dog pedigree's?

Question

we brought a nine week old westie puppy who we've called ollie about a week ago and the lady who was not a breeder said that he had a pedigree but she hadn't bothered to register him as she wanted the pups to go as pets only does that sound right to you? i only ask as there has been a problem about his vacination cert as well.we have had him checked by vet and he's healthy we only wanted him as a family pet and are not bothered about a pedigree but i think there's something dodgy about her.she only had one male pup left but is now advertising again with more westies.
what do you think?
thanks abbey.

Answer 1

I think she might be claiming the pups are purebreed in order to charge more for them.

If she was telling you the truth, she MUST have registration papers on both the dogs parents, and you have a right to copies of these.

You can call her and explain that your vet questioned the vaccination certificate and that your vet requested copies of the parents registration papers. If she's reputable and telling the truth, she should not hesitate to give you copies.

You could have a friend of yours call to inquire about the pups she is now advertising and ask about date of birth, registration, health guarantee, etc. and see what kind of response they get.

She may well be a puppy mill, in which case, if you have reason for concern, you can talk to your local SPCA, Humane Officer, or rescue group to see if anything should be done to check up on her and how she treats the pups she's selling. You didn't clarify if you saw the pup's parents and the conditions the pup was living in. That would have told us a LOT about this breeder.

The usual routine on registration is as follows:
The breeder has papers on both parents.
The breeder registers the litter as a litter and tells the AKC how many pups were born.
The AKC sends registration papers for each pup showing the information on both parents. This paper is given to the purchaser of each pup so they can choose to register or not register their own pup. Even pet dogs can be registered. The AKC never refuses the income.

Answer 2

You should always get the registration papers for the dog. Even for "pet" dogs. This helps ensure that you are, in fact, getting what the breeder says you are getting (i.e. a purebred dog). (As with anything, it's not 100%, there is the possibility that the breeder will lie on the registration.)

Refusing to give you papers makes me wonder if she's not in good standing with the AKC, or if she is currently being investigated by the AKC for something.

AKC has a registration called "limited registration". With this type of registration, you cannot register dogs born from the limited registration dog (i.e. the dog cannot be used for breeding), and you cannot show the dog confirmation. You can still take part in things like agility, rally-o, obedience, etc.. If the breeder does not want you breeding or showing this dog, this is, at the very least, the limited registration she should be making available to you.
http://www.akc.org/reg/limitedreg.cfm

If you end up not being able to get the papers in the end, you can still take part in most of the same activities as limited registration dogs if you get an Indefinite Listing Privilege number. https://www.akc.org/reg/ilpex.cfm

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Reputable breeders will NOT refuse to give registration papers to "stop puppymills" or "stop BYBs". A reputable breeder will ALWAYS give you the registration papers, and if they don't want the dog bred/shown, they will
(1) Have a spay/neuter contract saying they will hold the registration papers until you show proof the dog was spayed/neutered
(2) Mark the registration as "limited registration" instead of "full registration", as described earlier in my post.

Answer 3

No, you've bought from a puppy farmer. Unfortunately, WHWT are one of the breeds which are very popular with the uncaring breeder.
He wasn't registered either because the parents aren't registered or the mother was too old, too young or had already had too many litters for the KC to allow registration.
You have no guarantee that he is even purebred which is why puppy purchasers should always buy KC Registered puppies, whether they want a pet or not.
Reputable breeders register all their puppies, whether they are going to pet homes or not, as it is very rare for whole litter to be show quality.
Every dog has a pedigree - all that means is a list of of its ancestors & every dog has that, even the most mixed up crossbred!
Hope you didn't pay over the odds for this unregistered puppy.
Main thing is though, he's healthy & as long as you are happy with him, forget about the fact that you were misled.

Answer 4

i would say that the pedrigree papers have not been applied for and with no vacs card you cannot prove accs have been done either. Safest to start a whole new vacs course and that way you know he is covered.

She may well have had some puppies returned to her on this basis. So long as the health check is ok, i say restart the vacs course and go from there.

It is possible to endorse pedigree papers so there can be noo certified breeding from a littler and this would be fine enough for pet homes, more than likely there are no papers, but unless you intend to breed or show him, do you really need them??? Enjoy your dog and have lots of fun!!

Answer 5

It doesn't matter if you bought as a pet or to show, the pup should have its papers in order with the Kennel Club, before leaving the litter. Theres plenty of time between the birth and the 8 week leaving mum day to get it sorted out. When I let a pup go to its new home all the documents go with it.

Answer 6

Lots of breeders including good breeders do that these days to stop BYB's and puppy mills buying their dogs to breed. Some will give limited registration (you can't register any pups born to your dog) also.

If he's healthy he will be just the same with or without papers. I never even wanted the papers for mine. All I wanted was my sweet babies. I did register them though simply because the breeder wanted them registered as he does breed champion dogs. Even though he knew I had no interest in showing or breeding he wanted them to have their papers.

This does seem odd though. Looks like she's a BYB or a part of a puppy mill.

Glad you got a healthy pup.

Answer 7

You may be right, but there is nothing you can do about it now. Just enjoy your puppy. You didn't say how much you paid for the puppy. In my opinion if people would stop buying a puppy with out papers it may stop these people from breeding dogs that aren't AKC Register. There is always a reason why she didn't register her dog. A buyer always have to beware on what they are buying.
Enjoy your dog , thank God it is healthy.

Answer 8

You didn't say how much you paid for your dog. If it was a Pedigree price then you are being (have been ) ripped off
Basically this stinks and the only way to get rid of back street breeders is to avoid them or report them to the Kennel Club for sharp practice!

Answer 9

some breeders do that.
if she is advertising more than one litter a year then seh is a breeder. she is just trying to get out of the laws. You are lucky you got a healthy pup. if there is a qquestion on teh shots talk to you vet but starting over with the booster shots shouldn't hurt teh pup.
Good luck wiht your pup

Answer 10

sounds fishy, she might not have any of that paperwork because the dogs she was breeding with were not healthy enough to get the ok from a vet. if you didn't see the parents maybe they both may not be completely westies and that is why she has no papers. always look at the parents.