The United Kennel Club (or UKC) is the second oldest all-breed registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States and the second largest in the world. According to the website, the club records 250,000 registrations annually. The UKC is not part of the International Canine Organisation, Fédération Cynologique Internationale, as most other countries' kennel clubs are. The UKC was founded by Chauncey Z. Bennett in 1898. The UKC states that Bennett formed the club in order to provide a registry for working dogs as opposed to the American Kennel Club's emphasis on dog conformation shows. Some UKC detractors claim that the club was originally formed so that the founder could register his American Pit Bull Terrier, Bennett's Ring.
Bennett conceived and promoted the concept of the "total" dog, that is, a dog that performs as well as it looks; in which intelligence and working ability was as important as conformation to the show bench standard. Bennett found a niche among the owners of herding and hunting dogs. The UKC was innovative in the establishment of competitions and the use of DNA testing to establish parentage. Eventually the club expanded into other areas, including dog sports and more recently conformation, and today sponsors a variety of conformation, obedience, hunting, and agility shows and trials.
The current president of the UKC, Wayne Cavanaugh, is a former Vice President of AKC. In a 2000 interview with BJ Andrews for thedogplace.com, Cavanaugh defined the UKC as "a performance dog registry" and advocated cooperation rather than competition between the two clubs.
There are three ways to register a dog with the UKC:
- Single Registration is for dogs whose parents are not UKC registered, but are registered by another approved entity.
- Limited Privilege allows purebred dogs of unknown pedigree, and mixed breed dogs, to participate in obedience and agility.
- Litter Registration is for puppies whose parents are both UKC registered dogs.
Top 5 Registered Breeds:
- Treeing Walker Coonhound
- American Pit Bull Terrier
- Bluetick Coonhound
- English Coonhound
- Black and Tan Coonhound
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