Meet The Breeds 2025

Click here to read the complete article
290 – March, 2025

By Amy Fernandez

At the risk of sounding boring, once again I have to say that Meet The Breeds is the best idea that AKC has lifted in a long time. Crufts Discover Dogs had this concept nailed down years before AKC stepped up to the game. Even so, better late than never.

In that respect, I should also reiterate the fact that absolute skepticism has always shadowed the idea of people paying hard earned cash for the thrill of looking at dogs. I mean, the dogs are not doing anything, and there is no high octane competition, etc. As Edward Ash put it in his hilarious This Doggie Business, “In the early days of the gate dog show, it was believed that such shows would be a failure, for it seemed unlikely that many would pay to enter a shed or tent or room to see dogs, which, without cost, could be seen out in the road any time.” Then again, who thought anyone would willingly pay for water or dirt. This year’s ticket prices ranged from $10 for children to $130 for VIP and the lines were very long Saturday morning.

So, build it and they will come, and crikey they sure did. For the past several years, NYC Meet The Breeds has been at the Javits-which was also this year’s Westminster venue. It’s NYC’s largest event space, with 850,000 square feet. However, Meet The Breeds occupies only the lower level. The closet thing I can compare it to is Westminster benching back at the Garden. By early afternoon it was very hot and very packed. The layout and format didn’t vary from previous years. Breeds were arranged alphabetically and a centerpiece demo ring offered a rotating schedule of educational/entertaining canine skills.

It’s fun for the public and very lucrative for AKC but the crucial value of this event often gets overlooked. Meet The Breeds has become the primary platform for public relations and information sharing about our breeds. Consumer culture is inundated with extremely negative AR propaganda and that portrayal is pervasive and entrenched. We are losing the battle.

Click here to read the complete article
290 – March, 2025

Short URL: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=320682

Posted by AnthonyA on Mar 23 2025. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.