A causal acquaintance once told me a story of their expansive exploration into the world of dog and puppy registries. They stopped looking after discovering that there are well over 30 different registries: AKC, APR, UABI, UKCI just to name a few. About any registered dog can be registered with a number of registries. So you register your dog with 10 different registries and you have ten different registration certificates stamped with that registries seal of approval. Does that make your dog healthier, have a better temperament, more fitting by the breed's standard, or even potentially more important, genetically sound? Is any registry an indication of the over all quality of a given puppy or dog? Bottom line is NO, absolutely not. The two things that influence all the above are first the breeder and second the crap shoot called genetics.
A simple way to look at it is, a registry or registration paper, doesn't matter. What matters is the breeders knowledge, ethics, experience and professionalism. A good breeder makes an educated, calculated choice to mate a particular sire to a particular dam with one goal in mind. The goal is, at the very least, to maintain the quality of the next generation but ultimately you want to improve the quality of the next generation. ( In the coming weeks I will be publishing an article "Choosing a Breeder")
Over the years I have heard many amazing statements concerning registries. Comments like "if a puppy isn't AKC registered it's inferior, it came from a puppy mill, it may not even be a pure bred". The truth is, probably more than ninety-five percent of dogs who have been registered via a registries other than AKC are also eligible for AKC registration or are dully registered with AKC already.
To prove my point I have several dogs registered with four or five different registries including my beloved champion Pekingese "Suzy". She has been shown and denoted a champion in three of those registries to date, without issue or problem. When talking to other breeders especially show breeders, I would purposely mention my group winning APR champion Pekingese. Many would be like "that does not mean anything it's not AKC". Then I would tell them she is also a group winning UABI champion, again, that does not mean anything either it's not AKC. I waited a bit and told them she was also an AKC champion. Her first time in the AKC show ring she took a five point major over specials (the highest score you can get in AKC). Then everyone was like WOW she must be nice! Yes "Suzy" is nice but is of the same high quality before you knew she was AKC registered. The point is she is what she is, a beautiful, sweet, quality Pekingese regardless of which registries she is a member of and/or denoted champion within.
Through the years I have had AKC champions that I seldom if ever registered any of their puppies AKC. Again, it didn't diminish the quality of any of those puppies quality because they were not or were registered with any particular registry. They were quality puppies because they were made through educated, knowledgeable choices made by the breeder to mate a quality sire to a quality dam to produce a quality puppy. Again the point I am trying to make is the puppies would still be quality puppies even if I choose not to register them at all. Incidentally, though the puppies I chose not to register via AKC at the time are now not considered AKC Registered, by simply filling out a form and paying the associated fee to AKC, AKC will then give that very same puppy the AKC seal of approval. All for just a few dollars...
Don't get me wrong, it's not that registries are not important in most instances, they are it's just there are many good registries to choose from choose which ever one or ones you like based on the different benefits you seek. You may like United All Breed because they automatically put three generations of pedigree on their certificates, or the scoring system of their dog shows. You may choose the American Canine Association because they have health tracking on their registrants. APR for their wonderful, friendly, speedy, customer service or that they have a monthly drawing to pay for your new puppy. You may prefer UKC, AKC, or, well you get the idea.
Hopefully, I've given you some logical helpful advice on the subject.
Thank-you for taking the time to read these important tips on registries, and as always, we'd be more than happy to assist anyone in determining registry availability.