The American Kennel Club -- Random Thoughts

I have long been a fan of the purebred dog. There is much to say for an organization that combines a wide variety of breed clubs under one, large umbrella group while letting the individual breed clubs define their own rules and standards. However, a few things have been bugging me

1. What is up with showing different colors of breeds as seperate breeds? Cases in point include the American Cocker Spaniel which is shown seperately as Black, Party, and A.S.C.O.B (Any Color Other than Black); and the Bull Terrier which is shown seperately as White or Colored. The only difference between these dogs is the color. Size, haircoat and anatomy are the same. So, on the points that they are judged, there is no difference. It is like three cockers and 2 bull terriers being in the ring at the same time when the other breeds in those groups only get one representative. From that way of thinking, each other breed should be able to do the same thing. We should see 4 Australian Shepherds (black tri, red tri, blue merle, red merle), more dachshunds (black and tan, red), etc.

2. Why do some breeds get to show different sizes while others don't? Specifically, there are 3 schnauzers (giant, standard and mini) and 3 poodles (standard, mini and toy). Why don't we see standard and miniature dachshunds as different breeds? Relating back to my first point, I think that size and coat have a MUCH bigger impact on a breed than coat color and should, therefore, be shown as separate breeds. So, in the Hound Group there should be the 3 dachshund coat types (smooth, wire, long-haired) in the standard size and in the Toy Group there should be the 3 dachshund coat types in the miniature size.

3. What is up with the groupings? There are primarily herding/flock guardians in the Working Group, Sporting dogs in the Non-Sporting Group, and plenty of dogs with a Working purpose in the Non-Sporting Group. The groups need to be cleaned up to represent more accurately the original purpose of the breeds.