With the Best Intentions – Limited Registrations

BY WAYNE CAVANAUGH

Seven years ago on a cool April morning, I was walking a pristine trail in northern Michigan when I ran into two men doing pre-season birddog training. They had three dogs between them; a Pointer, English Setter, and a remarkable Gordon Setter named Echo.

The men couldn’t wait to show off their dogs. The Pointer was quick and intense. The English was honest but slower working. The Gordon, Echo, ran ahead. With bird sense and athleticism, he sliced through the popple like a switchblade. Frozen into focus on point, his breed type came alive; classic head and expression, proper markings, superb balance, and correct breed substance. Echo was a brilliant worker with the unmistakable look of a top-flight show dog with one exception – he had a sickle tail with a crooked tip that he held proud and high.

Echo’s intensity in the field turned to charm at the truck as he positioned himself for a chin scratch while looking up as if to say “pretty good, huh”? His owner, Todd, explained that Echo was a gift from his wife who had purchased him from a show breeder. The breeder had only one pet available, a beautifully conditioned and well-socialized pup with a crooked tail. He was a great house dog, earned his CGC, and passed every available heath test with flying colors.

When I asked if Echo had sired any pups, Todd turned sullen – Echo came with AKC Limited Registration (LR) papers, something he’d never heard of. As per the contract, Echo was neutered at six months. The best dog he ever had, the kind most people dream of, was removed from the gene pool because he had a crooked tail. I did a lot of thinking on my drive home. Echo was about to change the way I saw the world of purebred dogs.

For nearly a century, the AKC had one type of registration – all pups from two AKC registered parents were eligible for full registration privileges. In January, 1990, the LR program was introduced. When fully implemented in 1993, LR papers flowed from breeders to puppy buyers and became a responsible breeder’s badge of honor. The well-intended goal was to eradicate “back-yard breeders” and keep intact dogs in the hands of responsible breeders. After 25 years of LR, however, backyard breeders didn’t go away. Commercial breeding operations found even more traction and the AKC purebred gene pool was profoundly changed.

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Posted by Alex on Apr 23 2020. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.