What does AKC mean as far as assurance of puppy?
The American Kennel Club (AKC) is the oldest purebred dog registry in the US. AKC registered more than 1.3 million purebred dogs and more than 550 thousand litters in its 145 breeds in 1997. The top 10 breeds (Labrador Retriever, Rottweiler, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Poodle, Beagle, Dachshund, Cocker Spaniel, Yorkshire terrier, and Pomeranian) accounted for more than 560 thousand of the total individual registrations. Most people who breed purebred dogs claim some affiliation with a registry as a seal of quality for their puppies. Many use that affiliation as a marketing tool, but buyers often learn the hard way that an AKC puppy purchased from a pet store or a backyard breeder is highly unlikely to be of the same caliber as an AKC registered puppy purchased from a reliable breeder.
AKC is as you read AND…. It also is a support group.. AKC is a group of purebred dog owners to date. A Rep from AKC DOES in fact visit the home of breeders who produce many litters. They require the DNA on frequently used sires. AKC enforces rules not talked about on a daily basis… Like a male must be 9mo. old or a female must be 2 yrs old to have a litter of pups…..show-rings. Rules in the showring like NO HAIRSPRAY!!! They support breeders who want to better the quality of the AKC list of Dog Breeds… And so on… It is a good group of people who love dogs and care about the well being of each.
AS several people pointed out basically AKC registration means little except that the parents were registered and the dog is purebred -assuming the breeder didn’t “cheat” and lie about that to the AKC (and yes AKC DOES have penalties should someone be caught at it) HOWEVER do keep in mind virtually ALL reputable breeders have AKC registered dogs (exceptions would be a few rare breed registries) so NOT having AKC registry is a bad sign!
