Sat, 07/03/2021 - 9:26am

Editorial: July 9, 2021

The MDV of the 2022 Dog Clubs & Shows

 

M = Members

 

The pandemic that upended the world during the last year-plus disrupted all the things we took for granted. Among the disruption was the dog-show calendar. Show-giving kennel clubs canceled their events, some way in advance and into the following year. In addition to the strict health precautions and regulations needed to hold events were the low numbers of members in the clubs. In spite of the incentives to get younger people involved in our sport, we are an aging community. As such, it is time that some insular kennel clubs that stood on high ground when it came to inviting new members simply rise above it. There are breeders, exhibitors and professional handers who live in the area of these clubs who should be welcomed into their ranks. Every club needs a membership of workers, and now is the time, though long overdue, to invite these fellow purebred enthusiasts to join your kennel clubs.

 

D = Date

 

With the huge amount of dog shows that were canceling, the American Kennel Club permitted and encouraged those clubs wanting to hold events to change their regular show dates and, if they chose, to combine them with other show-giving clubs to make a weekend of shows. This created show weekends that never existed before. Now that the nation seems to be opening up and things are getting back to some sort of normalcy, will these clubs go back to their original show dates in 2022? We are all creatures of habit and long for things to go back to the way they were.

 

V = Venue

 

With these date changes caused by the pandemic, another problem was presented to those clubs wanting to hold events: the closure of venues run by states or private companies that would not allow the event to proceed for various health and law-enforcement reasons. So now show-giving clubs have found venues in other towns, counties and states. As the time to submit a kennel club’s show plans to the American Kennel Club nears, these decisions must be made. The time has come to return to normal.

The three conditions of Members, Dates and Venue have caused the demise of kennel clubs around the country. Let’s work together so that this does not continue. We are all in this together.

 

© Dog News. This article may not be reposted, reprinted, rewritten, excerpted or otherwise duplicated in any medium without the express written permission of the publisher.

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