To the average dog lover, the rules and regulations of some national dog registry associations like the American Kennel Club (AKC) can strike one as problematic. You could be excused for thinking that a puppy registered by the AKC would be a healthy, high quality purebred, yet this isn’t always so. You can only be certain of getting a pedigree puppy. The health of the puppy’s genetic line, and the quality of the breeder, are not monitored by them. This can surprise many dog owners who would naturally assume that a prominent dog association like the American Kennel Club would provide such fundamental assurances. And it shows why some breed clubs, such as those for the Australian kelpie dog breed, have decided not to implement the requirements for American Kennel Club registration. Dogs not recognized by the American Kennel Club cannot compete in the many AKC run dog shows. It does, however, protect the breed’s health.
What the American Kennel Club wanted breeders of the Australian kelpie to do was effectively limit the natural genetic variation of their dogs. Dogs in American Kennel Club recognized breeds, and with an American Kennel Club issued pedigree, have been bred for show, according to quite limited characteristics. Consequently a lot of these dogs can no longer do a lot of things the breed was once known for, such as hunt. It has also meant a lot of genetic health issues, as a result of too much inbreeding to keep the lines ‘pure’. Dogs are bred back to their grandparents and parents, simply because it creates dogs that help win shows. On their website, the University of Wisconsin write:
“First, the AKC defines quality in a dog primarily on the basis of appearance, paying scant heed to such other canine characteristics as health, temperament, and habits of work. Over the years this policy has led to destructive forms of inbreeding that have created dogs capable only of conforming to human standards of beauty. Many can no longer perform their traditional tasks–herding, tracking, hunting–while more than a few cannot live outside a human-controlled environment.” (Source)
Of course, this isn’t the only reason why a breed isn’t listed by the American Kennel Club. Some are considered a size variation of a larger breed rather than a distinct breed. This is true of dogs like the small German spitz and the toy Manchester terrier.
Ultimately, unless you plan to show your dog, registration by the American Kennel Club is not as important as buying a good quality dog from a breeder who breeds with the health of the dogs in mind, as well as to preserve the dog’s natural abilities. Breeders who breed mostly to achieve a certain look are more likely to follow breeding practices that create genetic defects. And it could result in dogs that have less than desirable temperaments as pets. Whilst this might not be true across the board, for all breeders, in the long run, too much inbreeding can only create problems for a breed.
