[Breny]

Another great point

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

It's only $20.00, and you are helping to support the best registry we have. I always encourage people to register their dogs if they are eligible. The AKC, while not perfect, is trying to rid itself of puppy mill breeders, and it is the only registry that does routine unannounced inspections. Your $20.00 supports this as well as other programs. Registering your dog, helps keep breeders honest, many people have been told that their dogs was AKC eligible, and yet, when they tried to register they found out that this wasn't the case. If a breeder is discouraging you from registering, or says it costs hundreds of dollars, run the other way. A breeder only has to admit to breeding those dogs that are registered, and a breeder might have more inspections if the truer numbers of dogs they were producing were known, they also might be required to do DNA testing, and some breeders wouldn't want this for obvious reasons. The registry is a good check and balance between breeder and buyer.

I would like to see more pet owners becoming members of the AKC rather than just breeders. Pet owners are often more concerned about certain problems than either breeders or animal rights groups. Pet owners really love dogs, and love having pets, not all breeders love dogs, and not all animal rights groups think we should have pets. In the future, with DNA testing, I'm hopeful we will learn more about genetic diseases because we will have a great record of dogs' ancestries. They are already doing this with human populations with areas known to be closely related, but with dogs we even have a better knowledge of the ancestries than we do humans, and in a decade we can produce many generations. Overall, when you support the AKC, you are supporting good breeding practices, plus, you get a cute little tag!