Your Drent and its AKC Registration

I have updated this article from the original post made in late 2020 to reflect current AKC policy.

All of our puppies are sold with AKC registration, and starting in 2024, many of our puppies with be sold with NAVHDA registrations - as of today, we are still working through the nuts and bolts of the later registry so please forgive what may be perceived as a lack of commitment.

​“A dog registered with an AKC Limited Registration shall be ineligible to be entered in a breed competition in a licensed or member dog show. It is eligible, however, to be entered in any other licensed or member event. These events include: Obedience, Rally, Agility, Tracking, Field Trials, Hunting Tests, Herding, Lure Coursing, Earthdog, Fast Cat, CAT, Scentwork, Junior Showmanship, Trick Dog and CGC.” The AKC goes on to state: “Limited Registration helps breeders protect their breeding programs. If breeders do not want puppies used for breeding purposes, they can request the option for those puppies”.

Matt & Bimini

​With that all being said, what does it mean to you having a puppy or dog with a limited Registration? If you have no intent to show your dog in an AKC show ring or breed him/her, then it means very little as all performance events are open to you and there isn’t a negative impact with non-conformation AKC events, NAVHDA, IABCA or UKC participation.

What if you decide you would like to start participating in Open Shows and your puppy went home on a Limited? A Limited registration can always be changed to full later on if you decided you wanted to try the Open Show thing. You have to initiate the paperwork with us and the AKC will charge you what amounts to a nuance fee to make the change (currently $25). The only difference with limited is that you cannot show in open shows and puppies can't be registered out of the dog, but you still get the pedigree, registration number and all official documentation from the AKC. You can participate in every AKC non-conformation venue. 

What if you would like show and/or potentially breed and want those options open? Well that is between you and your breeder (us). For those wanting to show, there is a very easy solution -- we enter into a co-own arrangement with you. Co-ownership with us means that one of us goes on the AKC paperwork along with you. As far as the AKC goes, the only venue in which full registration is required is to enter Open Shows and win Certificate of Merit points. As mentioned, you can do AKC hunt tests and all the other titling sports without full registration. So for this, it allows our clients that want to show to have the ability to do so, while allowing us to manage rights regarding reproduction/breeding, to include mentoring when it comes time to find a partner for your dog. 

If breeding (or providing stud service) becomes something you would like to explore, we want to ensure the dog is what we hoped & expected, that the basic health testing has been accomplished (is passing) as well as hunt testing, and show ring exposure in particular if/when breeding (made available for stud) becomes something you would like to pursue. To help us with evaluation, with co-owns, we have a higher expectation of getting regular photos of the dog as it matures. Ultimately, there is no downside. For us, co-ownership doesn't involve any of your day to day with the dog. It only provides a method of  having some say over what gets bred.

We hope that all makes sense!