In a word: No. Never, ever, ever buy a dog registered with the CKC (Continental Kennel Club) if your intention is to breed, show, or stud the animal. Further, anyone claiming to be a breeder and registering puppies and litters with the CKC (Continental Kennel Club, again) should be reported, as they’re probably running a puppy mill. The Continental Kennel Club is a giant scam. Mike Roy, the owner of the CKC, does not care about the quality of breeds or the animals he allows to be registered with his illegitimate company. Let’s break down the facts:
The Continental Kennel Club Versus the American Kennel Club
The venerable and coveted American Kennel Club, known colloquially as the “AKC” is the standard by which champion dogs and their pedigrees are registered. This is especially true for rare and uncommon breeds such as the French Bulldog. The AKC hosts countless conformation, agility, and Best in Show events all over the country and world at large. There are endless titles and ranks professionally administered and presided over by the AKC. What all this amounts to is a reliable, safe, and storied organization where 100% purebred dogs can be monitored for breeding quality, show-worthiness, and more. The AKC has in its posession over 100 years of documented dog breed pedigrees. Their requirements for registering litters are stringent. Both parents must be AKC registered in order to register a litter. Pedigrees can be tracked right from the AKC website. This means if you by an AKC-registered puppy, you can log on and use the AKC registry number provided by your breeder and track your puppy’s lineage all the way back to the early 1900’s, if the breed existed at the time.
Now Stop.
Realize that the CKC offers none of this. The Continental Kennel Club is a scam that allows puppy mill operators to “register” “purebred” dogs for free. They have no system of tracking and validating pedigrees, and they’ve only existed since 1991, so they’re probably younger than half of you reading this. What’s wrong with not tracking pedigrees? There’s absolutely zero guarantee that your puppy is 100% purebred. If you’re buying a $2500 puppy for breeding and showing, then something as simple as a verified pedigree is customary, explicit, and expected. The Continental Kennel Club does not offer reliable pedigrees for their registered dogs. The AKC provides 100+ years of pedigrees and lineages in their databases. From the very beginning, the AKC has approached breed management through stringent biology and documentation. Official AKC-accepted breeds are qualified by documented histories of registered litters between dams and sires dating back nearly 100 years. The Continental Kennel Club cannot offer this reliability to you.
The Continental Kennel Club Has No Registration Standard
The CKC will allow anyone with any dog, regardless of pedigree, to register their litters and receive paperwork (for free) that looks like legitimate dog registration applications similar to what one would receive from an AKC-registered breeder. This is a continuation of the scam. The CKC requires only a handful of photos to register a dog as purebred. Any (malicious) person can start “breeding” dogs and registering their litters without any of the stringent breed standards provided by the AKC. This means the degradation of the breed. The CKCs cheap prices for “registering” dams and sires paired with their total inability to regulate their breed standards permits anyone with enough disregard and hubris to start breeding and selling dogs registered through their breeders program; no matter the health or viability of the dogs being bred. The CKC exists purely as a scam to fool unsuspecting people into buying questionably bred dogs from breeders who do not want to adhere to the humane and stringent quality standards set forth by the AKC. The CKC is attempting to create a grey market for puppy millers who do not want to pay the extra fees to the AKC; these “breeders” are seeking a profit and are blatantly disregarding the well-being of their dams, sires, and puppies.
The CKC has been accused of fraud on several occasions and the company can regularly be found on “rip off” report websites all across the Internet. Just Google “Continental Kennel Club” and see for yourself.
Note Well:
If you are absolutely in love with a puppy registered with the Continental Kennel Club, try to set your emotions aside and consider the ramifications of paying the breeder for the dog. Your first course of action when encountering people trying to sell puppies registered with the CKC is to report the breeder to the ASPCA or other local animal welfare institution, because it’s highly likely that they’re running a puppy mill. We have personally dug up several puppy mills operating as legitimate breeders by simply looking up who registers their animals with the Continental Kennel Club. Nine times out of ten, the conditions were unfit for the animals and the owners were slapped with some nice legal charges for their hubris. When searching for a people, we encourage you to report anyone attempting to sell animals registered with the CKC, as it is an immediate red flag of sub-par breeding and it follows that cutting corners means poor conditions for the puppies and their parents.
my French bulldog I got was ckc I went to the breeders house and they seemed like nice people they had 3 children her farm was huge no sigh of puppy mill and all of her dogs were roaming freely on her farm or were inside we even got to meet the parents. Not all ckc breeders should be accused of puppy mills some are actually good people!
Hey Fran,
Thanks for reading! I am humbled to hear from you. While we’re definitely harsh on registering with the CKC, it’s an immediate red flag. Second-rate registries exist for one reason: circumventing the standards put forth by the AKC. The CKC doesn’t enforce the same standards and practices on breeders as the AKC does. It’s a slippery slope, and while we’re certain that not all breeders who use the CKC are inherently bad, what they’re doing by trying to circumvent the AKC is bad for the french bulldog breed.
The number one reason I’ve come across for people using the CKC instead of the AKC is because of the cost to register puppies. The AKC charges ~$50 per puppy in a litter for registration. Further, the CKC does not require the parents of french bulldog puppies to be registered, and breeders can simply register new litters sired and dammed by otherwise suspiciously pure-bred breeding stock. The AKC only permits the opposite: all litters must be bred and registered to AKC-registered breeding stock. These lineages go back over 100+ years and are the only means of ensuring 100% genetic veracity. We don’t like it either, it’s bad for the breed and there are millions of dogs who need adopting and care just like expensive breeds. We feel that the CKC only exacerbates this issue; rather than helping it.
We apologize for our harsh rhetoric and we mean no harm to honest people. We’re looking out for french bulldogs!
I have to mention the part of story you left out. The abc doesn’t do dna testing so the breed can be corrupted at anytime in the bloodline.
That’s true, I’ve heard of akc breeders using mixed stock but registering the litter under another sire or dam of full lineage. There is also a major issue of line-breeding in the akc. I think the author is brainwashed. Each breed registry has its faults. A lot of working line dogs and breed specific registries like the Fss and abca have issue with the akc standards ruining the working ability of their breeds by putting a strong focus on looks.
Typo AKC not abc
What are your thoughts on a breeder that has puppies that are both AKC and CKC registered?
It depends entirely on their intent and reasoning. In my experience, breeders registering with the CKC are doing so because their original breeding stock was registered with the CKC. Since it is impossible to register a puppy with the AKC that does not have parents registered with the AKC, most breeders simply register their non-AKC litters somewhere, rather than nowhere, which is usually with the CKC (since registration with the CKC are very lax).
In my opinion, breeders who continue to use the CKC only perpetuate the initiatives (making $$$) of the CKC. We are personally opposed to all forms of breeding, registering, and selling animals for profit, as it debases and commoditizes the lives of those animals. We would happily suggest anyone wanting to gain the companionship of a french bulldog first investigate opportunities to adopt one. There are roughly ~4,000 french bulldogs waiting for adoption in the United States at any given time.
That said, we realize that we are vocal proponents of only purchasing AKC-registered French Bulldogs. The keyword in that, however, is “purchasing”. We believe that if you are going to purchase a French Bulldog, you purchase only from breeders who register with the AKC exclusively. The AKC imposes many, many restrictions on registering puppies that the CKC simply cannot backup; namely genetic and genealogical data dating back over 100 for nearly all of the breeds in their accepted purebred registrar.
A breeder using both the AKC and CKC is likely trying to get all the “mileage” they can out of their breeding stock–to which we are vehemently opposed.
Sorry for getting heated, it’s just a touchy subject with us!
I totally understand! While I have applied for a rescue frenchie, they seem to be limited in the area that I live. At this point, I’m planning to purchase a French Bulldog in the next two years but I agree with you that a reputable breeder is a must. I asked about breeder who does both because I know someone who has purchased two frenchies from a local breeder that registers with both organizations. I will continue to do research on other local breeders in hopes to find a great one! Thanks for the input and great website!
Keep an eye on the French Bulldog Rescue Network every week or so. They’re always getting new frenchies that need adopting. You might get lucky and find one nearby. Don’t be afraid to ask your friend’s breeder why they’re using both. They might be able to provide and honest and excusable reason for doing so. Doesn’t hurt to ask!
Your comment is very untrue. I have a CKC French Bulldog from a very outstanding breeder. Who breeds both AKC and CkC Frenchies. My dog has been health/ genetic tested and all his test have come back with no problems. It really upsets me when people like you want to leave false statement about CKC breeders. Some AKC breeders are backyard breeders. So quit speading lies to benefit yourself.
This article about CKC is absolutely false. As a matter of fact, AKC puppies have been know to be abused so they can be raised to be a “show dog”. Wow is that greed or what. I have CKC German Shepherds and they are the healthiest, most loved Purebred dogs. AND it does cost money to register them. They are raised in my home and not in a cage or a back yard “kennel”!
I bought a puppy a couple of weeks ago, that was supposedly CKC, but the breeder has not provided even those papers. I am sure I have been scammed. Let me tell you why I went ahead and took her. She is a blue headed white. I have wanted one for 35 years . I have an AKC tri headed white male. When I bought him, I must have talked to 15 snobby breeders before I finally got one with a white to talk to me. She had a blue, but wouldn’t sell her, so Lukey was a second choice. Talking to these difficult people was so stressful and they beat me down. When I saw these puppies, I fell in love. I flew all the way to St. Louis, rented a car and the lady showed up at Petco to meet me with the puppy. She said she lived over an hour out of town and I needed to buy a crate for the journey, so I didn’t see the parents. Then she said her daughter ‘forgot’ to bring the papers and she would send them to me. Never happened. The puppy is beautiful, but I don’t even have shot records.
I do believe the CKC Is somewhat a scam. In 2012 I purchased a pug from a locally owned pet store. I have never in my life bought from a per store but I had just lost my sweet pug, Junior. Junior was with me thru some of the most major hardships that one can face. So I ěsaw this pug in pet store and just could not resist. Lil Dude was CKC registered but they had 4 generation pedigree with it. So I did a little research and found that the breeders of my sweet Lil Dude were indeed a puppy mill. They had been fined numerous times by AKC & eventually were thrown out of The AKC. That’s when they started using the CKC. I had sent all my paperwork to the AKC to see if Lik Dude could be registered as AKC. Much to my surprise due to having the 4 generation pedigree the AKC was able to trace that his relatives were AKC and subsequently Lil Dude was able to be AKC registered. Yes in a way it is a scam but doing a little homework you may find that your dog is AKC and for a variety of reasons tge breeders were banned from the AKC. I am overjoyed that my dog was healthy. I am appalled that these breeders are still running their puppy mill. It hurts so much to know they continue to abuse animals. I have not checked in a long time to see if they are still breeding and will check now. I will report them immediately. I do appreciate having a place to vent .
I understand that you are a proponent for the AKC, but the AKC is full of breeders that are less than reputable. The puppy mills that you have referred to are full of AKC registered puppies. Breeders can’t pump puppies out fast enough to make money off of the AKC title. And in return the AKC is making lots of money themselves. So you tell me who’s running a racket? Inbreeding happens every day in puppies registered with the AKC just to keep that bloodline. And who is that harming, it’s harming the dog. Not everybody’s looking for a show dog, we’re looking for a companion who’s healthy and happy and well adjusted. If you’re going to drag the CKC through the mud you might as well drag the AKC through the mud because they are just as bad. Last time I checked dogs can’t read paper.