Just got Front and Finish magazine today ( I'll be letting that subscription expire....info in it is pretty useless ) and there were comments about AKC Obedience numbers steadily dropping. Older competitors noting few young people starting in obedience as a trend.
I have mixed feelings about this. I got my start many moons ago in AKC Obedience as many of us did and I still think it acts as a feeder into the sport of Schutzhund when people start looking for more of a challenge. Still, the AKC brought it on themselves and what the AKC has done to most dog breeds borders on criminal.
Maybe DVG and USA should be advertising in the AKC Gazette.......*snicker*

QUOTE:'Just got Front and Finish magazine today ( I'll be letting that subscription expire....info in it is pretty useless ) and there were comments about AKC Obedience numbers steadily dropping. Older competitors noting few young people starting in obedience as a trend.'

**Hence the new AKC Working Dog Sport......

Well, that's one way to look at it. However, the GSDCA-WDA rep told the AWDF that his organization would not be able to change AKC opinion within the *TEN* year period given to allow protection events as a requirement for FCI membership. That pretty much tells me the the AKC "working dog sport" is just vapor.
Just my opinion, but I think the facts will back me up in the long run.

I agree with you Will, I just failed to add the appropriate level of sarcasm to my previous post. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Acckk!
Sorry John, I'm an idiot.....* Will looks embarrassed*

However, the GSDCA-WDA rep told the AWDF that his organization would not be able to change AKC opinion within the *TEN* year period given to allow protection events as a requirement for FCI membership. Won't that have more ramifications than just the WD sport venue?

How so?

I think so, Ann. I'm sure the end result of the AKC's lack of true breed standards will eventually result in the " American Shepherd" becoming a reality. Just comparing any AKC GSD versus an import at this time and you'll wonder if they're the same breed.

 Quote:

How so?

With reference to the GSD, the AKC has a working relationship with the FCI but not with WUSV, and the GSDCA has membership in the WUSV but not with FCI. (Only national clubs can be members of FCI, and only one per country; in the case of America it's the AKC that is considered the big boy on the block...)

It's not so much FCI wants AKC to only allow biting sports, as they want that Kennel Club to comply with the breeding standards of the WUSV. In order to comply with the GSD breeding standards, as a minimum the WUSV requires temperament testing (ala Schutzund), and some sort of scent test. And therein lies the problem.

(From an article by Fred Lanting, SV judge)
"A big current difficulty for GSD fanciers in particular is that the WUSV has announced that membership can and might be denied clubs that do not accept and cause judges to abide by the world Standard. Despite warnings a couple of years ago, the GSDCA is only now sluggishly beginning to take the edict seriously. AKC is a big stumbling block because while they say that the Standards are the property of the breed clubs, they really don't mean it, and want to keep control over these themselves. So any deadline is made doubly violated when AKC must be appeased by the GSDCA.

If GSDCA refuses to go along with the rest of the world, as it has in the past, it could lose WUSV membership. That would put an end to the masquerade of WDA legitimacy, and that group would probably lose the privilege of holding recognized breed shows, and probably would be unable to get SV judges anymore. If all this happens, USA will move into the voting-member chair, and some more desertions from GSDCA will occur. USA has already long since surpassed GSDCA in membership; USA people are practically all active and really have to want to join, while a great proportion of GSDCA folks are members only to get the magazine or because they feel they are supposed to belong because they own a GSD."

It had been proposed before that North American dog fanciers form individual breed registries, get together and organize a new “U.S. national Union of Dog Registries” to represent the USA internationally (similar to what the VDH does in Germany). Then an org like the AWDF, for instance, could become a member in the FCI. Basically, that seems the new thrust of the AWDF; read the changes they are proposing to their by-laws. It has USA (a founding member of AWDF) a bit worried.

The AWDF Board meeting occurs on March 27th; I am sure the subject of the AKC WD sport venue and it's position on "bite work" will be on the agenda. I hope someone takes a lot of notes! (and then shares them...) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Will : yes a lot of the old obedience people are much older now and not showing as much and you are right younger people are not coming into the obedience like they did years ago. And a lot of the AKC breed clubs are no longer doing obedience for some of those reasons ,lack of bodies ,people to carry on .
Also we have had so many shows to pick from and with the price of Gas and hotels etc etc, people are really picking where they want to go show .
Where as years ago i can remember going to Ok one weekend GA the next and so on , not so much these days. Peter