Quote Originally Posted by c boz
If/when both parents of your dog are pure bred- the breeder will have registered the litter and give you individual paperwork to send into the AKC or CKC (the two most popular breed registration groups within the US).

If you did not get this at the purchase of your puppy- it will be more difficult to prove the "pureness" of you dog. Your vet (or a vet- not all will do them) will need to do several gene (DNA) tests on your dog. But these are not very benificial because they are so costly, unless you plan on showing your dog and taking it to national shows (for examples of big shows see animal planet- discovery channel). $10,000 puppy worth it. $1,000 puppy not worth it.

But lots of good luck in your search! I'd start with the parents of your dog; its the easiest step.

(My dog's a purebreed, but I don't have paper work on him- the breeder gave me a dicount because she hadn't registered his litter.)
a resposible breeder will have gone over the pedigree with the owner and have them signed papers...the breeder signs them as well as the owner, the papers are administered by the AKC. If your breeder never mentioned this too you during your transaction, dont count on the dog having the status to be registered as purebred.

Christine...i have never heard of them DNA testing like that except in cases where the bitch was accidently bred in a kennel situation...the are mapping the DNA for cancer, eyes etc...but even the best breeders have that controled that such an instance is not needed.