The motto of the American Kennel Club (AKC) is “We’re more than champion dogs. We are the dog’s champion.” Although the AKC has given lots of money to dog charities, they do more harm to dogs in general than they do good. One of the ways they do this is by promoting and perpetuating breedism (promoting pure bred dogs over mongrels or mixed-breeds).
Why should they do this? In order to show that some dogs are worth more than others and to make people shell out thousands of dollars for a puppy with an AKC certificate rather than adopt a free puppy from the local pound. If all dog lovers refused to buy dogs, then where would the AKC be? Nowhere.
So the AKC promotes dog shows where only purebreds are allowed. They spend lavish amounts on their members, such as the Breeder of the Year trophy award at Westminster. By making people pay outrageous sums for dogs, they turn living animals into status symbols. This suggests that only pedigreed dogs are worth having.
The Tragedy of Purebreds
A pure bred animal is an artificially induced clone, designed to completely mimic the parents as close as possible. Pure bred animals, over the generations, not only enhance desirable characteristics but also enhance undesirable characteristics. Pure breeds are less healthy than mixed breeds, whether in animals or in people.
In the long run, a pure bred animal does not make a good pet or have a good quality of life.
One tragic example of this is seen in Thoroughbred race horses, which are so fragile, that thousands die during their racing careers. Since the Thoroughbred Stud Book was closed in the 1800s, the health of breed has taken a sharp downturn, especially when some bloodlines are far more ashionable than others. For example, champion Dubai Millennium died at the age of 5 from an allergy to grass. When a horse can’t eat what evolution designed them to eat, then something is seriously screwed up.
In the dog world, we see many health problems in dog breeds like the popular Pug. They are entirely dependant on man in order to survive. They usually need Caesarian sections instead of having a normal birth, because their bodies are so small that puppies cannot fit through a female Pug’s birth canal. Because of their squashed noses, they are notorious for having breathing problems. Also because of their squashed and heavily wrinkled faces, they cannot clean themselves properly and rely on people to clean them. If people do not clean their wrinkled, then bacterial infections set in. This is not a dog that would survive more than a few weeks in the wild.
Cosmetic Surgery for Dogs
The AKC also promotes even more artificiality on their show dogs by requiring certain purebreds to be shown with docked tails and cropped ears. These are purely cosmetic surgeries that do no medical good for a dog. Any surgery exposes a dog to infection and other health problems. They defend their position by stating that cropped ears and docked tails “preserve the character of the breed.”
If the AKC really had the interest of all dogs at heart, they would get rid of promoting breedism, ban docking tails, ban cropping ears and concentrate on classes that promote the talents and athleticism of dogs. They would throw open the registry books so that any dog could breed could breed with any other breed of dog. Think of all of the money wasted for useless events like conformation dog shows. All of that money could go to veterinary research or rehoming abandoned dogs. This would make for much healthier generations of dogs and a lot less suffering.
Besides, take a close look at yourself. Aren’t you a mongrel? Are you worth less than a “purebred” human being?
