Editing Dog breed (section)

====Kennel clubs====
Groups of owners that have dogs of the same breed and have an interest in [[dog breeding]] can form national [[Kennel clubs]]. Kennel Clubs maintain [[breed standard]]s, record [[Pedigree (dog)|pedigree]]s in a [[breed registry]] (or studbook), and issue the rules for [[conformation dog show]]s and trials and accreditation of judges. They often serve as [[breed registry|registries]], which are lists of adult [[purebred]] dogs and lists of litters of puppies born to purebred parents.

A dog breed is represented by a sufficient number of individuals to stably transfer its specific characteristics over generations. Dogs of same [[breed]] have similar characteristics of appearance and behavior, primarily because they come from a select set of ancestors who had the same characteristics.<ref name="{{ISBN|0764573020}}">{{cite book |author1=Donna L. Morden |author2=Seranne, Ann |author3=Wendell J. Sammet |author4=Gasow, Julia |title=The joy of breeding your own show dog |publisher=Howell Book House |location=New York, N.Y |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7645-7302-6 }}</ref> Dogs of a specific breed [[breed true]], producing young that are very similar to their parents. An individual dog is identified as a member of a breed through proof of ancestry, using genetic analysis or written records of ancestry. Without such proof, identification of a specific breed is not reliable.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.grapevine.net/~wolf2dog/review.htm |title= The New Breed Of Municipal Dog Control Laws:Are They Constitutional? |author= Lynn Marmer |year= 1984 |work= first published in the University of Cincinnati Law Review |quote=  The court found it was impossible to identify the breed of an unregistered dog. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000926031554/http://www.grapevine.net/~wolf2dog/review.htm |archive-date=2000-09-26 |access-date=13 December 2013}}</ref> Such records, called [[stud book]]s, may be maintained by individuals, clubs, or other organizations.

Kennel clubs provide the recognition of distinct dog breeds, but there are many independent clubs with differing, and sometimes inconsistent standards and they need not apply scientific standards. Four varieties of the [[Belgian Shepherd Dog]] are recognised as four distinct breeds by the [[New Zealand Kennel Club]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nzkc.org.nz/pdf/breed_groups/working_standard.pdf | title=Standards of the Breeds: Group 5 – Working | publisher=New Zealand Kennel Club}}</ref> Further, some groups of dogs which clearly share a persistent set of characteristics and documented descent from a known foundation stock may still not be recognized by some clubs as breeds. For instance, the [[Feist (dog)|feist]] is a hunting dog raised in the [[Southern United States]] for hunting small game. Feists have a consistent set of characteristics that reliably differentiate them from other [[dog type]]s and breeds. However, the [[United Kennel Club]] recognizes one breed of feist, the [[Treeing Feist]], while the [[American Kennel Club]] does not recognize any feist breed.

A dog is said to be [[purebred]] if their parents were purebred and if the dog meets the standards of the breed. The American Kennel Club allows [[mixed-breed dog]]s to be shown but under the condition the animals have been spayed or neutered, are not a wolf hybrid, and not eligible for the AKC Foundation Stock Service Program or an AKC Purebred Alternative Listing (PAL).<ref name="AKC-Mixed">{{cite web | title=Get Started – Register Your Mixed Breed Dog With AKC Canine Partners | website=American Kennel Club | date=2019-07-28 | url=https://www.akc.org/register/information/canine-partners/get-started/ | access-date=2019-08-09}}</ref> 

In Canada, the ''Animal Pedigree Act'' lays out strict standards for the documenting of what it calls "evolving breeds".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/a-11.2/FullText.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120726205721/http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/A-11.2/FullText.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 July 2012 |title=Animal Pedigree Act 1985 |access-date=9 April 2008 |work=Department of Justice, Canada }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=2003-02-24 |title=Secretary's manual (page 1 of 9) |url=http://agriculture.canada.ca/en/sector/animal-industry/animal-genetics/resources-related-animal-pedigree-act/secretarys-manual}}</ref>