The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States.

[2] This fad spread to North America, and in 1877, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show began.

The National American Kennel Club, which had been founded in 1876, began to publish and make publicly available its studbook in 1879.

[2] These 13 clubs pledged "to do everything to advance the study, breeding, exhibiting, running and maintenance of purity of thoroughbred dogs.

[2] On July 1, 2012, the AKC began to recognize certain titles issued by the North American Flyball Association.

Once a determination of eligibility is met, either by litter application or registry research, the dog can be registered as purebred by the AKC.

[3] These problems cost breeders and owners almost $1 billion in vet bills and lost revenues from stillborn pups.

Temple Grandin maintains that the AKC's standards only regulate physical appearance, not emotional or behavioral health.

The German Shepherd Club of Germany,[21] for example, requires hip and elbow X-rays in addition to other tests before a dog can be bred.

By comparison, the Swiss Bernese Mountain Dog Club introduced mandatory hip X-rays in 1971.

Concern surrounding the AKC's connections to low-quality breeders has resulted in some dog owners seeking to distance themselves from the organization.

[25] The Coton's "reputation and business model is based on a disassociation from 'puppy mills' and similar commercial breeding operations", according to the complaint.

The club has also been criticized for courting large scale commercial breeders[26][27] and for lax enforcement of breeding regulations.

A veterinarian told the court that the rescued dogs had ailments that ranged "from serious to severe" and that "most of the injuries appeared to be chronic, having been in existence for a substantial period of time.

"[25] Similarly, the Humane Society of the United States criticized the AKC for not taking a stand against puppy mills.

[28] According to the Humane Society's report, "over the past five years, AKC has opposed more than 80 different state bills and local ordinances designed to provide stronger protections for dogs in puppy mills".