Preparing for an AKC kennel inspection? Start here.
SmartPupPro helps breeders organize the ownership, litter, identification, placement, and kennel records that may need to be reviewed during an AKC inspection — and helps you find incomplete records before inspection day.
Keep your kennel records current throughout the year instead of trying to reconstruct them when an inspection is scheduled.
What should I review?
Know where dogs came from and who owns them.
Keep breeding and litter history complete.
Review microchip, tattoo, tag, and related details.
Know where puppies and dogs went after leaving.
Prepare organized records for inspection review.
What does an AKC inspector need to understand about your kennel?
Record review is about being able to trace the history of your dogs, litters, and placements. Your records should make it easier to understand which animals are associated with your kennel, where they came from, how litters were produced, and where dogs or puppies went when they left.
Who is here?
Maintain a clear record of dogs and puppies currently associated with your kennel.
Where did they come from?
Preserve acquisition, breeder, seller, and ownership history.
How were litters produced?
Keep sire, dam, breeding dates, and litter information connected.
Where did they go?
Keep buyer, transfer, sale, and placement history after animals leave.
Be able to trace the ownership history of each dog.
Ownership records help document how a dog became part of your kennel and what happened when ownership later changed. SmartPupPro keeps that information connected to the dog's permanent record.
Keep the story of every litter together.
A litter record should make it possible to understand the breeding, identify the sire and dam, review mating information, and see the puppies produced from that litter.
Know which animals should appear in your kennel records.
SmartPupPro can generate a kennel roster using the dogs and puppies already maintained in your account, helping you review the animals associated with the kennel before printing.
Keep identification attached to the animal record.
Identification is easier to review when the method and identifying value are stored directly with the dog or puppy instead of in a separate spreadsheet.
Microchip
Store the microchip identification value with the permanent animal record.
Tattoo
Record tattoo identification when that method is used.
Tag
Record tag identification and keep the identification method clear.
Needs Review
Surface animals whose identification information still needs attention.
Your records do not stop when the puppy goes home.
Sold, transferred, or placed animals may still be part of the historical records needed to understand your kennel activity. SmartPupPro preserves that history instead of removing the animal from view when it leaves.
Birth and litter information recorded.
Buyer and placement information connected.
Ownership and status information updated.
Go-home date and new-owner history preserved.
The record remains available for future reference.
The checklist is where the pieces come together.
Instead of manually checking every record one by one, SmartPupPro can surface the records that still need attention and help you navigate directly to the information that needs to be corrected.
See something missing? Go straight to the place where you can fix it.
A readiness warning should not just tell you that something is wrong. SmartPupPro is designed to help you move from the inspection checklist directly to the dog, puppy, litter, owner, or placement information that needs to be completed.
The checklist identifies incomplete information.
Go directly to the page containing the missing information.
Update the same record used throughout SmartPupPro.
Confirm the readiness issue is resolved.
One underlying record.
The inspection checklist, kennel roster, ownership records, and litter records should not each maintain their own version of the same information.
SmartPupPro uses the underlying kennel records so corrections can flow into the inspection tools that depend on them.
Review first. Print when you are ready.
Once your information is complete, SmartPupPro can turn the same kennel records into organized documents you can review and prepare for inspection.
Do the recordkeeping while you are doing the breeding.
The easiest time to record where a dog came from is when the dog arrives. The easiest time to document a breeding is when it happens. The easiest time to record a buyer is when the puppy is placed.
SmartPupPro helps those everyday records become the foundation for inspection preparation later.
“Inspection readiness should be the result of good records — not a separate project.”
More SmartPupPro Inspection & Recordkeeping Tools
AKC inspection preparation works alongside the records you already maintain throughout your breeding program.
AKC Kennel Inspection FAQ
Common questions about preparing breeder records for an AKC inspection.
What records should I review before an AKC kennel inspection?
Breeders may need to review records involving dogs associated with the kennel, ownership history, breeding and litter information, animal identification, registrations, sales, transfers, and new-owner information. SmartPupPro helps organize these records and identify incomplete information.
Can SmartPupPro help me find missing AKC inspection information?
Yes. SmartPupPro's AKC inspection readiness tools can flag incomplete information and provide links to the underlying records that need attention.
Does SmartPupPro create AKC litter records?
SmartPupPro can use litter, sire, dam, breeding, puppy, and related information already stored in the system to generate organized litter records.
Can I create an ownership record for each dog?
Yes. SmartPupPro keeps acquisition, ownership, identification, transfer, and disposition information connected to individual animal records and can use that information for inspection-related ownership reports.
What about puppies that have already been sold or gone home?
SmartPupPro preserves historical placement and ownership information so puppies and dogs do not disappear from your record history simply because they are no longer physically at the kennel.
Does SmartPupPro guarantee that my kennel will pass an AKC inspection?
No. SmartPupPro is a breeder recordkeeping and inspection-preparation tool. Breeders remain responsible for understanding and meeting the requirements that apply to their kennel and inspection.
Is SmartPupPro affiliated with the American Kennel Club?
No. SmartPupPro is an independent breeder management platform and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the American Kennel Club.
Prepare your kennel records before inspection day.
Keep ownership, litter, identification, placement, and kennel records connected — then use SmartPupPro to find what still needs attention.
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