How to Join the American Kennel Club

The American Kennel Club is the oldest and biggest kennel club. Joining the American Kennel Club gives you and your dog special privileges. People are willing to spend money on dogs that have been bred to AKC standards. You can register your dog in dog shows, and if your dog wins, you could breed her and reap big returns selling the puppies.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Buy a pure-bred puppy from a reputable breeder. Never buy a puppy, pure-bred or otherwise, from a pet store. They buy their dogs from puppy mills, which breed dogs under deplorable conditions.

2. Obtain the American Kennel Club registration paperwork from the breeder. Make sure the breeder has completed the appropriate information.

3. Complete your registration paperwork. You can do this by completing the form you received from the breeder and mailing it to the American Kennel Club. Alternately, you can opt to complete the registration online using the club's interactive registration tool.

4. Register an entire litter if you are a breeder. The litter must be the offspring off an AKC-registered sire and an AKC-registered dame of the same breed, and the litter must be born in the U.S.

5. Opt to register during open registration. Sometimes the American Kennel Club admits new breeds to its ranks. Following the entry of the new breed, the club allows U.S. residents who own U.S.-born dogs of that breed to register their dogs for a limited period of time. Other requirements are listed on the American Kennel Club website.

6. Check on the status of your American Kennel Club registration using the club's interactive online registration status tracking tool.

Tips & Warnings

• You can download forms directly from the American Kennel Club's website.

Resources

• American Kennel Club