Dear Pedigree: First, you must ask yourself why it is important to get him registered. Do you wish to compete with him in American Kennel Club sanctioned events or do you intend to breed him and want to register his offspring as purebred? If you plan to just keep him as a pet and do no showing or breeding then getting his “papers” may be more trouble than it’s worth. Remember, having papers doesn’t prove you own the dog, it only proves that the dog is a purebred animal and is registered as such and has a pedigree behind him.

AKC Pedigree Papers

You did not indicate where you got the dog from, so let’s look at a few scenarios depending upon where he came from. If you got the dog from a reputable breeder, he or she should have provided you with the opportunity to complete a transfer of ownership form from the AKC if he was individually registered as a puppy. If so, the dog should have an AKC registration certificate which lists the vital information about the dog, including its birthday, sex, sire, dam and previous owner.

One way of finding this number might be to have your dog tested for a microchip implant in his shoulder blade. Take him to your vet or local shelter and have him scanned for the chip. If there is a number listed, you can call the recovery database and perhaps find his previous owner or at least his AKC registration number. Your vet will be able to tell you which recovery database he is listed in based on the number on the microchip.

If the dog was never individually registered as a puppy, you may still be able to get it registered as an adult, but you still need his AKC registration number from his litter. If you don’t know where the dog came from you will not be able to get him registered, especially for breeding purposes.

If he doesn’t have a registration number and your sole purpose for registering is to compete in shows then you can apply for an ILP number from AKC. ILP stands for “Individual Listing Privilege” and provides you with a registration number that allows you to enter AKC-sanctioned events. Go to www.akc.org for the procedure to prove that you have a purebred Pomeranian without papers. Once AKC issues your dog an ILP number, you can enter performance events like obedience and agility but not conformation. Conformation events are for the evaluation of breeding stock and as such require the dogs to have full registration with the AKC and a verifiable pedigree.

Pet Stores and Shelters

If your dog came from a pet store or a shelter, you will most likely not get papers with the dog. Most shelters will spay or neuter a dog before adoption and usually have a policy to withhold papers to the new owner.

If the dog originally came from a pet store you would need to know which store in order to inquire about his “papers”. If you are lucky enough to find out this information, be aware that many pet stores sell puppies “as purebreds with papers” that are not AKC registered. There are many “rip-off” registries floating around the country promoting their dogs are purebred.  Many of these so-called registries purchase pedigrees from AKC and then pass them off as their own. You may see initials similar like, AKA or CKC on these “papers”. But if you look at the fine print they will also say “based on researching AKC pedigrees” and you will find out that maybe some of the ancestors of this dog are AKC registered but its parents and even grandparents are not.

Your best bet would be to pursue the ILP number and have fun competing with your dog at AKC events. Remember the AKC is “the” registry for purebred dogs in the United States and has been for more than a century and is the only registry that has the ability to conduct DNA verification of parents. If your dog doesn’t have a microchip, consider getting one so he will be protected from getting lost in the future. Visit www.akccar.org for more info. 

 

Lisa Peterson, a breeder and exhibitor of Norwegian Elkhounds, is a Delegate to the American Kennel Club. Lisa can be reached at www.lisa-peterson.com or Dogma Publishing, P.O. Box 307, Newtown, CT 06470.