Purebred (dog) - Registration

Registration

Purebred dogs are pedigreed members of modern breeds. These dogs may be registered with breed club. The breed clubs may be an open stud book or a closed stud book, the term can be interpreted to either. Usually the breed club is also associated with a kennel club (AKC, UKC, CKC etc.). However dogs who are registered with a breed club are usually referred to as "registered". Some use the term exclusively for a dog that has also been registered with a breed club, but more often it's used simply as a generic term to refer to dogs who have known pedigrees within a standardized breed. A dog that is purebred cannot be interpreted to mean it is high-quality dog. It is no reflection on the quality of the dog's health, temperament or sagacity, but merely a reference that the dog has known parentage according to the breeder. While some breed clubs can now guarantee parentage through DNA testing for the most part all breed clubs must rely exclusively on the breeder's word and choice of parentage. In the early years of the kennel club concept this was not at issue since dog breeding was only done among the extremely wealthy and their reputations were at stake. However in this modern age of breeding one must be aware that even a DNA proven purebred and registered champion who has won national competitions can have serious health issues.

• The closed stud book requires that all dogs descend from a known and registered set of ancestors; this results in a loss of genetic variation over time, as well as a highly identifiable breed type, which is the basis of the sport of conformation showing. In order to enhance specific characteristics, most modern purebred dogs registered with closed stud books are highly inbred, increasing the possibility of genetic-based disease.
• The open stud book, meaning some outcrossing is acceptable, is often used in herding dog, hunting dog, and working dog (working dog meaning police dogs, assistance dogs, and other dogs that work directly with humans, not on game or livestock) registries for dogs not also engaged in the sport of conformation showing. Outcrosses with other breeds and breeding for working characteristics (rather than breeding for appearance) are assumed to result in a healthier dog. Overuse of one particular stud dog due to the desirability of the dog's working style or appearance leads to a narrowing of genetic diversity, whether the breed uses an open stud book or a closed stud book. The Jack Russell Terrier Club of America states, "Inbreeding favors genes of excellence as well as deleterious genes." Some open stud book breeds, such as the Jack Russell Terrier, have strict limitations on inbreeding.

Crossbred dogs (first generation crosses from two purebred dogs, also called dog hybrids) are not breeds and are not considered purebred, although crossbreds from the same two breeds of purebreds can have "identical qualities", similar to what would be expected from breeding two purebreds, but with more genetic variation. However, crossbreds do not breed true (meaning that progeny will show consistent, replicable and predictable characteristics), and can only be reproduced by returning to the original two purebred breeds.

Among breeds of hunting, herding, or working dogs in open stud book registries, a crossbred dog may be registered as a member of the breed it most closely resembles if the dog works in the manner of the breed. Some hunting, herding, or working dog registries will accept mixed breed (meaning of unknown heritage) dogs as members of the breed if they work in the correct manner, called register on merit.

For mixed breed (unknown heredity), crossbred (from two different purebred breeds), or otherwise unregistered purebred pet dogs there are available many small for-pay internet registry businesses that will certify any dog as a purebred anything one cares to invent. However, new breeds of dog are constantly being legitimately created, and there are many websites for new breed associations and breed clubs offering legitimate registrations for new or rare breeds. When dogs of a new breed are "visiblily similar in most characteristics" and have reliable documented descent from a "known and designated foundation stock" they can then be considered members of a breed, and, if an individual dog is documented and registered, it can be called purebred. Only documentation of the ancestry from a breed's foundation stock determines whether or not a dog is a purebred member of a breed.