Kennel Club question

[lesley3165]

Hi, not sure if this is in the right place so please move if not. Could I ask a question about Kennel Club registration of breeders. I remember when we were looking for Meg I looked for breeders on the KC website as is often recommended. However when I called one of the "breeders" who had puppies available she told me the only reason she was listed there was because she had been told it made the puppies easier to sell. What is the criteria to be listed on the KC website, does it guarantee you get a healthily puppy? Who confirms the breeders are reputable? We didn't buy from a breeder on the KC website in the end as I didn't feel confident when she said that but just wondered what assurances you get if you do. Thanks

[Ben's mum]

Its a few years since we were puppy hunting - and things might have changed for the better, hopefully someone will advise you, but my experience was that although there were some good breeders on there were some poor ones as well.  Some were not even sure if their puppies were show or working, and asked what I meant 

I used Champ Dogs and looked to see who health tested their dogs, and then looked at websites to get an idea of if I liked the feel of things.  I have to admit to not being very knowledgeable about what to look for and what to avoid back then (5 years ago) and might do things differently now. 

good luck with your search

[JackieT]

I nearly got caught out by this. I thought all KC registered breeders were required to carry out health checks. I had a long chat with a breeder and only at the end double checked that, only to discover that I'd got it wrong. She told me that she'd never had a problem with any of her dogs and so didn't see the need for genetic testing. She sounded lovely and hugely knowledgeable on other issues, but for us that was a non-negotiable. I found the KC system very confusing for first time owners to be honest.

In the end I found a breeder via the Champdog site too, who was actually also listed with the KC.

[Jane S]

Breeders who are members of the KC Assured Breeder Scheme do have to comply with health testing and if they have a green tick next to their details on the KC list, they have been inspected and found to meet the requirements of the scheme. This does not guarantee the breeder is an ethical one (there are commercial breeders who are members of the ABS, same goes for some Champdogs members too) but it does mean certain minimum standards have been met. There are not many requirements for breeders who are not members of the scheme apart from that the litter they are registering must have 2 KC registered parents. However it is easy enough these days to check health testing at least by registering with MyKC (where you can look up the health test results of any KC registered dog) and there are many breeders who KC register their dogs and do the right things without being members of the ABS scheme

KC registration is really the starting point in a search for a breeder - it's never been a guarantee of a good breeder but it's where you start your research from. Lots more info about sourcing a good breeder can be found here: http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=48072.0