[Belle Noir]

Just because someone has AKC registered dogs, doesn't mean that the dog is guaranteed to be pure. The only guarantee is the integrity of the breeder.. After all, where did those AKCF registered merle chihuahuas and long coat whippets come from?

My issue with the ACA is that even if the dog is registered correctly with decent bloodlines, somewhere along the way there was a breach of trust, somewhere along the way, someone broke with their integrity and registered a dog that the breeder decided wasn't breeding stock, be it wrong color, wrong coat, wrong ear set or whatever.

This is why I would avoid the ACA. Even if you find the most adorable, close to perfect puppy... you're supporting a lie, you're supporting a breech of trust, you're supporting a lack of integrity. And yes, ACA pedigrees should be considered suspect because of this.

This is not to say you can't find a good ACA registered puppy. This is not to say the breeder of your puppy is the one that should be suspect.. But by registering with the ACA, they have marked their breeding stock as substandard, regardless of whether it is or not, as the ACA, APRI and the like is known to be "puppymill" registries.

So like a pet store bred puppy, I would be triple careful of the source. This is when I would say a physical home check is a MUST, so you can see the source of your puppy, and there MUST be health checks on the parents. If the breeder is doing everything that a CoE breeder is doing concerning health checks, and health guarantees, then you should be alright. If the health guarantee only protects the breeder, watch out.