My husband and I had been looking for another german shepherd for nearly a year. We spoke with many different kennels, some very reputable and others not so well known. Well, upon our investigation, we discovered that there were people who were selling their dogs under CKC registration. At first, my husband and I thought they were talking about Canadian Kennel Club and asked them what the protocals were for changing them over to AKC. Well, we soon discovered that it was Continental Kennel Club they were talking about and that any dog registered under them were not eligible for AKC.
We asked the breeders why and they simply told us they didn't know. Red flags went up because we had never heard of them before. We never bought a dog from them especially when we got onto the web discovered the reason.
Continental Kennel club are for people who say they have a purebred dog but cannot get them registered through AKC for one reason or another. All they have to do is bring in two witnesses that swear up and down this dog is pure bred and voila, the dog is registered as pure. Also, I suspect people who have boughten dogs with limited registrations will go through CKC so they can breed and obtain papers for the litters. The breeder we were investigating, apparently had a dog advertized on her website as pure and was the foundation of their litters. We soon found out that her bitch was a mixed breed that she had used when we spoke with her on the phone. Needless to say, once we found out about this "alternative registry", we were very careful about asking about which one the dog belonged to. It seems, during our search, a lot of breeders are using it.
We eventually found our pup in Ontario, Canada,YEAHHHH!
Anyway, I didn't see a topic on this and didn't know if anyone knew about it.

Here in the Midwest, where puppies are often "alternative farming", these "alternate" (aka trash) registries are very common.

We see a lot of them registered with something called the "worldwide kennel club". I think they register all "splat-a-poo" crosses as well.

When you get right down to it, all registries sell is numbers, and often pretty parchment documents to go with them. OK, if you meet the registration criteria, you can participate in events sanctioned by the registering body (if it's one that does events -- like UKC, AKC). Anything beyond the "number" is gravy.

Believe me, having seen my share of AKC registered 50 lb, 28" cockers, long haired and curly coated beagles, merle rotties, and what all (did I mention the long-haired, black and tan, "rare" Dane?), the registration is only as good as the breeder's integrity. No registering body absolves you of the responsibility of assessing the dogs on your own.

IMHO, look to the dog itself as the only proof of "quality" in the end; the breeder's integrity as an guardian, artist and creator; and the registry depending on what you intend to DO with the dog.

That all said, my Tig came from the Des Moines city shelter, where she'd been forfieted when her owners wouldn't pay her fines.

Rant finished... apologies...

A registry is not guarantee of anything; it is the breeder that matters. . In reality a registry should be just that, an outside third party that tracks animal husbandry and nothing more. That is the only tool I need a registry to perform. A lot of people are switching away from the AKC for lots of various different reasons. I for one prefer open registries (like the CKC and others) because it can add to the health of a breed. As in all things, to avoid being scammed you have to be a smart consumer and know what to look for. Truth be known, I wager more people have been scammed and lost money with AKC dogs than with any other registry, and probably more gene pools have been damaged by well meaning registries adding breeding restrictions to registration requirements. In some ways, I am also surprised that the working GSD people have not completely ditched the AKC and gone with a non "show" registry.

Originally posted by Kristina Padgett:
We eventually found our pup in Ontario, Canada,YEAHHHH! Just curious, who's the breeder you're getting your pup from?

Our pup came from Timberline Kennels. We got a sable female we named Heidi. Beautiful pup she is. We received her in late October and brought her home from B.C.

Oops, better clarify that. She was flown to B.C. from Ontario where we picked her up and drove her home to Oregon.

You wanted a Canadian showline dog?

Absolutely. Both of my dogs are American/Canadian. We were looking for a specific dog and we found her.

Kristina,I am happy that you got your pup.I hope your family is happy as well. If you are just now finding out about all the registries..that concerns me.Did you purchase your pup for companionship or a breeding prospect?I hope not a prospect for breeding.

Stephan...Thanks for saying "The breeders integrity/guardian/creator"