What Do Reputable Breeders Do? |
Why Buy From A Reputable Breeder? |
How To Find A Reputable Breeder |
KC vs. Alternative Registries |
Many people believe that Kennel Club Registration gives a guarantee that a puppy has come from a reputable breeder & will grow into a healthy, happy example of its breed. Sadly, this is not always the case.
- The bitch has not already whelped four litters, or
- The bitch was not under a year old at the date of mating, or
- The bitch has not already reached the age of eight years at the date of whelping, or
- The litter is not from a mother/son, father/daughter or full brother/sister mating
KC registered or not?
The Kennel Club are the UK's recognised registration body which are responsible for maintaining a pedigree dog registration database. Registration of puppies with the Kennel Club is not compulsory. Most breeders do register their litters and they opt to register them with the Kennel Club.
Conscientious breeders in the UK will register their puppies with the UK Kennel Club; unfortunately, the same applies to the majority of less than reputable breeders!
Kennel Club registration alone is not an indicator of a good or bad breeder.
To complicate matters further, some reputable breeders CHOOSE not to register puppies with the Kennel Club and some less reputable breeders CAN'T register their puppies with the Kennel Club because they are unable to comply with the terms of registration.
Some otherwise perfectly reputable breeders may OPT not to register their puppies with the UK Kennel Club. For example, some reputable breeders will not register "pet" puppies & will only register puppies they are keeping for themselves and those going to 'show' homes. In cases such as this, if a reputable breeder opts not to KC register their "pet" pups, they do NOT register the puppy with any registry including the alternative registries.
In instances where breeder's CAN'T register their puppies with the Kennel Club it is often the case that welfare issues are preventing the registration. E.g. the mother is too young, too old or has already whelped four litters. Perhaps one or both parents have ‘endorsements’ placed on their own registration papers or one or both parents are not KC registered themselves.
How to decide if none KC registration is an issue?
The fact that a puppy is not registered with the Kennel Club does not automatically imply that the pup's breeder is not reputable. What is important is the reason why the pup is not registered with the Kennel Club. If you are considering buying a puppy which is not KC registered, and whose parents are both KC registered you should be asking questions and considering all aspects of a breeders commitment to their puppies.
In the case of a reputable breeder, the reason given should be honest & accurate, and be for reasons that are not related to the pup's mother’s welfare, e.g. breeding from a mother that is too young/too old or from a mother that has already had more litters than the KC allows.
The decision whether to register puppies with the KC should be at the breeder's discretion and NOT because they are prevented from registering them! It is worth noting that if puppies are not Kennel Club registered then a reputable breeder will not have registered the litter/individual puppy with one of the alternative registries either.
Judging a breeder solely on whether they register puppies with the Kennel Club or refrain from registration is only one aspect of deciding whether a breeder is reputable or not. Unfortunately there are a great deal of less than reputable breeders who register pups with the Kennel Club, therefore whether pups are KC registered or not isn't that significant.
Having made contact with a breeder, if you feel they are not reputable you should ideally not be purchasing a puppy from them regardless of whether their puppies are Kennel Club registered or not!
For more information on the signs of a reputable breeder visit our "Reputable Breeder" page, for information about the warning signs of less reputable breeders visit our "Less Reputable Breeders" page.
If a puppy is registered with the KC, the registration documents for puppies bought directly from the breeder look like this (autumn 2010):
Front & Rear
Kennel Club 'Assured Breeders'
If you are buying your puppy from a Kennel Club Assured Breeder the Registration Document looks like this (summer 2011):
Front & Rear
If a breeder states or advertises that they are an 'Assured Breeder', the style of the registration documents for your puppy will confirm the breeder's membership. Sadly, some less than scrupulous breeders are advertising themselves as 'Assured Breeders' when they are either not members of the KC Assured Breeder Scheme or are suspended members. There is only ONE 'Assured Breeder Scheme' and that is the KENNEL CLUB Assured Breeder Scheme.
If your puppy is KC registered, ensure these documents are given to you at the time of collecting your puppy. If for a valid reason (postal strike/Christmas post/bad weather, KC error on documents etc.) the documents are not available, ensure you have a Contract of Sale, which states that the puppy IS Kennel Club registered and that the documents WILL be forwarded onto you as soon as they are available.
Be very wary of a breeder who tells you (verbally) that the documents will forwarded later (often these never arrive!). Ask if the registration papers have been 'endorsed', if so ask the breeder to explain this to you and ensure mention of any terms relating to the restrictions is mentioned in the puppy's sales contract.
Once you have transferred a puppy into your name you will receive a new Kennel Club Registration Document for you puppy which looks like this:
Owner Registration Document
How to register a litter of puppies
Puppies (litters) can only be registered with the Kennel Club by the breeder of the litter (the registered owner of the mother at the time she gave birth). Individual puppy/dog owners cannot register a puppy/dog they have purchased on the Kennel Club breed register.
For a breeder to register a litter, they need to complete the 'green form' - KC Form (Form 1) supplied to them by either the owner of the stud dog they have used or available from the Kennel Club. The form needs to be signed by both the owner of the stud dog and the owner of the litter's mother. Both the parents of a puppy/litter must already be registered with the Kennel Club and have no "breeding" endorsements on their registration papers before a puppy or litter can be registered.
When a puppy or litter of puppies is registered with the Kennel Club, the breeder of the litter can choose an individual name for each puppy. A name must consist of more than one word but not exceed 24 letters in total including the breeders affix (if they own an affix).
Litter Registration Application Form