[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: why we don't attract new members

  • From: edwinx@xxxxxxxxxxx
  • To: kthalfen@xxxxxxxxxxx, showgsd-l <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2010 01:07:08 +0000 (UTC)

hey Doc!...you're too smart ( in a world sense) to be so young!....great 
post...FB 






----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Katie Halfen" <kthalfen@xxxxxxxxxxx> 
To: "gsd list" <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
Sent: Monday, July 5, 2010 3:28:42 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific 
Subject: [ SHOWGSD-L ] why we don't attract new members 

I think there are a number of reasons most of the clubs don't attract new 
members, but it is also a problem with the AKC overall that many breeds are 
facing, not just GSDs.  I was at an all breed show this last weekend and was 
surprised by how few people were present at this normally popular show site. 
 (as a side note-I've only been doing conformation shows for the past 7 
years-since my early 20s).  The shows were put on by 2 local all breed clubs 
over the couse of 4 days.  I knew a handful of the members and spoke to them 
about what is going on-they are seeing the problem in all the breeds-the 
numbers are really dropping off.   

  

Some blame the economy and I'm sure that isn't helping the situation, but my 
feeling is that is just the tip of the iceburg.  I haven't seen the economy 
have a real impact on the number of new puppies people are buying-we see a 
number of new pups every week at the hospital, some purebred, some expensive 
mutts, and some shelter pups.  I've seen pups from $400 shelter pups to a 
$6000 purebred for the purchase price, so I don't think the economy is having 
that big of an impact.  The people at the shows are getting older and the only 
new faces are the junior handlers, but they too soon disappear as they go off 
to college and other more enticing life adventures.  So why aren't more people 
my age (late 20s-early 30s) getting involved in conformation?  I think the 
most popular reasons are: 

1.  Lack of disposable income-most people my age have a sizeable debt from 
attending college.  Most people are still renting houses even into their 30s 
and are saving up for that down payment to get a home of their own which is 
about 5x more than what their parents paid for a house and with not much more 
of an income than their parents made.   
2.  Too expensive (similar to number 1, but a few specifics).  If I want to 
buy a show prospect puppy, I have to find a breeder, buy the puppy, train it 
and condition it, buy the show necessities-dryer, shampoos, coat products, the 
right food and supplements, leash, collar, etc.  Pay the entry fees and then 
pay for the handler. 

3. Non rewarding-even people who have the money, buy the dog and pay the 
handlers, don't get any real satisfaction from showing unless their dog WINS!! 
 After a few losing shows, a lot of people lose interest and move on to 
performance events which have more gratification and can be done for 1/4 of the 
price without a handler, so the rewards are more personal. 

4.  Most people my age see no value in purebred dogs.  I experienced this a 
lot with my classmates in vet school who were appalled that I bred AKC 
GSDs-many of them are animal rights activists and think all dogs should be 
spayed and neutered (stupid, I know, where do they think dogs come 
from-duh!-nothing like putting yourself out of business in about 15 years!). 
 Most of my friends think its cool and the right thing to do to save a puppy 
from the south or get a dog from the shelter.  I try to explain to everyone 
how this is the same as buying a puppy mill puppy-if the parents of these dogs 
aren't spayed and neutered, you are doing nothing to help the cause-just 
opening up a cage for another back yard breeder's puppy that they didn't want 
to take care of or take back when no one wanted it. 

  

I still do conformation with my own dogs, but even I think about giving it up. 
 Most of the time I try to handle my own dogs (unheard of for most people in 
GSDs), but I am in the ring mostly to have fun with my dogs.  I have a lot of 
fun doing performance events with my dogs-obedience, rally, agility because my 
dogs can win with me handling and it is very gratifying.  Also the people who 
buy my puppies really don't care if my dogs are champions or not, but many of 
them want performance dogs for obedience, rally, agility, etc. and love that my 
dogs do those things too.   

  

Many of the other breeds at the all breed show were shown by professional 
handlers now and the club members think this is one of the biggest deterents 
for getting new people into the show ring.  The new amateur class has been 
around for awhile and I've never seen anyone show a GSD in that class. I don't 
think it did anything for making more money for the AKC, I've had a number of 
people tell me to go to the UKC where there are no professional handlers and 
things are a lot more fun.  I'm thinking of trying it.  I give the AKC a lot 
of money, maybe its time for a change.  I was at the Canine Health conference 
in St. Louis, MO as a vet student on a scholarship from AKC and was able to 
talk to their board of directors on what I thought needed to be done to attract 
more people to the world of purebred dogs.  So far they haven't listened to 
anything that was suggested and I'm not going to hold my breath for any changes 
other than an increase in fees to accomodate their salary incre 
 ases. 

  

Sorry to vent, 
Katie Halfen DVM 
Casamoko Shepherds 
www.casamoko.com 
We have Puppies!! 


                             
                   
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POST is Copyrighted 2010.  All material remains the property of the original 
author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind 
are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the 
Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY 
MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS 
PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY 
FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE 
PROSECUTED. 

For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxx

VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org
NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/
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