OCTOBER 2016 AKC DELEGATE REPORT

October 2016
AKC Delegate Report
Lisa Boyer, DVM
The AKC has experienced tremendous success in 2016. As of September, there is a 7 percent increase in litter registrations (151,000) since 2015. AKC dog registrations are currently 359,000,which is 11 percent above the eight-month period of 2015. Total pedigrees are 165,000, which represents a 9 percent increase.
There were votes on several issues at the September AKC Delegate meeting.
The first issue was the proposed amendment to Chapter 3, Sections 4, 5, 7, 17, and 19, of the Rules Applying to Dog Shows. This amendment would change the italicized paragraph in Section 4 to become part of the rule rather than a Board clarification, with no change to the wording; in Section 5, it would add the statement regarding the first day of a multiple-day show being used to calculate age; in Section 7, it would change the italicized definition of professional handlers to be part of the rule, not a Board clarification, with no change to the wording. Additionally, in Sections 17 and 19, it would change the italicized paragraph to become part of the Rule, not a Board clarification. The only change to the wording is removing the effective date.
This amendment was approved and adopted.
The second vote was on the proposed amendment to Chapter 6, Section 9, of the Rules Applying to Dog Shows. This amendment would allow entries in any form to be accepted for 24 hours after the closing date and time when it falls on a postal holiday.
This amendment was approved and adopted.
There was notice given about a proposed amendment to Chapter 6, Section 9, of the Rules Applying to Dog Shows, which would extend the closing time for entries to be no later than 11:59 p.m. It will be published in two issues of the online AKC Gazette and you will be asked to vote on it at the December 2016 meeting.
Please contact me if you have any input regarding the proposed amendment.
The Kennel Club of Beverly Hills and NBC Sports have come to terms and NBC will be taping our show in March 2017 for airing on USA Network on Easter Sunday with two additional airings on the NBC Network in the following weeks. If you can attend that show, please support it!
For those members who are active in Agility, there has been a temporary ban on the use of chutes for agility trials due to concern about injuries to the dogs in competition. This is an issue that will be considered carefully and any input is greatly appreciated.
There was a review of the new AKC Arbitration and Mediation Program that was voted on at the July Board meeting. The Board was looking for an "arbitration procedure that could address disputes the AKC encounters in all sectors, whether AKC is a party to the dispute or not." The Board voted to adopt the following: AKC staff should continue to informally resolve non-AKC disputes such as internal arguments over club bylaws or policy matters and private arguments over ownership. For those (difficult) disputes that remain unresolved, AKC should offer and encourage post-dispute (voluntary) binding arbitration (and non-binding mediation preceding arbitration) through an outside, expert provider of neutral dispute resolution services. The post-dispute mediation and arbitration processes should be tailored to club and dog-related disputes and not be administered through costly, generic processes available through the American Arbitration Association. AKC will be working with the Conflict Prevention Resolution (CPR) Institute to develop a voluntary mediation/arbitration program tailored to club and dog related disputes. The cost of using the CPR services would be split between the parties involved in the case.
Pat Cruz said the rationale for this program is to have clubs resolve their own disputes and not involve AKC except as a last resort. The CPR Program will be a good resource. John Ronald asked the hypothetical question: Why would a club spend its own money for CPR if it could just
pay AKC $50 and have them handle the problem? Harvey Wooding replied that AKC could say we won't accept jurisdiction and refer the problem back to the club for mediation.
Details of this program can be found in the July 2016 Board minutes.
There was discussion about the approval of the formation of Coursing Ability Test (CAT) clubs. There was discussion about whether such clubs would take entries away from smaller clubs. The consensus seemed to be that CAT events held with all breed club events might bring in new all breed members and could increase entries and revenue for those clubs. Harvey Wooding, citing agility events as an example, cautioned that we should be careful not to turn away new things. CAT events are becoming very popular although they do require a large amount of space.
Reinstatement procedures for dogs disqualified for biting are still being developed. Clarification is needed concerning fees, DNA swabs, etc. Sue Goldberg said a letter from the Rules Committee was being sent to the Board with some additional concerns and recommendations. Harvey Wooding said that this issue has been under discussion for three years and clarification should be forthcoming.
All-breed shows judging procedures were discussed. It seems that judging programs sometimes result in delays in judging and in events ending late. Some suggestions were to schedule regular groups then NOH groups or schedule NOH groups 30 minutes before regular groups or schedule breed judging followed by group judging. Ann Wallin emphasized the importance of planning and working with the superintendent about group scheduling.
The NOHS, which has become a very popular attraction, is going to be updated. There will be different judges for different groups each day.
The Dog Show Superintendents Association sent out two letters to the delegate body regarding a proposed AKC rule change that would alter the time of entry closing from noon to 11:59 PM. For various reasons they are opposed to this. John Ronald pointed out that the proposal would be most likely to affect show secretaries for small shows, specialty shows and agility trials. Discussion followed that was generally not in favor of the proposed rule change which is to be voted on by the delegates in December.
Group realignment is again being discussed. A recent survey sent by the Group Realignment Committee indicated that 72% of delegates responding are in favor of having this issue reexamined. Another survey will be sent later this fall. Tom Davies is the head of the committee.
The Board has voted to change the road mileage between show sites from 100 driving miles to 75 driving miles. This change will provide additional clubs the opportunity to apply for isolated status. There are currently 21 clubs designated as isolated. The change in number of driving miles could potentially affect 47 sites/clubs allowing them to hold additional shows.
The Board has amended the policy regarding number of shows a club can hold.
A local all-breed or limited-breed club has the option to hold two shows in a calendar year. Local specialty clubs have the option to hold shows on two days per year. Local specialty clubs holding two days of shows per year have the option to hold one additional show in conjunction with their breed's national specialty. There is no limit on national clubs. All-breed clubs in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and geographically isolated clubs and or show sites have the option to hold up to four shows. Show or obedience clubs have the option to hold any number of obedience trials. Geographically isolated clubs are determined by: no AKC club within 75 straight-line miles between territories unless the clubs show site is greater than 75 driving miles from
the nearest show site. Google maps will be used to calculate the distance.
There was discussion of a staff proposal which would allow two all-breed shows to be spread over two days, i.e. the same four groups for both shows on the 1st day then the three remaining groups and BIS for both shows on the 2nd day. Questions were raised about the impact this would have on attracting professional handlers and the potentially negative financial impact this would have on the local communities. It was suggested that clubs should be given every opportunity to be successful and this might be a good option since it might allow clubs to use a smaller, less expensive, venue.
Effective February 1, 2017 clubs will be able to offer separate events for Juniors. Clubs that are licensed for obedience, rally, and agility will be allowed to hold Juniors Only Trials. Such trials would be open to all breeds, including Canine Partners, and would count toward titles. The events can be held in conjunction with regular events or may be standalone events.
Updated AKC Discipline Guidelines-Effective July 12, 2016 are now available online and will be in Guidelines for Dealing with Misconduct. The Guidelines can also be seen as Attachment A (p. 22) of the July 2016 Board minutes.
I will be attending the AKC Delegate Meeting in Orlando in December 2016. If you have any issues to bring forward to the AKC level, please let me know.
Respectfully submitted,
Lisa Boyer, DVM
AWPGA AKC Delegate