Australians! Buy your purebred dog from a breeder who belongs to an ANKC Affiliate.
In Australia you can buy dogs from so many sources, but members of the Australian National Kennel Council (ANKC) and their affiliates (including Victorian Canine Association trading as Dogs Victoria) offer you family based dog breeding, where private members of the community band together to help preserve the purebreeds developed since the 1850s, of course some breeds are older then that too.
There are over 250 purebreeds recognized in Australia and no one has the time or money to be the soul custodian of a breed or develop a new ‘breed’… most ANKC breeders work full time or are retired and have chosen the breed they have because it suits their lifestyle and character, some adopt their breed because they love the work the breeds were developed to do. It is all passion. Once we add up what we spend on care, entertainment, education, and preserving diversity of bloodlines, and perhaps competing, then there is a net $ loss, breeding won’t cover that once we factor in taking the time to place dogs in suitable homes and provide ongoing support.
Owners of dogs bought through classifieds from people who do not belong to ANKC affiliates or via pet stores either have MINIMAL contact with the parents and siblings of the dog or the breeder, or no contact … ANKC breeders LOVE to stay in touch with their buyers for the lifetime of the dog, meet, swap stories, and generally enjoy their breed with each other.
ANKC breeders are proud to be associated with their puppies and dogs … and aren’t burdened with having to make a profit.
ANKC registered dogs offer you peace of mind
- they come from generations of independently recorded pedigree from around the world
- breeders are kept up to date with newly available testing and the value of that testing
- in Victoria, breeders contribute to research funds with each dog they register, research that benefits ALL dogs
- as time goes by breeders are compelled to undertake more and proven testing
- you can compete at shows, and a huge range of events such as obedience and dancing or field trials if you want to … awarded titles appear on your dog’s ANKC papers
- if your dog is of good quality, your dog can contribute to the breed’s genepool, here, and elsewhere in the world
- ANKC owners have more specialist knowledge then a government control system alone can offer, and government control systems seem to be easily ignored, so always ask to see your seller/breeder’s CURRENT ANKC Affiliate membership card, and of course all pups sold via the ANKC MUST be supplied with an ANKC registration paper which you can choose to complete and have the dog transferred to your name … this is a separate item to your microchip registration and a separate item to your council dog registration (correct in Victoria, Jan 2017)
a footnote (January 2017): I have never seen a Clumber in an Australian pet shop, BUT I have had reports of crossbred Clumbers being there and also listed on Gumtree …the first was a blatant lie on examining the pups, the second was true and purpose bred to make money, not to contribute to the health of the breed, but solely to make money.