When searching for a puppy to add to
your home, kennel clubs can be an invaluable resource to you. Kennel clubs
have strict codes of ethics for their members to adhere to and therefore
they can be a great place to start when looking for a puppy or dog. I would
not tell you that anyone a kennel club recommends to you are necessarily
good breeders, you still need to do your research and know what questions to
ask but if a breeder is a member of Kennel Clubs that is a good sign. There
are many different types of kennel clubs, so what is the difference between
then and what is their purpose?
Firstly we have the National Kennel
Club, in Canada that is the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC). The role of the CKC
is to promote purebred dogs. The CKC is a registering body that keeps
records of the lines of purebred dogs. Registration papers for your dog from
the CKC only means the dog is pure, it is not an indication of the quality
of neither the breeder nor the dogs they produce.
Next we have the National Breed Clubs.
These clubs represent individual breeds of dogs recognized by the CKC and
are commonly referred to as the breed parent club as they were the club
responsible for getting their breed recognized by the CKC.
They are responsible for writing the breed standard for their breed.
These clubs do a variety of things, their activities usually include,
running a breed rescue network, referring puppy buyers to breeders,
educating people about their breed, holding meetings and they usually hold a
yearly breed specialty show that allows their members to show off what they
have accomplished in their breeding program. These clubs also have set out
policies and procedures or codes of ethics that breeders of the breed should
adhere to. The names of these clubs are usually something along the lines of
“ X Club of Canada” or “Canadian X Club” (X being the name of the
breed).
Along with the national breed clubs,
there are also regional breed specialty clubs. Their purpose is similar to
that of the national club in that they are breed specific but rather than
their members being spread out throughout the country, there members will be
more localized either in the same province or sometimes the same city. These
clubs are also recognized by the CKC and hold regional specialty shows.
Regional kennel clubs are abundant
throughout the country. These clubs are similar to that of the regional
breed clubs except that they are not breed specific. The members of these
clubs have many different breeds. The main purpose for these clubs is to
hold dog shows and to educate the public in general about dogs. These clubs
are either provincial or city specific although the usually only hold their
shows in one area.
©
Canadian K9 Information 2003
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