Where We are Land of the Free, Home of the Brave.

AKC's new motto: You will be Assimilated. Resistance is Futile.  (translated: Our Way or No Way.)
 

Vickie Haywood © TheDogPress October 2006 - We dog fanciers are going to have to be brave. Very, very brave if we want to have AKC dog shows in the future.

It is very plain the direction the AKC is headed. They want it all. The whole Pie. Offering the mass market producers grace periods and discounts on registrations and making a contract and then rescinding it with Petland. (did they really?) This is just the beginning of a future with AKC I cannot fathom.

I said a while back that I foresee a future where you can order your pup directly through AKC just like the old sears roebuck catalogue.  I do believe they are headed that direction.  The contract with Petland would have been a big step in that direction and I do not see them giving up on that so easily.

They are going to continue to make decisions like this and now they will find better ways of hiding it from the general fancy and delegates.

In Canada, ALL pups born must be permanently identified prior to dispersal. If they are registered they must have a tattoo at the very least, and each year have a designated letter so that at a glance you know what year a dog was born. They are pushing chips. You can pay a fee and be a member of the CKC, with voting privileges.

The UK has a similar scheme. You pay a fee and are a voting member. You can become an accredited breeder by paying a fee and following some simple rules. They are also non-profits and their web sites, while maybe not as extensive, is certainly much easier to navigate.

Perhaps that is the intent of the AKC.  Make it harder to ferret out the info you seek and make it easy to find the things that make money.

I am watching the entries at the dogs shows, entries are down, this portends a lot of things in my eyes.

Gas prices, hotel fees, entry prices all affect the entry, and lately entry numbers are falling nationwide.

This affects the whole scheme of things in the dog world.  AKC doesn't get as many recording fees, Clubs loose money, while all the time, paying higher fees to rent the facilities and higher prices for judge travel. And we have fewer judges to pick from. (Only 20 or so all-rounders)

Wonder why it is that the older judges are retiring and newer judges are not stepping up to take their place.

Could it possibly be that long time breeders don't want to take part in the direction AKC is heading?

Isn't it interesting that so many of the old timers aren't speaking out? Why is that? Could is possibly be the $$$$ that goes in their pockets each weekend for their judging assignments? Shouldn't AKC put a CAP on what a judge can charge? Shouldn't the Clubs refuse to pay the huge amounts some judges deign to charge for their services? What happened to the judges who charged expenses only?, their way of giving back to the sport. Now a Days it is hard to find a provisional who will judge for expenses only!

Some will say.. No AKC, No Dog Show, but I beg to differ. There are a few other games in town and it is relatively easy to get sanctioning for some of the other games!!!

IF some more of us would just ask the other governing bodies, we could put the hurt on AKC. It is simple really. DON'T ENTER. Don't play their game their way. They don't want to play fair. They don't want to back up what the founding fathers intended, they don't want to back up their own paper work, don't want to back up the stud book. ALRIGHTY THEN.

What do you think would happen if we started a BOYCOTT of ALL AKC events for 30 days?????

What if we just didn't enter, but went to some local shows and very politely, stood outside with signs that read: AKC Listen to the FANCY!!!

What if we had that march I talked about a while back where a couple of thousand of us took our ribbons and deposited them at their doors?  Would they listen?

Can you see a dog show of the future with the PETLAND puppies as competitors?  Would the judges withhold for lack of merit?

ONLY IN AMERICA ARE WE FREE to speak out, have quiet peaceful protest Rallies, breed the dogs we love so much, and CHOOSE to REGISTER AND COMPETE WITH THEM SOMEWHERE ELSE!