I wish they'd start a separate program for rare breeds that aren't FSS to be able to compete. Just give the dogs numbers like Pal/LIP or Canine Partners, no registration, pedigree or anything but allow them to remain intact. Or just allow Canine Partners to be left intact. They need entries and they are potentially missing out on a segment of dog owners who want to do stuff with their dogs - namely people with rare breeds and sport mixes but also people who just don't want to alter their dog. I suspect what doesn't sit well with them about that is mixed breeds or non-AKC registered purebreds possibly being bred with AKC titles for generations. Also, it gives breeders less incentive to stick it out with them and play by their rules.
I think that's exactly it. I don't buy even for a minute that the AKC is doing it for "ethical reasons." :rofl1:
And as far as them "encouraging" spay/neuter, they're not. They're just saying if you want to compete under us, your dog better be sterilized unless it has a pedigree. The "average pet owner" doesn't compete in AKC sports. Also, um... under this system, the average pet owner could still have plenty of "oopsies" between purebreds? Let's be honest, this does nothing to prevent unwanted litters. Nothing. I'm trying to think of the ignorant person who stood up and said, "Well... I want to do AKC sports, but my dog's not spayed! Once I drop this latest oops litter off at AC, I'll get that done so I can jump in the Rally ring! Oh, maybe I should get her some basic care while I'm at it..." I'm sure these are the people that are just itching to do dog sports, LOL. Not to mention, they don't ask for ANY proof of sterilization when you register the dog. It's total lip service, allowing them to remain PC and pacify the conformation crowd.
And I occasionally hear that there should be an option for rare breeds that are "purebred" but not recognized or on FSS, so they can remain intact. I cry bullshit, and honestly it
really bothers me when people start arguing that. You're still supporting the abstract idea that a dog needs to be "purebred" (which when you come down to it, is difficult to define) to keep its gonads. A Koolie is no more or less valid than a street mutt I find, if both excel at the sport. Arguing otherwise just puts you right inline with the AKC's thinking - you just happen to have a breed the AKC doesn't recognize. It's still the idea that validity of a dog is based on pedigree, and that no matter what the quality of dog, if it's mixed, it must be culled. I
don't support randomly breeding mutts when you don't know what's behind them, don't get me wrong. I thoroughly appreciate the predictability of a good purebred and have no plans for more mutts in my future. But I still think it's wrong to predetermine that a dog is a cull because it's a mix, sorry. I sat at one dog show near the base of some steep metal stairs that the dogs had to go up and down to get from grooming to the breed ring. Watching the "well-bred" dogs skitz out over some slightly weird stairs, seeing soooo many with such shitty environmental nerves, and watching a good portion come up the leash at their handlers when the handlers insisted they take the stairs... Yeah. Not too impressed by what's allowed to breed, when my mix with good structure, good drive, excellent nerves, and a great temperament must be sterile, sorry.
The reality is that IF AKC sports were about promoting the dogs that are best at those sports (no caveats), than none of that should matter. At all.
But that's not what AKC sports are about. They're about providing a venue for a certain few to play in. Not about the best dogs, point blank, but the dogs that the AKC will permit to participate. And you know what? That's fine. They're a kennel club. That's what a kennel club is - a club for certain people.
The AKC promotes the idea that the performance ring is for culls anyway.
Oh, limited reg? Well you can't do confo because that's for
good dogs, but you can take your mismarked little dog and do agility, or one of those silly things! They do not support the idea that breed worthiness can be proven outside of the confo ring. (And that why, while the AKC is "just a registry", it does, inherently, promote breeding for appearance.)
(And by the way, if you've never registered a dog through Canine Partners, you've never had the delight of seeing how patronizing the "paperwork" is. It has a cartoon dog with its tongue sticking out, and looks like it's designed for a 5 year old. It could not more clearly say, "Don't take this too seriously! It's not real registration and don't you dare mistake it for that!")