Australian National Kennel Council
The ANKC is the formal national registration body for all purebred dogs in Australia. The ANKC has formed breed standards for every pure breed of dog, which describe the ideal characteristics, temperament, appearance and soundness of each breed.
They are the national administrative body for pure breed canine affairs in Australia, promoting responsible dog ownership and encouraging State Member Bodies to put programs in place to that effect. They promote excellence in breeding, showing, trialling, obedience and other canine related activities; and they act as the spokesperson on all canine related activities on a national basis on behalf of State Member Bodies.
Your puppy is a registered purebred Labrador Retriever, recognized by his or her official ANKC pedigree papers, with lineage reflecting purebred parentage.
There are two types of registration available:
Limited Registration (an orange certificate)
A dog on Limited Registration means you have a registered pedigree dog of pure bloodlines, but the dog cannot be shown at conformation shows, nor can the dog be bred with or exported.
Our puppies are sold on Limited Registration.
They must be desexed as part of our sale agreement.
Main Registration (a blue certificate)
A dog on the Main Register has full rights. This dog can be shown in conformation shows in order to gain titles, and may be bred with other Main Register dogs of the same breed. The progeny will be registered as purebred.
We do not sell our puppies on Main Register except under specific circumstances. This includes the buyer holding a current state body membership (such as Dogs Victoria or Dogs NSW), and a breeders prefix within Australia. Puppies would only be sold on the Main Register if they meet the Labrador Breed Standard by the ANKC.
Dogs Victoria
Also known as the Victorian Canine Association, Dogs Victoria is the peak body representing owners and breeders of purebred dogs in Victoria. They are a State Member Body of the ANKC. More than 280 individual clubs representing a single breed, a group of breeds or all breeds are affiliated with Dogs Victoria.
Dogs registered with the ANKC, on any register (limited or main), can compete in dog sports. The best way to get involved with a dog sport is through a Dogs Victoria affiliated club, for example, your local dog obedience club.
According to their purpose, dogs are grouped into one of seven groups – labradors are Gundogs (also known as retrievers and Group 3). Labradors were originally used by hunters for game retrieval, hence they love retrieving and field sports as these events are specifically designed to test the hunting instincts of gundogs. Retrieving clubs and field sport events are designed to bring out the best of these dog’s instincts. Training for retrieval and trial events forms a special bond between dog and owner.
Many dog sports suit labradors and are highly rewarding, such as the retrieving and field events, obedience trials, endurance, and therapy dog. We generally do not recommend agility or fly-ball sports for our labradors, especially under the age of two to three years old. This is because of the risk of injury to their joints and ligaments. We explain more about this under our Care and Health section. There are many suitable dog sports though that are fun and safe for labradors!
Council Registration
Every dog aged 3 months and over must be registered with the council in the locality it resides.
Pet registration is a legal requirement under the Domestic Animals Act 1994. You can be fined for not complying. Most councils have instructions on their website about how to register. Its usually as simple as download or pick up the registration form and pay the registration fee. The registration fee will get cheaper after you desex your dog at 12-18 months of age or if you are a member of Dogs Victoria.
Council pet registration is NOT the same as microchip registration.
While microchipping provides an identification and reunification service, there are many things that microchipping cannot provide that council registration does. A few examples would be helping the council and animal welfare officers to work with the community, provide dogs parks, manage pounds and shelters, collect and return animals to owners, investigate nuisance complaints, dog bite protection and education, and research into a range of animal welfare issues.
As do most councils, the local East Gippsland Shire Council website provides an online or printable version of their Pet Registration Form.
Central Animal Records (CAR) or Australasian Animal Registry (AAR)
Central Animal Records and the Australasian Animal Registry are nationally-accredited animal microchip registry services.
They provide a 24-hour national recovery service for microchipped pets, and also work closely with government and legislative developers, municipal councils, animal welfare agencies, and distribute microchips to veterinary clinics around Australia.
Your labrador puppy will have been microchipped. The information recorded on the CAR or AAR database (depending on which veterinarian microchips the puppies at that time) records his / her unique identification details to the implanted microchip number.
The microchip can be scanned by a veterinarian to show who the pet belongs to, as well as contact details for the owner, allowing you to be contacted if your pet is taken to a veterinary clinic, becomes lost and is found, or has an emergency.
When you pick up your puppy, you’ll complete your details on the Transfer of Ownership form which will be sent to Central Animal Records or to the Australasian Animal Registry to record that the puppy now belongs to you. You will either receive a Certificate of Identification from CAR, or can download your Certificate of Ownership from the AAR website.
It is important to remember if your address or contact details change, you must update them with Central Animals Records or the Australasian Animal Registry straight away. Otherwise if your pet becomes lost or has an emergency, you will not be contactable.
AAR Registration / Change of Ownership / Change of Details Form: Click Here
Pet Insurance
We highly recommend pet insurance for your puppy. Each of our own dogs has insurance.
Pet insurance makes sense because we value of our labrador’s health and want to ensure they can be well looked after. Unfortunately, no matter how well you look after your pet, most pets will require veterinary treatment at some stage and it can be very costly.
Pet insurance is an easy, affordable way to cover unexpected vet bills. There is no need for your dog to suffer if veterinary care is too pricey, and no difficult decisions for you to make when you have pet insurance. It is very much worth it.
There are several pet insurance companies. We use Bow Wow Meow and have found their service excellent so far. Within five days of putting in a claim (for some radiology imaging scans), we had $1300 back in our bank account, no problems at all with processing the claim.
Bow Wow Meow’s good points:
- Flexible cover options (comprehensive, major medical and accident plan)
- Life-long cover and quick turn around time
- They are ranked the number 1 pet insurer in Australia
Feel free to explore other pet insurance options. Woolworths has a pet insurance plan and we know some people find the cover suits their needs and their pet.
Please do seriously consider insuring your pet, so that it doesn’t come down to your labrador missing out on necessary health care if it needed.
Accidents happen. If a dog is bitten by a snake, the antivenom alone is around eight hundred dollars for one vial, and sometimes they require more than one vial. That’s not to mention the vet hospitalization cost and intravenous fluids that will be required. The costs quickly amount. We experienced this in the recent past with a pet German Shepherd who was bitten by a snake, then had a big back operation, and then became unwell again from the long-term effects of the snake bite. Within a very short time many thousands of dollars were spent on our beloved dog. Now, we have all our dogs covered!
Veterinary Clinic
We advocate taking your new puppy to your veterinarian for an overall health check within the first seven days of picking up your puppy.
Choose a veterinary clinic and have them record your puppy on their computer.
The reason for doing this early is twofold:
- You can meet your vet and make sure you’re comfortable with putting your puppy in their care. Your vet can meet your puppy, add his details to their computer for future appointments, and your puppy can get to know the veterinarian and staff who will care for him in his future.
- Your puppy left Kodalihart Labrador Kennel in good health, having been checked by a vet, however, we also recommend your vet conduct an overall health check to certify the puppy is in good health.
Having your vet certify the puppy in good health when you brought him home, is also security for the pet insurance, should you have any accident claims in his puppyhood.
Remember if you change veterinarians or clinics to transfer your puppy’s vet recorded history or file to the new clinic.