[Guardian]

So I was thinking about this today.

I was on the CKC website (Canadian kennel club not the other CKC) and reading around. I own two dogs, one is mix breed and the other is a purebred. Both of these dogs were acquired as pups.

However I have in the past and will in the future rescue dogs from shelters and rescue organizations. Frankly two dogs is enough for me and getting another dog will be (hopefully) in the very far future. My last dog, Peggy was a rescue. She was such a pleasure and I am glad she was in my life. She was a mixed breed dog.

However I do know there are plenty of purebred dogs in shelters and rescues. Surely some of them can be registered or were at one point? Is it even possible to get a rescue dog with no previous papers registered? What is the process?

[skelaki]

I don't know about the CKC but a purebred dog (must be spayed/neutered) could be registered under an ILP number in the AKC. This would make the dog eligible to participate in performance events such as obedience and agility.

[lovemygreys]

Yep...what skelaki said. I had to get an ILP for my purebred retired racer (registered with the NGA) so she could compete in AKC lure coursing. (personally, I think it's a bit ridiculous for the AKC to make me go through the ILP process with an NGA registered dog, but if I want to play their game I have to use their rules )

[britishbandit]

skelaki - It is the same for CKC then, about the ILP number so you can compete in events with your dog. I inquired about it last year for Tysa (who has no papers).

Guardian - As far as registering a rescue as purebred, they won't do it.

A couple of years ago, my parents bought a Westie from some guy that was making his dog pump out puppies every heat. He said they were CKC registered (but meant the parents), and only gave my parents the copies of the parents' papers. (Probably because you can only register so many litters every so many years, and he was breeding her way too much). My mother tried to register her with the parents' papers, and they would not allow it. The dog finally was registered CKC, but it took about 6 months going back and fourth between the kennel club and the "breeder" to get all the paperwork sorted to do it. Maggie also has 2 microchips now because the kennel club didn't specify that it had to be a certain kind, and refused to register her with the one she originally got.

But if you're only concerned about competing in events with the dog, then no need to worry, you can still do that. The only reason you'd need purebred papers would be to enter conformation events if you were planning to title and breed. And I would hope that isn't something you'd be wanting to do with a rescue that had unknown lineage.