Subject: Urgent Call to Reform Breed Standards, Registration Policies, and Parent Club Accountability to Prioritize Canine Health

 

Dear AKC Leadership and Breed Standard Committees,

 

As a passionate advocate for animal welfare and responsible dog breeding, I am writing to formally urge the American Kennel Club to take a leadership role in modernizing its breed standards, registration policies, and relationships with parent breed clubs to reflect the needs of the dogs you claim to serve.

 

For too long, the AKC has allowed breed preservation to be defined by aesthetics, tradition, and competitive advantage—rather than health, function, and ethical breeding practices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breed Standards Must Not Endorse Suffering

 

 

 

The current AKC standards for many popular breeds encourage structural exaggerations that directly lead to chronic health issues, disability, and shortened lifespans.

 

 

 

Examples include:

 

 

 

French Bulldogs: Required to have an unnaturally short, broad muzzle and compact skull, despite clear evidence linking these features to BOAS, heat intolerance, sleep apnea, and spinal malformations.
Dachshunds: Their intentionally exaggerated long spine and short legs significantly increase risk for intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) and paralysis.
German Shepherds: The now-preferred sloped topline and over-angulated rear result in impaired gait, hip and elbow dysplasia, and a shortened working lifespan.
Other breeds: Bulldogs, Pugs, Shar Peis, and Neapolitan Mastiffs all suffer from standards that prioritize extreme traits—skin folds, flattened faces, corkscrew tails—over comfort, health, and longevity.

 

 

These issues are not cosmetic. They are visible suffering, normalized under the banner of breed tradition. The AKC has both the authority and the moral obligation to revise these standards with input from veterinary experts, behaviorists, and geneticists.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current Registration Policies Undermine Ethical Breeding

 

 

 

In addition to the breed standards themselves, the AKC’s lax registration system continues to actively enable backyard breeding, poor husbandry, and unethical practices. By allowing registration of:

 

Dogs bred without health testing
Dogs bred grossly out of standard
Dogs from overbred, brachycephalic, or structurally impaired lines

 

 

…the AKC profits from volume registrations while distancing itself from the consequences. This directly undermines reputable breeders who strive to preserve health and structure through education, screening, and selectivity.

 

By continuing to register and recognize litters produced with no regard for the long-term welfare of the dogs, the AKC effectively normalizes backyard breeding and signals to the public that a pedigree equals quality—even when that pedigree may come from suffering, dysfunction, or intentional ignorance.

 

This is not only a disservice to dogs and buyers—it damages the reputation of the AKC as an institution committed to breed integrity and canine welfare.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Path Toward Responsible Reform

 

 

 

To remain a credible leader in purebred dog stewardship, the AKC must implement the following actions:

 

 

 

1. 

Revise Breed Standards to Eliminate Harmful Conformations

 

 

 

Traits that directly impair respiration, movement, temperature regulation, skin health, or structural stability must be removed from all AKC-recognized standards.

 

 

 

2. 

Make Breed-Specific Health Testing Mandatory

 

 

 

Mandatory health screening should be a non-negotiable requirement for all dogs registered for breeding. Optional recommendations are no longer enough in the face of widespread, breed-specific disease and disability.

 

 

 

3. 

Publicly List All Health Testing Results

 

 

 

All AKC breeding dogs should have verifiable, publicly accessible health test results—just as responsible breeders already provide.

 

 

 

4. 

Refuse Registration for Litters That Don’t Meet Minimum Ethical Criteria

 

 

 

Dogs bred without proper testing, or that deviate significantly from revised health-based standards, should not be eligible for registration. This change will incentivize ethical breeding and help eliminate profit-driven, unqualified breeding.

 

 

 

5. 

Pressure Parent Breed Clubs to Reform—or Risk Disassociation

 

 

 

If a parent breed club refuses to amend standards that are shown to harm animal welfare, the AKC must publicly pressure them to comply—or face removal of their breed from official recognition. A breed club that puts ribbons and profit over health has no place representing the future of any dog breed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion: The AKC Must Choose Leadership Over Legacy

 

 

 

You are at a pivotal moment. The public, the veterinary community, and the global dog-loving population are watching the AKC closely—and they are increasingly questioning the ethics behind the purebred dog world.

 

If the AKC wishes to remain relevant and respected, it must demonstrate that registration is a mark of quality, not a transaction. It must show that breed preservation is about wellness, not just appearance. And it must prove that the AKC stands for dogs—not just tradition.

 

The dogs cannot speak for themselves. You must speak for them.