why do you register with the AKC

What I meant is even if they are registered or not they are STILL the same dog. My puppies papers just came in the mail today. Are you trying to tell me her WHOLE additude and personality will be altered if I don't register her. She's still gonna be Hannah no matter if I register her or not. That is what I am trying to say. Would you be unwilling to rescue a dog from a pound because he/she wasn't registered and have papers?

Well, I would be likelier to adopt a dog who's history I knew. Papers only give you a link to their past, they can still be puppy mill pups . But you have a better chance of tracing it if the dog is registered.

I wouldn't overlook a good dog just because he didn't have papers, though. Anna was a rescue and came without papers. She's the best anyone could ask for.

In some breeds, health issues are a real concern. In german shepherds, for instance, registering parentage helps keep track of their OFA classification. A dog with clear hips is alot more adoptable than one with poor hips. Their registration is the easiest, cheapest, and first indicator of what to expect here. When you get the papers back, you'll have a record of the OFA history in your dog's lineage. (if the breeders bothered OFA'ing them).

Papers don't make the dog good or bad, but papers can pressure breeders to be a little bit more responsible. In the overall wellbeing of doggies around the world, I don't see the reason not to register, even if you never breed. You'll get a little magazine for your troubles. I would defenitely micro chip though. that's the only real important little piece of 'paper' you want .

Very good points, Stanna.

Both my dogs are registered. One is a show dog the other is not.

Well we are planning on registering her but she won't be shown or bred. She's just gonna be a pet.

I do my very best to thwart the AKC at every turn, so I have no patience or tolerance for their procedures.

That being said, if I was buying a pure-bred puppy I would get papers so I could research the genetic health of the pups. But of course, the AKC doesn't recognize all breeds and there is any number of disreputable (more so, I mean) kennel clubs that will pretty much register any dog whose owner pays a fee. And then there's the fact that the AKC ranks actual health pretty low on their list of important doggy features. They could really not give a carp if a dog's likely to get hip dysplasia as long as they think he's pretty to look at.

It is diffrent here in Canada. We have the Animal Pedigree Act.

PURPOSES OF ACT

Purposes of Act
3. The purposes of this Act are

(a) to promote breed improvement, and

(b) to protect persons who raise and purchase animals

by providing for the establishment of animal pedigree associations that are authorized to register and identify animals that, in the opinion of the Minister, have significant value.

Here is a link to the rest...too long to post.
Animal Act Canada

I dont like AKC.

I never registered with them as I dont see a point. They dont even recognize my breed.

Nor mine, Orion, and I'll fight tooth and nail to keep the AKC out of my breed! I shudder to think what's going to happen to the Neopolitan Mastiff now that the breed's been recognized by the AKC . . . (A K C - Aimed at Killing and Crippling breed integrity)

There are still plenty of good folks involved with the AKC, but, like too many organizations, the good intentions have deteriorated and it's little more than a rubber stamp of approval for too many back yard breeders. And, the unforgiveable - the complete emphasis on conformation has been the ruination of the working abilities and temperaments of too many breeds already.

Ditto to everything Renee said!