Many people seem to be confused as to the purpose and difference between Limited and Full registration papers. It really is quite simple.
Limited registration is for people and dogs that are going to be pets, companions. They will NOT however, be used as breeding animals.
Limited Registration means that the dog is registered but no litters produced by that dog are eligible for registration. It is ineligible to be entered in a breed competition in a licensed or member dog show but can be shown in other AKC shows such as Obedience, Rally, Agility, Tracking, Field Trials, Hunting Tests, Herding, Lure Coursing, Earthdog, Fast Cat, CAT, Scentwork, Junior Showmanship, Trick Dog and CGC.
Limited Registration helps breeders protect their breeding programs. If breeders do not want puppies used for breeding purposes, they can request the option for those puppies.
Limited registration came about when AKC found out that breeders were withholding registration papers from pups that went to non-breeding homes. When the new owners would apply to AKC for new papers (some doing so because they went ahead and bred their dog anyway), they found that they could not since their dog was actually still registered in the breeders name….AKC investigated and found that the breeders were not trying to be fraudulent or mean, they were just trying to protect the breed and their breeding lines against people trying to breed for money and just wanting to put two dogs together just to be breeding and not focusing on preserving the breed and its standards.
AKC came up with the Limited papers to help breeders selling non-breeding dogs to the public without
having to keep those people from entering activity events with their dogs.
Limited registration is for pet owners getting a puppy at a discounted price and who do not wish for their dogs to be bred, they are required to be spayed or neutered at the appropriate age. Healthwise, there is nothing wrong with puppy/dog if it is listed with limited. The breeder may not consider this dog to be breeding quality and if they are bred, their puppies cannot be registered.
In short, you sign a contract and agreed to purchase a puppy on limited registration with the agreement to have it spayed or neutered at the appropriate age and not try to cheat your way to getting a puppy cheap with the intent to breed it. Just think of what that says about your character not as a breeder but as a person.
Full Registration is for breeding stock dogs and those that are being actively shown in dog shows, such as the breed conformation ring. Period.
If you ARE NOT a breeder, you DO NOT need full registration on your dog. The only difference between Limited and Full registration is that with Full registration, the papers that you get are bordered in purple instead of orange, and IF your dog has pups, they can be registered with either Full or Limited registration.
Limited registration can be changed to Full registration by the breeder once the dog has meet whatever criteria the breeder has set forth to do so. In this case, I would be listed as a co-owner.
If you are buying a dog with Limited registration with the intent to change it to Full once all of the criteria has been met to do so, I will send in the AKC paperwork myself along with a letter to AKC stating that NO litters may be registered without my express permission to do so until they receive copies of the new Full AKC registration papers. You will get the papers from AKC and will see that I am listed as Co-Owner on them. The only time you will need my signature will be to sell the dog (which will void the chance to have the dog’s papers changed to Full with AKC) or if you try to register a litter before the AKC papers have been changed to Full.
***Failure to obtain my signature will cause AKC to hold or cancel any litter registrations or dog transfers and potentially cause them to take legal action against you as well.
For those of you that wish to register your Triple S puppy with ASDR or any of the other registries, you may do so by using your AKC registration certificate since our breeding dogs are not registered with any other registry but AKC.