Mary, Jim and the Girls- I am sure there are many more owners and breeders out there who would have a more defined answer to your question, but here is my opinion. I am a "pet" owner of my second Berner. I believe that any dog, Berner or not, born to a responsible breeder, should be registered with the AKC. I would think that any responsible breeder would require their pups to be registered. Aside from showing on a professional level, you may find that Nola is a terrific obedience or agility dog and may want to pursue "fun" competition as opposed to conformation "showing". I like to see what my dog enjoys. Okay, begging is NOT a competition. <G> I believe that all Bernese Mountain Dogs, with their genetic pre-dispositions and history should be OFA'd and/or PennHip'd, (hips and elbows), CERF'd and have Heart clearances. VonWillebrand's and DNA testing are not as important to me as a pet/non-breeding owner. I believe that every Bernese Mountain Dog should be registered with BernerGarde. I believe that the only way to save our breed from it's own genetic frailties is through the registering and disseminating of this information. I know this is probably more information than you asked for. My current Berner is a BARC dog, bred in Hungary. She was not eligible for an AKC registration, so I applied for and was given and ILP (Indefinite Listing Privilege). She is high energy and we are doing agility classes. If she ever decides she wants to compete in agility, she can! She has been CERF'd, Heart checked and will be OFA'd and PennHip'd when she is two years old. Not because I need this information, but because the future of our breed depends on this information. So, register Nola and go for it!!
Janice Parky and Halley, BARC's Comet Comes Home > Can I get your opinions on how important is or not to have your dog AKC registered? > What are the pros? We have the forms from Nola's breeder, but haven't sent them yet, now we're wondering if it's really that important. (we don't plan to breed. Or show on a professional level)
