APKC Shows – What’s the Deal?
If you haven’t previously been involved in the dog show world, it may seem unnecessary or even a bit extra.
Believe me, we’ve all been there.
But what’s the actual purpose of a dog show? The purpose of a dog show is to evaluate a dog’s physical and behavioral traits to ensure that the best breeding stock is used. This is why altered pets are not allowed in conformation classes (though they can participate in many other activities often held at dog shows); the entire purpose is to evaluate breeding stock.
For normal breeds, this helps to maintain the integrity of the breed and promote its health, temperament, and conformation. It’s important enough that many breeders end up traveling far distances to attend, often renting/purchasing a camper trailer so that they can take multiple dogs, or even hiring whelping nannies if a national specialty show happens to fall at the worst time, etc.– in other words, shows are a big deal for regular breeds!
However, for a breed in development (like the Pomsky), these shows are ESSENTIAL for ensuring that we are meeting the goals of our breed standard as well as creating similar-type dogs no matter our geographic location.
Do you have an idea of what the pathway to AKC requires? Among other things (see https://www.akc.org/breeder-programs/foundation-stock-service-program/program-home), our pathway to AKC recognition requires:
Active participation of ~100 breeder members
Club membership list designating club member involvement
List of events conducted or in which the breed has participated
These shows are a requirement for the progression of our breed, and we need far more participation!
In addition to being crucial for our journey to AKC, these shows are a way to raise awareness and build credibility for the APKC, network with other breeders, and otherwise promote the breed and our individual kennels.
We understand that time and money constraints often make it difficult to attend shows. As a breed club, we do everything we can to make it worth your while by providing educational workshops and discounted health clinics, as well as drawing in the general public so that they can meet our breeders, etc. We are always open to suggestions of what would make these shows work even better for you!
However, we urge you to make every effort possible to attend, even if a show may be distant from you. We simply can not meet the breed goals without them; we need the help of our breeder members!
