SHOW CLUB SEEKS AKC "RECOGNITION" OF ITS COTONS

by 
Robert Jay Russell, Ph.D.,
Coton de Tulear Club of America President, 

www.cotonclub.org
CotonNews@aol.com
(607) 693-2828

November 12, 2009. This month the movers and shakers of a Eurocoton show fancy club (the USACTC) issued a bold statement that they were actively seeking AKC recognition for their dogs. What does this mean for us and for the breed?

First, it must be understood that the American Eurocoton, bred to the French FCI Standard since 1993, is a breed apart from the Coton de Tulear Club of America's Malagasy Cotons, who have been bred to the CTCA Standard since 1976. Thus when the Eurocotons "go AKC," the CTCA's population will NOT be an AKC breed. And that is, we think, a wonderful thing!

For more than three decades the CTCA has opposed AKC recognition. What exactly is "recognition?" It sounds benign enough, doesn't it? In fact, it sounds as if a breed is not "recognized" by the AKC, then it simply isn't a real breed. Nothing could be further from the truth.

AKC recognition means that a particular breed standard and its parent club registered population of dogs is now under the sole control of the AKC, its attorneys, and its professional, corporate management. The parent club that formerly controlled the breed's registry is now relegated to taking their dogs to AKC shows (hence the draw for show fancy people) and very little else. The parent club can do nothing without an AKC attorney's approval and most important, has no say whatsoever in what dogs are registered as members of their breed.

So how onerous is AKC recognition anyway? Very, as it turns out. The corporate management of the AKC has long courted puppy mill and pet shop registration of dogs. Indeed, the AKC management routinely schedules seminars and "breeder education" events with the Hunte Corporation of St. Louis Missouri, the world's largest broker of puppy mill raised puppies. Parent clubs in the AKC have absolutely no say whatsoever about puppy mill and pet shop dogs -- always of extremely dubious ancestry -- populating their formerly pristine, pure breed registry.

Under AKC control, the formerly autonomous parent club can do nothing to prevent wholesale, unsound breeding practices such as rampant inbreeding, or even crossbreeding with other dog breeds. The parent club's loss of supervision and control of its registry is a very big deal.

Ethical parent clubs such as the CTCA work hard to insure that their breeders properly place puppies into good, caring homes. An ethical parent club enacts rules to govern how many times a female can be bred, at what age puppies can be sold, how healthy breeding dogs must be, how many dogs can be owned and bred in one home, under what conditions dogs can be kept (in crates all their lives? NO), etc. But once a breed is "AKC Recognized," all those safeguards are swept away and the dog breed's primary producers become unregulated puppy mills who wholesale poorly bred, poorly raised puppies to pet shops nationwide. The AKC's corporate management is concerned with one thing only: how much revenue will come to the AKC?

To be sure there are amateur members of AKC parent clubs who take their own pampered pets to AKC dog shows to compete against professional dog handlers. These amateurs often sponsor fund raising drives for breed rescues and write up nice brochures saying how one should treat their puppies and so forth. But these nice folks are powerless to control the destiny of their breed once the AKC is given control of their breed's registry. The AKC legally usurps the club's power to issue binding rules and regulations governing breeding, raising, housing and selling of the dogs of their breed.

Why would ANY parent club ever hand over their breed to the proven mismanagement of the AKC? The answer is really a single word: "Westminster."

Virtually every rare breed club is ruled by show fancy people. Many were people who used to breed and show an AKC dog, then they abandoned their former AKC breed to become "experts" with a new rare breed. It is a "big fish in a small pond" syndrome that brings former AKC show people into a rare breed not yet "recognized" by the AKC. Their goal has always been to show their dogs and win "championships." But rare breed championships pale in significance to the glam of heading towards the blue ribbons of the Westminster dog show.

Hence the developmental pipeline: AKC breeder/show person --> rare breed breeder/show person --> rare breed taken to the AKC. Interestingly, it is less a straight line than a circle. After a few years with their formerly rare breed in the AKC, these show folks often complain that "my dog breed has been ruined," they then abandon that breed and search once more for an as yet "unspoiled" rare breed. And so the mandela of breed ruination continues. It is interesting to note that behind the scenes, AKC management has a joking epithet to refer to these show people who take up one breed, abandon it, then take up another. They are called "Five Year Wonders." Makes you seriously wonder how many show fancy people now taking their Eurocotons into the AKC will abandon them in five years.

There is not space enough in this single article to list how so many AKC breeds have been destroyed through bad breeding practices and show fancy excesses, but their ranks are legion. AKC recognition almost assures the destruction of a breed's genome (its gene pool), the loss of its sound behavioral attributes (aggression increases; most AKC breeds have lost their previously desirable working traits, etc.). Worse, AKC recognition virtually assures that the breed will populate pet shops and inevitably shelters, where countless abandoned, unwanted AKC purebreed dogs -- many with behavioral issues -- will be killed.

I am very pleased to tell you that the Coton de Tulear Club of America has steered our population of Malagasy Cotons de Tulear far, far away from the AKC. We will continue to do so. We fully realize that there will be an initial period of public confusion as the show fancy club takes their Eurocotons into the AKC. But that, too, shall pass.

We will continue to educate the public about the AKC, the destructive show fancy, bad breeding practices, and more. And we will continue to maintain the CTCA's registry -- a true record of ancestry -- apart from AKC control. This illustration currently appears at the CTCA's web site (www.CotonClub.org). Others will follow as time permits…

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Please also see our much more detailed arguments against AKC recognition in "The Official Coton de Tulear Club, 2nd Edition." To order this reference, click here.

There is considerable information online about the AKC, the Hunte Corporation and its notorious pet store outlets such as PetLand, please see, for example:

http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2009/10/29/akc-plays-good-breeders-for-fools/

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Kennel_Club

http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2008/02/akc-loves-puppy-mills-and-naive.html

http://www.stoppuppymills.org/pdfs/petland-stores/petland-store-sources-missouri.pdf

http://dogblog.dogster.com/2006/09/18/akc-endorsing-petland-and-supporting-notorious-puppy-mill-hunte-corporation/

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pets_related_news_and_events/petland_demonstrations_031609.html

http://network.bestfriends.org/2383/news.aspx

The number of internet articles exposing the strong bonds between the AKC and puppy mills is huge (more than 8,000). Read a few, then ask the officers of the USACTC what were they thinking when they voted to take their Eurocotons into the AKC? Their answers, if any, would be amusing.
-------------------------------------
copyright 2009 Dr. R. J. Russell & the CTCA
-------------------------------------

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Proud NOT TO BE in the AKC!

NEWS

MY PROPOSAL FOR A COALITION
OF COTON GROUPS

by 
Robert Jay Russell, Ph.D.,
Coton de Tulear Club of America President, 

www.cotonclub.org
CotonNews@aol.com
(607) 693-2828

November 29th, 2009. I propose the following coalition of AUTONOMOUS Coton groups (entities) called the "Coalition of Concerned Coton Groups." None of these groups need dissolve or merge or in any way materially harm their present organization. The groups invited to join this coalition would include (but not be limited to):

The CTCA
The USACTC
The AACDT
The ACC
UCARE

A proposed Constitution of the CCCG:

(1) This coalition is formed to oppose AKC "recognition," primarily
by sharing information between member organizations and
with the public. If AKC "recognition" for a breed called the "Coton
de Tulear" occurs, then this coalition will continue to educate
the public and oppose the AKC.

(2) Participation in AKC conformation shows by a Coalition
member group shall constitute grounds for immediate removal
of said group from this Coalition.

(3) This coalition is formed to oppose puppy mills, pet shop sales
of dogs and dog auctions, primarily by sharing information between
member organizations and with the public.

(4) Participation in or promotion of pet shop sales, sales to puppy
mills and auction sales by a Coalition member group shall
constitute grounds for immediate removal of said group
from this Coalition.

(5) Member groups will be responsible to supply the coalition with one
bona fide representative for that group. That member representative
shall have the power to vote on procedural matters within the
coalition.

(6) Member groups within the coalition shall each receive one vote
on procedural matters, i.e., five groups = five votes; six
groups = six votes, etc.

(7) Procedural votes (i.e., how best to serve this Constitution) by the
majority of representatives are binding on all member groups.

(8) This present Constitution can only be altered or amended by a
UNANIMOUS vote of all [five/six] member groups' representatives.

(9) Each year, each member group to this coalition shall provide a
dues payment of $XXX for basic CCCG operations. While UCARE
is a fully entitled, voting member of this coalition, as a rescue
organization, it shall be exempt from all dues and payments
to the coalition.

(10) The Coalition shall ask member groups for donations to support
advertisements to counter AKC, puppy mill, and pet shop advertise-
ments, promotions, and operations. These requests will arise
as votes are taken on procedural matters.

(11) Upon being asked to join the CCCG, a President of that organization
shall provide a provisional acceptance within XX days. Thereafter
the President shall have XX days to provide the Coalition with a
formal acceptance of his Coton group's membership, the name
of a representative from his/her organization to the Coalition,
and the annual CCCG dues. [This provides time to return to
his/her group and organize whatever parliamentary procedures
within that group may be called for to join or reject
membership of that group in the CCCG].

(12) Except in matters relating directly to the Constitution of the CCCG,
each member group within the coalition is free to conduct their
business as their organization sees fit. Further cooperation on
other matters related to Cotons is encouraged, but by no
means required.

Okay that's my proposal. No clubs need merge, join, revise Standards, or agree to like one another, or change in any way at all. All of our organizations need only agree to form a coalition for the universally meritorious goals stated above. SIMPLE. Painless. No blood letting, name calling, puppy bashing, personality besmirching necessary.

Seems reasonable to me. Now let's see what these disparate groups actually do.
------------------------------------
copyright 2009 Dr. R. J. Russell & the CTCA
-------------------------------------

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Story 3:

The 2nd Edition of the Famous Coton Book is a greatly Revised, Expanded, Colorful CD ROM

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• Hundreds of COLOR Pictures, Charts, Diagrams, Maps and Tables;
• It's easy! Click and read on your monitor; print out what you want;
• More than 1,000 fact-filled, colorful, informative pages (the largest breed book ever created)
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• Contents:

Chapter 1 - The Beginning (35 pages) Dedication - Rights, Licenses, Fair Use & so forth - Publisher's Information - Foreword to the First Edition by Roger A. Caras - Preface to the Second Edition - Features of this Book, 2nd Edition - A Pavane for Roger Caras - Acknowledgements, 2nd Edition - About the Authors - Preface to the First Edition Chapter 2 - The Basics (132 pages) Cheaper by the Pound? - What Purebreed is Right for You? - What is a Coton? - Are You Allergic to Dogs? - Where Should You Buy a Purebred Dog? - Which Gender Should You Choose? - Financial Considerations - Lifetime Commitments - Coton Bonding and Your Family - Cotons and Children - Grooming Requirements - Health and Temperament Issues - Time, Training & Exercise Commitments - Toilet - Space and Safety Requirements - Clean Up Poisons and Hazards - Burrs and Seed Hazards - Cotons Drown in Pools and Hot Tubs - Cotons Can Be Stolen - Multiple Cotons and Cotons and Other Pets - The Breeder's Dilemmas - A Coton: Your Most Rewarding Dependent How to Acquire a Coton de Tulear - Buying: a Coton From an Importer - Buying: Some Breeders are Highly Unethical - Buying: From a CTCA Breeder - Buying: From a Non-CTCA Breeder - Buying: Questions to Ask a Breeder - Buying: Questions a Breeder will Ask You - Buying: Understanding Contracts and Kennel Policies - Buying: a Sample Contract - Buying: Should You Visit the Breeder Before You Buy? - Buying: the Ordering Process - Buying: the Possibility of an Older, Rescued Coton - Buying: Patience, Patience, Patience - Things to Do After You've Ordered Your Puppy - Talk to Your Breeder - Preparing House and Yard - Finding a Veterinarian & Training Class - Where to Buy Puppy and Dog Supplies - Buying Toys - Buying Kennel (or Crate) - Buying a "Sherpa" Bag - Buying Grooming Supplies - Picking Up Your Puppy Things To Do Now That You've Got Your Puppy Home: Puppy's First Days at Your Home - Puppy's First Year - An Owner's Feelings About Her Coton Chapter 3 - An Introduction to the Coton de Tulear Breed (40 pages) A Description - Health and Longevity - Personality and Intelligence - Type Differences&emdash;Malagasy, North American, & European - Mistaken Identities - Demographics Chapter 4 - History (73 pages) The Most Exotic Isle on Earth - All the People of the EarthÉ - The Vazaha Arrive - The Breed's Many, Very Ancient Roots - The Coton and the Hunting Dog - The Colonial Era - Conflicting Standards are Created - Cotons Come to North America - The Oakshade Kennel Years - The CTCA is Founded - The Code of Ethics - Cotons On-Line - Coton Conventions - Current CTCA Breeders in North America - CTCA Code of Ethics Breeders - The Cotons of the CTCA - Millennium Coton Club Confusion - The AKC Enters the Fray: Slouching Towards Bethlehem - Canadian Club Chaos - Should Coton Clubs Unite? - an Essay by Laurie Spalding - The CTCA Coton Rescue - A Coton Rescue Gallery Chapter 5 - Standard (34 pages) Standards in Conflict - Basic Coton de Tulear Structure - Movement, Structure, Health & Achondroplasia - The CTCA's Coton de Tulear Standard - Some Examples of the CTCA Standard in Use - Controversies About Size, Color, and Tail Carriage - A Standard is Important But . . . Chapter 6 - Grooming (51 pages) About Coton Hair - Basic Grooming Tools - Grooming Mats and Removing Dense Hair - Hope Richardson on Mats - Choice of Shampoos - Shampooing - Cleaning the Ears and Around the Eyes - Hope Richardson on Staining of the Coat - Trimming Hair Above the Eyes Trimming the Hair Near the Anus - Trimming the Hair Around the Foot Pads - To Shave or Puppy Cut or Not - Trimming Nails - Selecting a Groomer - Advanced Grooming for Dog Shows - Grooming Problems&emdash;Fleas - Grooming Problems&emdash;Ticks Chapter 7 - Showing (44 pages) Introduction - How Shows Are Supposed To Work - How Championships are Supposed to Work - What's Wrong with the Show Fancy? - The Abnormal Psychology of Some Exhibitors The CTCA Official Position on Dog Shows - Another Kind of Show: Canine Good Citizen; Obedience; Agility; Therapy Work Chapter 8 - Diet (78 pages) Most Dog Foods are More Grain than Meat - Science Diet brand, a Reasonable Choice - A Food for Every Need and Stage - Adult or Maintenance Formula - Lamb & Rice Formula - Active or High-Energy Formula - Lite Formula - Senior Formula - Prescription Diets - Why Not Ham or Fish? - Avoid Some Table Scraps! - Dry or Canned Food? - The Argument for Dry Food Mixed with Wet - When to Feed - How Much to Feed - Feed Only Fresh Foods - Insects and Dry Food - Natural ("Health") Foods for Your Coton - Preservatives and Cosmetic Adulterants - Quality and Contaminants - Food Allergies? - Prepare Your Own or Buy a Commercial Diet? - The Bottom Line on Natural vs. Commercial Foods - Prepare Your Coton's Diet at Home - The B.A.R.F. Diet - Problems on Switching Diets - The Importance of Clean, Safe Water - Obesity&emdash;a Serious Threat to Your Coton's Health - Obesity and Competition for Food - Obesity, Exercise, and Intestinal Health - Vitamin and Mineral Supplements - Treats, Chews and Bones - Kibble (Dog) Bones - Chews - Pig Ear Chews&emdash;a Hazard or Ideal Dental Exerciser? - Beef Pizzles - The Fussy Chewer - Foods and Ingestibles to Avoid - Pica - Table Scraps - Keep Your Coton Away from Toxins - Eating Problems: The Fussy Eater - Eating Problems: Coprophagy - Hands Off Approaches - Physiological Causes For Stool Eating? - What About Mad Cow Disease? - Conclusions: Recommendations for a Diet Chapter 9 - Training (47 pages) Why You Should Train Your Pup - Go To School - A Straightforward Environment for Training - Learning to Sit - Kennel and Toilet Training Behavioral Problems: The Shy Coton - Hope Pashos on Shy Cotons - Separation Anxiety - Normal Aggression but Unrealistic Expectations - Unacceptable Aggression - Do Dogs Need Shrinks and Psycho-Drugs? - Don't Give Up Chapter 10 - Health (144 pages) Alternative Veterinary Medicine&emdash;Does it Work? - Emergency Care: First Aid - Build Your Own Medical Kit - Inherited Defects - Vaccine Intolerance in Cotons? - Acute Bacterial & Fungal Infections - Heartworm Prevention - Vomiting-a Common Symptom of Many Possible Problems - Diarrhea-a Common Symptom of Many Possible Problems - Vomiting & Diarrhea Diet Therapy - Urinary Tract Problems - Fecal Examinations - Common Intestinal Parasites of Dogs The Skin: Mechanical Irritation; Larger Parasites; Smaller Parasites; Seborrhea; Old Age Warts (Papillomatosis) The Blood Chemistry Panel: What it Tells Endocrine Gland Disorders - Thyroid Disorders Liver Diseases - Liver Disease&emdash;Supportive Therapy Kidney Disease in Young Cotons Cancers: Those noted in Cotons to Date The Teeth: Deciduous and Permanent; Shedding or Removing Puppy Teeth; Periodontal Disease; Home & Veterinary Dental Care; Acute Dental Crises; Old Age Eyes: Weeping; Cysts on the Eyelid; Cherry Eye; Corneal Scratches and Ulcers; Cataracts; Aging and Blindness; Cloudy Eyes, and Sensitivity to Sunlight The Ears Orthopedic Problems: the Back; the Limb Joint ; Luxating Patellas; Hip Joint Pain and Hip Dysplasia; Damaged Ligaments in the Knee Joint Umbilical Hernia - Collapsing Trachea - Heart Disease - Geriatrics and the Stages of a Coton's Life - Euthanasia&emdash;A Final Act of Love - An Essay: Helping the Living Through the Observation of a Death Chapter 11a - Genetics: a Primer (28 pages) Introducing Genetics - The Alleles - Genotype and Phenotype - Determining Genotypes: an Exercise in Probabilities - Tall Cotons - Gene Interactions Coton Genetics: The Sex Ratio of Cotons - Joint Angulation - Stocky versus Svelte? - Inheritance of Behavioral Traits - Smiling - Bipedal Walking - Licking - Personality Chapter 11b - Genetics: Color in Cotons (42 pages) Coloration in Cotons - We know less about color now than we did five years ago! - Color Genes in Cotons - The Color Phenotypes - The White Coton - The Depigmentation Problem in White Cotons - A Biochemical Theory of Color in Cotons - Melanin Blocking and Behavior Cryptorchidism and White Cotons - The F.C.I.'s Contribution to Depigmentation in the Breed - Diet, Stress, Seasons, Age and Depigmentation - The Black and White Coton The Tri-color Coton - Matings and the Color of Puppies Chapter 11c - Genetics: Defects, Inbreeding & the Future (123 pages) Introduction to Genetic Defects - Tests for Your Coton 1. Dental & Occlusion Disorders - 2. Skeletal & Structural Defects - 3. Organ Disorders - 4. Metabolic Disorders - 5. Cardiac Defects - 6. Reproductive Disorders - 7. Nervous System Disorders (excluding eyes) - 8. Eye Disorders - 9. Behavioral Genetics: Understanding Aggression - 10. Immune System Disorders - 11. Congenital Defects Understanding Inbreeding - Inbreeding Defined - Good Inbreeding - Bad Inbreeding - Calculating the Degree of Inbreeding - SHORTCUT: Common Coefficients of Inbreeding - Inbreeding: Good and Bad Coton Matings - Genetic Tips for Coton Breeders - The Genetic State of the Coton de Tulear - Breed Management in the Future - Tightening the CTCA Registry - Towards an Open Registry - PHASE 1 - Gather & Publish Information - PHASE 2 - Create Gene Database - Genetic Triage - PHASE 3 & 4 - CTCA Database Opened Wider Chapter 12 - Breeding (30 pages) First Read and Ask Questions - Choosing Mates - Estrus (Heat) - Pregnancy - Parturition (Whelping or Delivery) - Puppy Development - Critical Periods in a Pup's Development - The Sale and Departure of the Pups Chapter 13 - The Future (13 pages) Exponential Growth - Overbreeding Could Destroy the Coton de Tulear - Would AKC Recognition Be Good for the Breed? - The Pitfalls of Seeking AKC Recognition - Will the Coton de Tulear "Go AKC"? Chapter 14 - References (107 pages) Coton Books - Coton Newsletters - Cotons on TV - The Coton in All-Breed Dog Books - General Canine References - Coton Books - Coton Newsletters - Cotons on TV - The Coton in All-Breed Dog Books - General Canine References (Chapters 2 & 3) - Acquiring, Homing, Socializing & Training Your Puppy (Basics, Ch. 2) - Rescue (Chapters 2, Basics, & 4, History) - History (Chapter 4) - Grooming (Chapter 6) - Showing (Chapter 7) - Diet (Chapter 8) - Behavior & Training (Chapter 9) - Health Care (Chapter 10) - Genetics (Chapter 11) - Breeding (Chapter 12) - Useful U.S. Periodicals Appendix A - Coton Parties (46 pages) Appendix B - Names of CTCA registered Cotons (21 pages) Appendix C - The French Coton Standard (13 pages) Appendix D - The CTCA's Health Test (8 pages) Appendix E - The CTCA's Code of Ethics (15 pages)

... 1,099 pages of Coton-specific information a mouse click away!

 

• To ORDER the CD ROM, please click HERE for an order form.
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  Today's news stories on line above:

  1. E-ZINE Article about Show Club "going AKC"

  2. Proposal for an Anti-AKC, Anti-Puppy Mill Coalition

  3. CD-ROM Coton Book is the definitive Reference

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