The AKC's Board of Directors has voted unanimously to proceed with a program for mixed breed dogs which will allow it to act even more broadly and effectively as the dog's champion. The creation of this program ushers in new opportunities for AKC's constituents and clubs and will allow the organization to grow and flourish.
How do you feel about this new opportunity and what positive things do you think will evolve?
The AKC Charter is the legal controlling document of the AKC, and it clearly states that the purpose of the AKC is to exclusively promote purebred dogs.
The breeders of mixed breed designer dogs are going to be the ones to profit from this, now that the progeny they are mass marketing are now AKC eligible. Overall it is going to hurt the registration of purebred dogs. Why should the public go to all the trouble and expense to get a purebred dog, when your mutt is now AKC eligible? I feel that this decision is a disaster in the making for responsible purebred dog breeders, and the promotion of purebred dog exhibitions. The purpose of a purebred dog show is to promote the best of the best, in order to breed the best to the best. What is the purpose of promoting neutered mutts?
This sounds so cold no matter how I phrase it, please don’t take it wrong, but, there are so many mixed breeds now that are homeless and unwanted. Making them AKC listed is not going to change their future. It is only going to encourage more people to allow their mixed breeds to procreate because their pups can now be listed, and they believe they are more valuable. I can’t see anything positive coming of this. I don’t have anything against mixed breeds…I have one of my own, but they should not be promoted.
Most people have not fully read the provisons of the mixed breed program. There will be no breeding of AKC listed dogs since they are spayed or neutered. There will be no mixed breeds at conformation shows since the classes for mixed breeds in obedience cannot be offered at the same show site on the same day as a conformation show. There will be no mixed breeds knocking out pure-bred dogs for ribbons for placements at obedience trials, agility trials or rally since the mixed breeds compete in a separate class. What should be the result will be more people participating in activities that make all dogs better neighbors for all concerned. Mixed breeds already compete with ILP numbers. If your mixed breed looks close enough to a pure-bred you can send in pictures and a certificate of being spayed or neutered and participate in all performance activities. Many people started in the world of pure-breds through an ILP dog. If you started with an ILP dog, chances were always good that your next dog was going to be a fully registered pure-bred dog that you could do even more with. Though indirectly, promoting all dogs is a way to promote pure-bred dogs.
As a breeder this is devistating to me. Does it always just come down to registration money and entry fees? If the AKC is about the "support of the pure bred dog", why would a cat be registered? Go to a cat registry. This is a pure bred dog registry. Register only a pure bred dog. Have a mixed breed registry register your mixed breed and allow them to compete together. IF there is no such registry and you want your mixed breed to compete, start a registry. ILP numbers are not for mixed breeds. If people are using if for that which I know they are, they are wrong. It is for a pure bred dog that has AKC paper issues.
I don't understand why so many breeders are worried about this new program. I think it's great! As an obedience instructor, I know how many of my students who have mixed breeds want to enjoy the spirit of the competition obedience, agility, or rally-o ring. I breed purebred dogs and I welcome these new folks to the performance rings!
This is a "big, big, big" mistake on the part of the AKC. It will hurt the breeders, ecourage mixing breeds and breeders who do not know what problems they may be inserting into a mixed breed. What testing will be done by these "new" breeders? NONE!!! The value of the pure bred dog will drop like a rock - if it looks like a duck & quacks like a duck but is only 1/2 duck why should I pay full price for a real duck? I own & show 3 breeds, Std Poodles being the major breed but now with the Labradoodle's, Goldendoodle's, etc., etc. being a AKC registered dog makes me wonder why should I bother to spend $200,000 a year showing & breeding to improve a breed that AKC no longer cares if it remains pure or if the breed remains healthy. If AKC wanted to open up the Obedience to mixed breeds they could do so without registering them. Personally, I believe this new registering of mixed breeds has to do with greed. AKC wants more money and the breeders do not want to pay higher fees. My feeling is having an AKC registered dog will soon be worthless so why bother.
The registration that the AKC will offer is the same as the ILP program for undocumented purebred dogs. In order to get an ILP number for a dog, it must be desexed. Therefore it will not be bred, so will not be part of a breeding program.
Opening some performance events to mixed breed dogs will give a whole new segment of society an opportunity to get involved in AKC events. Most people who learn about performance events find out about them when they take their mixed breed dogs to obedience classes to learn how to have a well behaved pet. Historically, a large percentage of active exhibitors were introduced to AKC events at obedience classes. These new competitors will be a source of new blood for dog clubs and will be a shot in the arm for a hobby that has had declining numbers of participants. It is inevitable that some of these new exhibitors will become so fascinated by their new hobby that they will look for a dog bred to perform at a higher level. In that event, they are likely to buy a purebred dog, increasing the market for them.
The AKC advertises itself as the dog's champion. By welcoming owners of mixed breed dogs into its sphere of influence it will have a much stronger position when it lobbies against the anti-pet legislation being pushed by animal rightists all over the country.
You can knock the AKC for looking for additional sources of revenue, but historically registration income has subsidized the events, since it costs much more to maintain those records and enforce those regulations than it does to register a pet who will never be shown. Do you want to see $20 event fees on top of your $25 entry fees?
I welcome the influx of new exhibitors and hope that the AKC will someday allow them to compete in performance events that are held in conjunction with all breed conformation events.
Those who fear the "designer" breeds will take over are off base. People who have spent up to $3,000 on a labradoodle or pugle or whatever are not about to list it as a "mixed breed." If they do, good for them and good for the dogs as they will have to be sterilized and therefore will not propagate.
The mixed breed listing program not only will help our companion clubs with additional entries, it will give us a whole new source of lobbyists when we're facing anti-dog legislation at all levels of government.
Calm down folks. Having mixed breeds listed with the AKC will NOT turn your purebred into a mix!
I agree with Barbara. If doing this attracts new people and new support to "our" side of the legislation that has been proposed all over during the last couple of years, then I am all for it. The more people with mixed breeds get involved with their dogs, and involved in competition, the more support we will have.
Before people go off the deep end about the program, they should make themselves familiar with exactly what the program is proposed to be. It will allow mixed breed dogs to compete in performance events ONLY!. It will allow spayed and neutered dogs to compete in obedience, rally, and agility events. They MUST be spayed or neutered. They cannot compete in conformation. I believe that they will have their own classes separate from the pure breed dogs. Where the ILP program allowed unregisterable apparently pure bred dogs to compete in performance events, the mixed breed program will assign a number to a mixed breed dog. It is a registration number; it is a listing number that can be used to enter performance events. If you want to learn more about the program, check the AKC web site for a more detailed description of the proposed program.
