Amid declining show entries, a breeder urges prioritizing show homes and rethinking how we support newcomers to preserve the sport.
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Let’s begin with two questions for Dog Breeders:
Most people in the sport of dogs have heard about not only declining AKC Breed Registrations but also the concerning decline in AKC Dog Show (Conformation) Entries. At the March 2025 AKC Delegate’s meeting, when this information was shared, some Delegates openly admitted they don’t even register all their pups. (I am not judging, just sharing here.) Meanwhile, in my breed, I see an alarming lack of prioritizing show homes for puppies; there were some rather pointy social media posts that were very “anti-show puppy homes.” It was alarming!
Let me emphasize this—all dogs are “pets”; and all the puppies I bring into the world will only go to a home where the puppy is a true family member and beloved pet! But, IMHO, I put in a lot of work to get puppies on the ground that are, as best as I can manage it, truly great breed representatives. Maybe I am fortunate that I get a lot of puppy inquiries and applications, and I do have a waiting list before I breed; so, I am not just looking for a “pet home” to place a stellar puppy in.
When I have a litter, and I have stellar puppies, I do absolutely want the puppies with the best working ability to go to a working home. (My breed is Bloodhounds and it is very important to me that my dogs can and do still work, officially. So, always, a couple are selected for this important purpose!) It bears noting that some in my breed will not place a dog in a working home either. For me, I do not sell to an agency but only to an individual, so the puppy has a home for life.
I absolutely try hard to get “show homes” for the puppies that would represent the breed well in the dog show ring, and hopefully, contribute to my breed by being bred. I suppose that means “just pets” are last on my list; and you may judge me for that (others have), but I will not apologize for this mindset!
I will add that I will not place a puppy that I think is not a show prospect into a show home. And I will share another disappointment, which is when I read other people commenting on social media things like, “Any puppy with four legs and a tail will go to a show home.” Good grief, we truly are our own worst enemy in the dog fancy!
It’s important for me to have an out clause for people who have critical life events (like a pick male puppy that went to a new show home and then the owner’s father passed away, and after more than a year of dealing with the loss and the estate, her husband had a heart attack—clearly all of this took priority, and after about three years, well, that stellar pup did not show). No harm, no foul; he’s still a stellar boy and I am able to use him in the future for breeding if I choose.
Some people agree or commit to “try showing.” That’s a lot of work for any breeder, as you are (or should be) the go-to person to guide your new puppy people and help ease them into our sport. For me, the new puppy owner is also required to do things, from regularly doing nails to dog show classes, to bathing their pup before a show; and coming to the show or bringing their pup to the show. Nobody is expected to hire a handler, or invest in tons of dog show equipment; I help with that as much as I can, and often I help find a local Junior who is willing to help show the puppy. (Word of caution here on Juniors, and I love Juniors; but not all will listen or be willing to be coached. So, pick Juniors, like any Pro Handler, very wisely).
Some new show people will fizzle out after maybe 4 to 6 weekends of dog showing, finding it too complicated, too expensive, too time-consuming, etc. But the important thing is they “try.” Some get addicted to the sport, and then you may even shake your head that you have created a dog show ribbon-chasing monster with no other life ambitions, LOL!
It’s important to mention that I, and many other dog people, spend a lot of time promoting the reasons for purebred dogs… the importance of a responsible breeder… why we have dog shows… but maybe now, most are all talk and not much about really registering their puppies and not even attempting to get puppies into the show world or into the breed’s genetic breeding pool. Of course, there are some people who excel at getting their puppies in the dog show ring (for example, new AKC Board Member Eduardo Fugiwara!), but overall, it sort of begs another question: “Are we our own problem with the decline in show participation?”
Another factor in this is people seem to not want to deal with “new dog show people.” I admit, they can be a lot of work. (Remember, we all started someplace, and we did not know it all.) I have heard many breeders just say, “Nope, I just ‘pet out’ my puppies and only show the ones I keep. It’s too much of a hassle.”
We need to consider that, yes, some puppy people can burn you, and it happens more with puppies placed in dog show homes. I’ve had it happen with a new person; lots of work and trust on my part, then, whammo, they know it all and have zero appreciation for not just their breeder but all the breeders and great dogs in the family pedigree. This is surely why fewer and fewer puppies tend to get Full Registration. (People are not trusting; bottom line, they have likely been burned.) Or, in my case, I will now keep my name on any/all puppies I place on Full Registration.
I am gonna take a side trip here with a wild suggestion that I have been tossing out to other AKC Delegates and other long-time AKC dog people. Since so many are skipping Full Registration and doing Limited Registration, would the AKC benefit if there was a middle ground; a “Show Registration” which would mean the owner had privileges of showing but not breeding? I know it sounds strange at first, but it could be the proving ground for new people to get their puppy and work with their breeder, get it shown, maybe earn a championship and do health tests, discuss breeding possibilities, etc., and then the Breeder and Owner can upgrade the “Show Only” to “Full Registration.” Full Disclosure: I am a retired business consultant, and rather a “root problem thinker”; and for me, this makes so much sense. I would welcome anyone with thoughts on this side topic to seek me out at an AKC Delegate meeting, or reach out by phone or email.
No, I am not shocked that my breed is low entry; nor am I shocked that so many other breeds are as well. Just the hassle of state and county ordinances in the number of dogs and special licensing for breeding dogs is a huge deterrent. The large, great kennels of the past are gone, and the large kennels of today, most think, are not that great, as they may or may not be doing good health screenings or vetting puppy homes, taking their puppies back, etc. Some will call them backyard breeders, hobby breeders, puppy mills, etc.
Personally, I believe we need to bridge the gap between all breeders. (Another hair-brained idea I had several years ago was that we needed a Dog Industry, with room for everyone—this is definitely something for a separate article, and I might enlist the help of longtime purebred dog breeder and AKC Judge Nancy Liebes who also embraces this concept.) But as that seems very unlikely in today’s overall dog and world culture (the “not working together” thing), then, in the meantime, we need to figure out how to get backyard breeders, etc., even commercial breeders, to step up a bit and be more responsible since they are impacting our breeds!
For my breed, we have a couple of the very large breeders (outside the club circles, so to speak), who are now doing health testings and even starting to show, hiring the top handlers to show their dogs, etc. It’s a start. But in my breed, many do not like this either; they think it is instant credibility to the less than honorable or responsible breeders. All I can say is geez—we are judgmental!
Circling back, for the sake of our Conformation Dog Show Sport, I hope some of you are still PRIORTIZING SHOW HOMES!
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