AKC To Go Out of Business By 2025?

SOURCE :: Click to enlarge

The American Kennel Club appears to be ready to go out of business by 2025.

That's the take-away message from an analysis of the perilously steep decline in AKC registrations that has occurred since 1992.

Between 1992 and 2008, AKC registrations declined by more than 55 percent, and a "best fit" trend line done by DVM magazine suggests the organization will be gone by 2025 unless a drastic change is made.

If we looks at AKC registrations per capita, the decline is even steeper -- a 61% decline in registrations over the same period of time.


SOURCE :: Click to Enlarge

What's the reason for the decline? You can chase it around the barn any number of ways, but the simple story is that No one wants to register their dogs with the AKC anymore.

Most dog buyers would rather go to the pound (the source of more than half of all pet dogs in the U.S.) while those that still go to breeders are looking for healthy dogs, not show dogs.

But what about that piece of paper that says "AKC" on it?

No one believes it's a sign of a either healthy dog or a knowledgeable breeder producing quality dogs.

In fact, quite the opposite.

The word is out that the AKC has been in bed with backyard breeders and puppy mill dog peddlers for decades, and the AKC's own board minutes and the statements of its Chairman reflect that.

The word is out that AKC dogs, on average, are less healthy than mutts and cross-breeds, and canine health insurance records and premiums reflect that.

And the word is out that AKC breeders have been giving "the big wink" to defect, disease and deformity for more than 50 years. Who wants to be associated with that?

And so the AKC is crashing to the ground.

Like a drunk hugging a vodka bottle as it speeds down the road, it is unable and unwilling to change until it is too late.

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