By Dr. Al Grossman

Major banks and brokerage houses fire their CEO’s and Board Chairman. Mortgage companies file for bankruptcy protection. Gas prices hit over $4.00 a gallon, the price of food goes through the ceiling, and AKC raises the cost of doing business for local dog clubs.

All of these horrors are passed along to the final consumers who are themselves the victims of bad mortgages and layoffs as companies contract in the face of a looming recession. Just today (6/4/08) United Airlines grounded their whole fleet of 737 aircraft (100 in number) and laid off 14% of their workforce. Other airlines preceded them with similar actions in an attempt to stay afloat.

Folks, is it any wonder that the dog show game is suffering? Falling registrations, lack of majors and the folding of smaller Specialty clubs are all symptomatic of the economic malaise facing our country. AKC's problems are small potatoes in the overall scheme of things. Yes, we have competition from other registering bodies, but since most are private and closely held we have no idea how successful they are and what real inroads they are making against AKC registrations. For all we know, they are not doing well either and people are just not spending money on registering a dog if they have no intention of showing or breeding it.

As a result of the flagging economy many companies are cutting costs as fast as they can so they can remain viable in the long run. What has AKC done to reduce costs? Yes, we have heard that they have a very favorable lease in New York, but it is only favorable in terms of what it costs to lease facilities there.

Not too long ago I was the Executive Vice President of a consulting company with offices at 51st & Madison in Manhattan. The rental of a decent suite of offices there, probably one-third the size of AKC’s headquarters, cost us an arm and a leg. We needed to be there as our consultants needed to fan out all over the country and we needed the air facilities to make fast connections. This is not true of the majority of AKC staff who reside there permanently. As we have found that the cost of coming to New York for delegates is becoming a major problem. Local clubs, especially those West of the Mississippi River, are looking at outrageous air and hotel bills. If this keeps up, the meetings will be comprised of only those who can drive or take the train to meetings. This could mean that the delegate representation would be largely from the Eastern seaboard. Maybe we will only have Hessians representing us.

Good management and leadership training tells us that a company must be seen as setting a good example for its public. The end user must feel the corporation is doing things that will benefit them in the long run. Ex-President Clinton was famous for saying “I feel your pain”. We get no such feeling from AKC. They go on churning out new programs and asking us for contributions to fund them. How about a two-way street? What can they do to help us?

Here are some ideas:

1. Review the staffing needs in NYC in light of budget problems

2. Hire a savvy PR agency to develop and MAINTAIN a steady stream of useful information for public consumption emphasizing the value of having an AKC-registered purebred dog and what AKC does to enhance the value of a purebred dog.

3. Spin off the legislative group to enable it to work with other viable entities around the country.

4. Help fund this new entity to make it a force that can contend with PETA and HSUS.

5. Give serious consideration to moving the NYC headquarters to Raleigh. The most recent move by AKC to smaller quarters in Raleigh seems an almost transparent attempt to forestall any such move. It reminds me of the recent move by Yahoo to forestall a takeover by Microsoft. Power politics at work?

6. Develop a plan for sharing some of the reserve wealth with local clubs to enable them to broadcast the good things they do and encourage younger people to join.

7. Help develop legislation at a federal level that clearly states rules and regulations that will head off the continuous onslaught of A/R legislation and work hard to get congressional support for such a plan. If we can get this passed it will head off the ongoing plans of PETA and HSUS to attack at the local level.

8. Have AKC executives show the flag by attending LOCAL club meetings throughout the country to spell out AKC plans and give support to local clubs. While the presence of Field Reps is a help, no one thinks they know the thinking of the top brass.

Dr. Grossman, an international judge, was the publisher of Doral Publishing, one of the leading dog book publishing houses. Upon selling the business to Bowtie Press in 2004, he began work on a new concept: THE PROFESSIONAL DOG MENTOR. His website is chock full of killer tips on breeding and showing purebred dogs. It is found at www.winningsolutions.info.