[caption id="attachment_14468" align="alignleft" width="273"] Veronica Miller and a Portugese Podengo Medio.[/caption]

Hot Topic: New Rules for FSS Breeds

Host Laura Reeves is joined by Veronica Miller, Portugese Podengo Medio enthusiast, to discuss newly announced rules about FSS breeds. The August Board minutes launched a number of hot topics and discussions, including around limited registrations, but one of the hottest is taking place in the FSS community. The enthusiasts in this group are working with breeds progressing toward full AKC recognition. Many of these breeds are ancient and popular in other countries. “Since I came in initially,” Miller said, “we had to have 300 dogs registered. We met that. Then it was you had to have a minimum of 20 litters. We had hit that, but then they moved it to 20 liters within five years after moving to miscellaneous. We're about one litter away from meeting that and now it's 20 litters within three years. “And most of these changes have taken place since 2018. So, in a short number of years there have been a whole lot of changes. There has been no outreach to any of our breed clubs. We hear from AKC that they are a club of clubs, but changes are made for FSS and miscellaneous breeds without our input. And without any discussion or reasoning. “We want to make sure that we do have a healthy gene pool and good genetics within our breed. We also want to make sure that we have appropriate homes and forcing a set number of litters could potentially lead to people making poor decisions for the dogs. “And the other thing with this particular board decision that really, I think, pushed a lot of buttons is when things come before the board, it is brought before the board discussed and then they leave it until the next board meeting when it's been voted on, which allows for a feedback. And that did not happen. “A lot of this group is the under 40 crowd, which is not the usual. We have found breeds that we love and want to dedicate our lives to, and just because it's not the usual breed that's out there, it doesn't make them worth any less. We have the breeds that we have because they are special to us. And these folks are incredibly dedicated to these dogs. “We are really dedicated and want to do more with our dogs, which is the whole point here, but we’re being held back in so many ways. And unfortunately, that's going to turn these folks away from AKC and they may go to other venues or they may just stay at home with their dogs. And then we're losing a huge segment of people that could really grow our sport.”