page_title: Purebred dog
section_title: Registration
hierarchical_section_title: Purebred dog / Registration
caption_attribution_description: English: This is a picture of a 10 month old American Alsatian.
context_page_description: A purebred dog typically refers to a dog of a modern dog breed with a documented pedigree in a stud book and may be registered with a breed club that may also be part of a national kennel club.
  Purebred dog may also be used in a different manner to refer to dogs of specific dog types and landraces that are not modern breeds. An example is cited by biologist Raymond Coppinger, of an Italian shepherd who keeps only the white puppies from his sheep guardian dog's litters, and culls the rest, because he defines the white ones as purebred. Coppinger says, "The shepherd's definition of pure is not wrong, it is simply different from mine." However, the usual definition is the one that involves modern breeds.
context_section_description: Purebred dogs are pedigreed members of modern breeds. These dogs may be registered with breed club. The breed clubs may be an open stud book or a closed stud book, the term can be interpreted to either. Usually the breed club is also associated with a kennel club (AKC, UKC, CKC etc.). However, dogs who are registered with a breed club are usually referred to as "registered". Some use the term exclusively for a dog that has also been registered with a breed club, but more often it is used simply as a generic term to refer to dogs who have known pedigrees within a standardized breed.
  A dog that is purebred cannot be interpreted to mean it is high-quality dog. It is no reflection on the quality of the dog's health, temperament, or sagacity, but merely a reference that the dog has known parentage according to the breeder. While some breed clubs can now guarantee parentage through DNA testing, for the most part all breed clubs must rely exclusively on the breeder's word and choice of parentage. In the early years of the kennel club concept, this was not at issue, since dog breeding was only done among the extremely wealthy, and their reputations were at stake. Even in the modern age of breeding, a DNA proven purebred and registered champion who has won national competitions can have serious health issues.
  Modern pure bred registrations are of two main types:
  The closed stud book requires that all dogs descend from a known and registered set of ancestors; this results in a loss of genetic variation over time, as well as a highly identifiable breed type, which is the basis of the sport of conformation showing. In order to enhance specific characteristics, most modern purebred dogs registered with closed stud books are highly inbred, increasing the possibility of genetic-based disease.
  The open stud book, meaning some outcrossing is acceptable, is often used in herding dog, hunting dog, and working dog (working dog meaning police dogs, assistance dogs, and other dogs that work directly with humans, not on game or livestock) registries for dogs not also engaged in the sport of conformation showing. Outcrosses with other breeds and breeding for working characteristics (rather than breeding for appearance) are assumed to result in a healthier dog. Overuse of one particular stud dog due to the desirability of the dog's working style or appearance leads to a narrowing of  genetic diversity, whether the breed uses an open stud book or a closed stud book. The Jack Russell Terrier Club of America states, "Inbreeding favors genes of excellence as well as deleterious genes." Some open stud book breeds, such as the Jack Russell Terrier, have strict limitations on inbreeding.
  Dog crossbreeds (first generation crosses from two purebred dogs, also called dog hybrids) are not breeds and are not considered purebred, although crossbreds from the same two breeds of purebreds can have "identical qualities", similar to what would be expected from breeding two purebreds, but with more genetic variation. However, crossbreds do not breed true (meaning that progeny will show consistent, replicable, and predictable characteristics), and can only be reproduced by returning to the original two purebred breeds.
  Among breeds of hunting, herding, or working dogs in open stud book registries, a crossbred dog may be registered as a member of the breed it most closely resembles if the dog works in the manner of the breed. Some hunting, herding, or working dog registries will accept mixed breed (meaning of unknown heritage) dogs as members of the breed if they work in the correct manner, called register on merit.
  For mixed breed (unknown heredity), crossbred (from two different purebred breeds), or otherwise unregistered purebred pet dogs there are available many small for-pay internet registry businesses that will certify any dog as a purebred anything one cares to invent. However, new breeds of dog are constantly being legitimately created, and there are many websites for new breed associations and breed clubs offering legitimate registrations for new or rare 
caption: An "Alsatian Shepalute", a breed created in 1988, now considered a purebred by its registry and others.[10][11]
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