Where Have All the Kennel Clubs Gone...

As Eugene Kennel Club disbands after their final 2017 show, we ask... how many more kennel clubs will go away...

Have we lost the purpose of kennel clubs?

Are kennel clubs just for "putting on shows"?

Should kennel clubs be or regain their position as a local service and educational organization?

Listener Sheri Graner Ray recently made the following observation.

Where are our clubs today? They are the front line for talking to the public! Yet how many puppy matches have you seen outside of a show site in the past five years? We used to hold matches twice a year (sometimes more, if we had a bunch of puppies coming up) and held them in public parks and such where the general public could come and watch. (and maybe try entering their family pet.) This made a great opportunity to talk to people and educate them about purebreds.

When Kennel Clubs Were Public Education

We used to hold public education events (the "Bark in the Park") and usually paired with a fun run of some sort. Heck, one year we even held it in a big shopping mall, essentially a "meet the breed" for a different breed every two hours. Great opportunity to talk to the public about dogs.

Today our club membership is dwindling and the members there are aging. They get together to put their shows together and that's about it. And yet today with the continuing threat of the animal rights making owning a purebred "unethical".. we need our clubs more than ever! Let's get back to being kennel clubs for the public!!!!!!

AKC is You!

It bugs me when people cry "Oh the AKC isn't doing anything"... I got news for you.. the AKC is a club made up of clubs.. not people.. WE have to do it!”

Many all breed kennel clubs do, in fact, offer outreach programs to the community. “Reading with Rover” programs, CGC and Puppy STAR testing opportunities, obedience classes, Responsible Dog Ownership days and Meet the Breeds are amongst the various services offered even in the small local club to which I belong.

But the struggle to do more with fewer, older bodies is real. So, here are some action items for you and/or your club to help make a difference in your community.

How To Keep a Kennel Club Going

Actively recruit new and young members.

* Develop a relationship with the local 4-H dog club if one exists. Create one if it doesn’t. 4-H is a tremendous incubator for purebred dogs and the AKC. Children learn from AKC provided materials, participate in local country fairs and have the chance to interact with purebred dogs through dog breed ID if nothing else.

* Offer free membership to junior members and give them age-appropriate responsibility within the club. They could be tasked with creating a fund-raiser for the scholarship program. Low-cost nail trims or dog baths at a locally owned pet supplies store is just one possibility.

* If your club doesn’t have a scholarship program, start one. The most excitement you see from the junior showmanship crowd is when there is scholarship money on offer as a prize for the weekend. Advertise heavily that junior club members are eligible for special education scholarships available only to them.

* Create a relationship with area schools whether it is a Reading to Rover type program, the AKC’s Canine Ambassador program that sends club members and dogs to schools to teach children about animal welfare and animal safety or major school assembly for RDO day. Kids love dogs. The only thing they like better is an excuse to get out of class for an hour! Purebred dogs and the history they represent are tailor-made for this sort of project. My college internship was exactly the description of the Canine Ambassador program.