Canadian Kennel Club

The Canadian Kennel Club (or CKC) is the primary registry body for purebred dog pedigrees in Canada. Beyond maintaining the pedigree registry, the CKC also promotes events such as conformation shows and obedience trials for purebred dogs and confers championship and other titles in conformation, obedience and similar competitions.

The Canadian Kennel Club is a national, member-based, non-profit organization, incorporated under the Animal Pedigree Act of Canada. Founded in 1888, it provides registry services for all the 174 dog breeds which it currently recognizes, and provides governance for all CKC approved shows, trial and events. CKC provides news and information to its membership through its association with Dogs in Canada monthly magazine.

For a dog to be registered with the CKC, the dog's parents must be registered with the CKC as the same breed, and the litter in which the dog is born must be registered with the CKC Foreign-born dogs are registered as imports by CKC provided that they are registered with a CKC approved and recognized foreign registry and identified in accordance with CKC regulations. Once these criteria are met, the dog is eligible to be registered as purebred by the CKC

CKC is not the only Canadian registry of purebred dogs, but it is the one most Canadians are familiar with. The Animal Pedigree Act provides that only one official registry per breed may exist in Canada, and other breeds not recognised by CKC are registered by other registries such as the Canine Federation of Canada and the Working Canine Association of Canada. CKC members may only breed CKC recognised breeds and are required to sign a membership pledge not to engage in the buying, selling or breeding of dogs not purebred (purebred being defined as eligible for CKC registration).