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Originally Posted by magicgenie  Gail, are you suggesting pet owners, as well as breeders, join the breed club? I didn't think they were receptive to having non-breeders as members. Prospective members are screened very carefully for commitment to the current standard, and must pledge to uphold it. If there's anything in the standard you don't like, keep it to yourself until after you become a member, I guess.
Actually, in the YTCA the membership did previously vote on important things such as standard but in recent years those decisions have been made by the board, hence much of the discontent within the club. I'm not a member and am only repeating here what I've understood some members to say.
I agree we need to fund more research as the genetic markers are going to give us much hope in breeding healthier dogs, and if joining the breed club is going to help with that, I hope everyone joins!  |
I or you would have to look at their bylaws a) at the local club level and b) at the National Level. Look at your membership *rights and duties* as a Regular member. Then look at the requirements of breed associations under the AKC. I am not familiar in detail with the YTCA governance process, but I am with CKC (Canadian Kennel Club).
I do know their are strict governing laws how a Standard is changed and usually a Full Club vote is required. In other words the Board should not be able to submit a standard change to the AKC without a full club vote.
Breeder members in our CKC and in our National Club have extra duties and responsibilities to stay as a member in good standing. You can look at what the CKC says at
www.ckc.ca go to the bottom of the first page on the right hand side.
And yes breed fanciers should always be encouraged to join their local/National Club. The challenges of a National Club are many, and we here in Canada have struggled to offer to our pet owners fanciers, some value for the membership $$. We have albeit not consistently, put on annual BBQ's that offer some fun intro activities to do with your dog. Rally o an exhibition of dancing with your dogs, grooming seminars (highly popular), basic obedience, Temperament Tests.
The challenge is volunteer time (as always). Experts in different arenas are few and pretty well over worked.
But the National Breed Club is also responsible for activities surrounding our breed : The Standard, organizing National Shows, Breeders Education Seminars, Judging seminars, responding to information from various sources about the breed. The Health Committee etc etc etc.
No doubt that there is and can be a policy of resistance by some breeders, to input from breed fanciers. But it is very important to source independent non-partisan opinions from the educated lay person, as well as multiple breeders preferably breeding different lines.
So in closing, the bylaws of the YTCA should be available on line at their website, check them out and see what they say!
As a Canadian I can only join as I believe as an associate member, and as such have no rights to vote on anything most especially any proposed standard change. I do how-ever have the right here in Canada to vote, once within the CKC and once with-in our National Club. We are organized differently here as individuals are actual members of the CKC, whereas in the States it is the National Clubs that are members of the AKC.
I hope I have not confused the heck out of you:-)