If It's Fantasy and Bullshit, It's AKC

The AKC has been failing for 30 years even as more Americans are buying more dogs than ever before. 

Is there any other organization in the country that has lost 75 percent of its registration base even as its potential market and potential constituency has grown?  

I cannot think of one.

Why is the AKC failing?  

One reason is that with the Internet, Facebook, facetime, cell phones, and email, no one needs to go to a dog show to meet people with similar interests. Nor do people need to drive 200 miles and pay $100 for gas, parking and registration in order to have their dog looked at, for 2 minutes, by a know-nothing gray hair who is judging a breed that he or she does not even own. You want someone to praise or slag your dog simply for what it looks like -- just post a picture on the Intenet and ask people what they think.

Another factor is that fewer and fewer people seem to need ribbons in order to establish status. In a world in which an endless parade of unknown, but world class, musicians, jugglers, acrobats, animal trainers, dancers, and athletes can be seen with a click of a mouse on Youtube, a dog show "win" seems pretty small potatoes. You got a blue ribbon at a dog show for a dog you do not work, do not own outright, did not breed, and did not even show yourself?  Uh.... great.  Tell me again what you had to do with any of that?

When you discover that the entire dog show world floats on a sea of money in which a great deal of influence and "created opportunity" is bought with cash, a hint of bowel fills the air.

When you learn that the AKC has closed most gene pools with just a few dozen dogs, and then required that these dogs be inbred in order to compete in shows, the turd in the bowl becomes self-evident.

When you find out that some of the most common and beloved breeds (such as the Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, French Bulldog, Rottweiler, Dachshund, Miniature Schnauzer, Great Dane and Australian Shepherd) have never won the Westminster Dog Show, you no longer wonder why the AKC is a failed business plan.

So what's the latest? 

The latest comes to us via a press release. It seems the AKC has hired another public relations firm to come up with another gambit to revive their failing organization. 

The AKC, whose members have spent the last 125 years calling every dog not inbred to failure a "mutt" or a "mongrel" has decided... wait for it... wait for it... that they are going to be *the* source of ALL things dogs. 

The strap line to the new campaign "developed with digital marketing agency Media Cause" is that "If It Barks, It's AKC". 

Go ahead and laugh -- it's all right.  In fact, it's the only proper response. 

In truth, the AKC is concerned about dogs only to the extent they can squeeze a dollar out of you.  This is, after all, a MARKETING campaign.  

"Over the years, there have been a lot of misperceptions about who the AKC is as an organization," says Kirsten Bahlke, Vice President of Consumer Demand, AKC. "However, education, responsible dog ownership, and helping people and their pups live their best lives together is really at the core of who we are, and what we do. We believe in the power of the human-canine bond, and we want to foster it in every way possible." She adds, "We did the research to identify where dog owners tend to need the most help, and overall, people seem to struggle in a few prominent areas. Figuring out what kind of dog is right for their lifestyle--not just deciding based on what's cute, but based on each breed's unique activity needs, coat type--decoding strange dog behaviors, and pretty much anything and everything about training, health, and wellness.

They needed to "research" to know this?  

After putting out 100 years of doggy picture books they've just now decided that maybe they should be a consumer organization and a "cute" dog is not a good filter against folly?

Great.  

So is the AKC going to put out a list of the top 20 diseased, deformed, and defective dogs that NO ONE should ever buy or own? 

Are they going to require health and temperament checks for dogs before they get can compete for ribbons?

No, and of course not.

Let's be honest, going to the AKC for information about canine training, health, and wellness is a bit like going to Jeffery Dahmer for a home-cooked meal; you might want to look to see that the left overs and fixings look like.

The AKC, for example, REQUIRES that their show dogs be bred within a closed registry where inbreeding is the norm and disease and deformity are so common as to be unremarkable.  

The AKC not only REQUIRES no health checks for show dogs, they positively PREVENT breed clubs from mandating them in order to win a show ribbon.  

The AKC also prevents breeds clubs from mandating any type of temperament test to win a show ribbon, and they PROHIBIT breeds clubs from requiring any kind of performance test to win a show ribbon.

So when the AKC tells you they are now the "go to" place for "training, health, and wellness," please grab your wallet and run in the opposite direction. 

Nothing good ever started with a lie.