Page 214 - ShowSight - January 2020

Becoming: Breeders—The Forgotten Element BY JACQUELYN FOGEL continued
IT HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN, AND SHOULD REMAIN ALL ABOUT EVALUATING THE QUALITY OF BREEDING STOCK.
Yes, presentation and conditioning enter into the judging, but its core remains the dogs.
They feared the delegate body, and very creatively found ways to work around them rather than turn them into allies to fight the fight alongside the board and staff. It was a failure of vision. It was a failure of leader- ship. It was a failure to take some risks to preserve what should have been it’s primary mission—the preservation and elevation of breeders who produce dogs bred to a stan- dard. As the revenue at the AKC shrank, fear replaced vision and advocacy. Breeders and the clubs they belonged to were feeling like the AKC was the enemy because they weren’t acting like they cared about any- thing we did, or thought was important. Many ex-handlers were going into their pro- fessional ranks, and the focus became how to make money, not how to focus on a core mission. They even changed the core mis- sion to become advocates of canine health and welfare instead of advocates of purebred dogs and what makes them so good.
The environment is slowly changing at the AKC. I am thrilled to be elected to serve on the exceptional All-Breed Subcommittee within the delegate structure. That sub- committee is tackling some of the toughest issues in our business—recruiting young people into our clubs and assisting breed- ers in trouble to maintain their dignity and purpose before they lose everything. Last year they published and made available on the AKC website a terrific document called “Best Practices,” a document that looks at all club operations from Finance to special attractions, and identifies the practices and procedures that really work. It is a fantas- tic resource for all dog clubs. More breed- ers are being elected to the AKC Board of
Directors. Clubs are taking their delegate positions more seriously and are send- ing some really good people into the del- egate ranks. And just recently the AKC announced a Best Bred-By-Exhibitor Award available for every show that chooses to offer a best bred-by competition. For the first time in decades the focus appears to be shifting to doing the things breeders need.
As I inch toward retiring, I am seeing some movement in the right direction. But I still don’t see the elevation of breeders to the point of honor they deserve. NOHS has elevated Owner-Handlers, and I still can’t figure out the logic there other than increased entries. Without breeders the owners are irrelevant. Without breeders the entire competitive structure is irrel- evant. It has traditionally been, and should remain all about evaluating the quality of breeding stock. Yes, presentation and con- ditioning enter into the judging, but its core remains the dogs. There is an award offered every year for breeder of the year in each group, but you should ask the AKC sometime how these selections are made, by whom, and what criteria are used in the selection process. Then if you find out, tell the rest of us. It’s a very well-kept secret. In past years Eukanuba offered a breed- ers’ Stakes at some shows, and those were fun, but the program was not well orga- nized, and the selection of judges was not as good as it could have been, plus it was entirely outside the AKC show organiza- tion. Some national specialties are offer- ing breeders stakes as a special class entry like stud dog and brood bitch, and that is encouraging. It’s also encouraging that the
superintendents are being asked to add a check-off box for all bred-by dogs, similar to the check-off box for the NOHS entries so specials handled by their breeder can compete for best bred-by-exhibitor awards at a show. Maybe breed clubs could look at a top-20 competition for breeders—one that allows all breeders, not just amateurs to compete. A lot of top handler and judges are also top breeders, and they deserve to compete with their dogs.
Breeders need more support from the community that relies upon their dogs. And they need to learn how to step out of the highly competitive show arena to get the information that will help them become better and more prolific produc- ers. In the end, chasing ribbons and points is not as valuable as truly understanding a breed’s structure, movement and unique type. You can’t ask Google for help in that area, and the knowledge will not come quickly. But it is certainly possible to learn from other Preservation Breeders who have invested their lives into producing healthy, typey dogs in a non-competitive, associa- tion-like organization. Then perhaps that organization can set criteria and selec- tion procedures for honoring outstanding breeders. Positive changes are happening, but not as fast as quality breeders are quit- ting. It’s time for breeders to come together and push for what we need, and it’s time for recognition for the hard work we do every day. It’s time to move beyond the competitions of the shows and into the arena of learning and respect for knowl- edge. It’s time. The future of purebred dogs is now.
206 • ShowSight Magazine, January 2020