intention of breeding. We got them to love them and to get them out of the situation they were in and they have been wonderful pets to this day! If I had the space and the funds and the time and help, I would still provide rescue service.
There is some kind of false assumption that the AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB is the GOD of Kennel Clubs. We hate to burst your bubble. They are a Kennel Club like hundreds of others around the globe. Like many other kennel clubs, they register bred litters and they provide dog shows for people who are interested in this type of activity.
Kennel Clubs all across the world participate with many dog events and their kennel clubs are just as real as the American Kennel Club.
Just type in the words "kennel clubs" in your search engine box and you will see that there are thousands of links to many different types of canine registrant services all across the world.
We hope that this page can provide information to those unfamiliar with what a Kennel club does and what their purpose is.
