Answer:
It has been our experience that all too frequently, severe and complicated problems result from disputes over conditional sale, conditional stud and co-ownership contracts or any contract or agreement relating to restrictions or limitations people try to place on the sale or breeding of a dog.
Chapter 3, Section 6 of Rules Applying to Registration and Discipline states, in part:
"For the purpose of registering or refusing to register purebred dogs The American Kennel Club will recognize only such conditional sale or conditional stud agreements affecting the registration of purebred dogs as are in writing and are shown to have been brought to the attention of the applicant for registration.
The American Kennel Club cannot recognize alleged conditional sale, conditional stud or other agreements not in writing which affect the registration of purebred dogs, until after the existence, construction and/or affect of the same shall have been determined by an action at law."
The only contracts that the AKC will enforce will be the withholding of AKC registration papers until a dog is paid for or altered, if the terms are clearly set out in the bill-of-sale and signed by all parties involved in the sale of the dog, this is required by our rules.
If properly completed AKC registration papers are not supplied with the dog when it is shipped or delivered to someone else, the person delivering or shipping the dog must furnish the person acquiring the dog with a bill of sale or other signed memorandum giving all of the identifying information listed below. A promise of later identification is not acceptable
.
For a Dog Not Yet Individually Registered
Breed
Sex and color and markings
Date of birth
Litter number (when available)
Names and numbers of sire and dam
Name of breeder
Date sold or delivered
For a Registered Dog
Breed
Registered name
Registration number
Date sold or delivered
This identifying information must be supplied with the dog even though AKC papers are not yet available, and even to a person who takes the dog only for resale as an agent or on consignment, and the same information must be passed on by him when he disposes of it. (The only exception to this requirement is when there is a written agreement made between the parties when the dog is delivered specifying that registration papers are never to be given.)
The American Kennel Club considers the purchase of a dog a private transaction between the buyer and the seller. As with any transaction, the seller, or in this case the breeder, we believe should stand behind their product and act as a responsible breeder. Many reputable breeders have different opinions as to the rights of the seller and buyer and buyback/return policies. A contract at the time of sale sometimes will eliminate these questions.
The American Kennel Club supports the breeding of dogs by responsible breeders for the purpose of improving breeds of purebred dogs. The AKC does attempt to foster sound breeding practices through education, funding of research, and inclusion of Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) and the Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF) data in our records and printed on our registration documents.
The American Kennel Club does not license or endorse anyone engaged in the commerce of selling purebred dogs and, therefore, has little control over the business practices of those involved in such transactions. While The American Kennel Club attempts to foster sound breeding, our jurisdiction is limited to the practices one must follow to ensure proper identification of dogs registered with The American Kennel Club. AKC is a registry body. A Registration Certificate identifies the dog as the offspring of a known sire and dam, born on a known date.
