Are mixed breeds dogs more popular than the pure bred dogs in the USA today? How about rescued dogs compared to purchased purebred dogs? They are tough questions to answer, but one statistic I found stated that 53 percent of dogs owned by Americans are mixed breeds. Numbers of those mixed breeds purchased versus rescued were not available. All the remaining statistics I found, I personally believe are skewed by the group reporting them. But one thing I am sure of, Rescue and Mixed Breeds are talked about a whole lot more than purebreds. Everywhere you turn, you see or hear something about mix breeds or shelter dogs. Why is that? For so many years the proper thing to do was own a pure breed dog. A pure breed show dog, now that was prestigious. People were proud to own a purebred. The reason for that was for years the American Kennel Club was the premier and primary resource for dog information. The public looked to them for any information about dogs. How did people get that information? Through AKC magazines, books, match shows, point shows or asking responsible AKC breeders. Veterinarians would even refer many questions about breeds to the AKC.
What has changed over the years? Why have mixed breed and rescue dogs become so popular? To answer that we can look at how things are changing. Take, for example, our Match and Point Shows. Both exhibitor and visitor attendance are way down. Does this mean that the public is not looking for information or attending dog events? The answer is that they still are, and more so than ever before. People today are just doing it much differently. Recently I attended a Barkfest near my house. Barkfest and other such events are dog events run by individuals or organization that invite any dog-related industry to attend and promote themselves. I have to say, it was an amazing event for a small town. They had nearly one hundred and fifty vendors. My first question was: Who were these vendors? You know all those vendors that don’t come to your shows anymore? They were there, along with multiple rescue organizations, ASPCA, HSUS, police demo teams, obedience and agility demos, trainers, boarding facilities, groomers, politicians and—most importantly—a couple thousand people. I did not see one thing about AKC or their affiliates. Does this answer the question “Who are people learning from?” It’s not from the most knowledgeable group, the American Kennel Club.
It’s not bad enough that people are learning from the wrong resources; the media heavily influences them. And what does the media like to report? Things that are controversial, dramatic or, as they say, that make people sit up and pay attention. Since, in general, the public loves animals, media stories abound. There are always dog-related stories being posted on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and blogs. These stories are found in many different places. And people pay attention to them, especially when they are at their fingertips on their smart phones and iPads.
What stories grab their attention? The sensational stories do. Which do you think the general public would read first? A story about the number two show dog in the country that has all its health checks being campaigned? Or one about a Rescue Group that saved 10 puppies from a backyard breeder and found amazing homes for each of them? I know, you would read the first one, but you are not the general public. What kind of impression does each of the article leave with the reader? The first article would probably not even be printed, but you can be sure the second would.
Social media has changed dramatically over the years and the purebred fancy has not kept up with it. The consequences of that have put us behind, but this does not mean we cannot change things and still have an impact. We can, but we have our work cut out for us. AKC recently announced their affiliation with Fido TV. Great, it’s a nice start. But the problem with that is is so many media outlets are not interested in FidoTV. Fido TV only have a deal with Dish. Dish serve less than 14 million homes in the US. That’s a potential of 14 million viewers if everyone watches in real time or records. Dish also serves hundreds of channels, so you are not going to get that type of viewership on the channel. They will be lucky to reach a few thousand people. May I ask, have you watched the network? How many people really watch TV anymore? In the meantime, we have generations of people learning more about dogs from rescue groups, animal rights groups or even unscrupulous breeders who make up that mixed breed that they claim is healthier than our pure breeds.
The pure breed fancy needs to become united and active. Spending big money on social media helps, but is not going to solve the problem completely. We need to have a unified message at attack on all avenues of social media. Even the ones the canine fancy may think are not worth it. A lot of those not worth it ones are the younger generations media. We also need a grass roots effort to change the social outlook on the purebred dog. Its people like you, who are reading this, that can make the difference. Every educational program you do, every person you talk to, makes a difference. It’s time the public learns all the good things we do for the canine world. Its not going to help just saying we know we are doing the right thing and the others are lying. Being right and doing nothing is going to have dire consequences for the canine fancy. Step up and make a positive impact in this battle.
If we don’t Animal Rights will win out in near and long term. They have people currently doing all the things we should be doing. We will watch certain breeds disappear over time as well as our rights. Dog breeders will go the way of Horse carriages, circuses and many of the big companies.
