The Canadian Kennel Club has been going through some financial difficulties and has been restructuring the way it does business. They recently passed some changes that includes charging a fee to all non-members to keep track of your 'Q's or points towards a title. In other words, if you want your title recognized, you either need to join the CKC or pay the fee (which is per dog, per title).
This is copy/pasted directly from the CKC 2011 Business Plan:
Non Member Tracking Fees
• Canadian Non Member pays $55/dog/title/event admin
fee
• Track & award its titles
• Payable within 30 days of receipt of first award
I know that the CKC's intent is that more people will become members and they will have increased membership revenue. I really don't think that they are taking the performance people into consideration in all of this. Not everyone, especially the dog owner who may enjoy participating in rally or agility, but do not show or breed their dogs, wants to be a CKC member.
Hello CKC - you are not the only game in town when it comes to performance events! In fact, in agility, CKC is barely a blip on the Canadian agility scene. AAC and NADAC trials, far out number CKC trials. In Rally Obedience, there is APDT and CARO. Not to mention all the other dog sports that are not sanctioned by the CKC at all (flyball, freestyle, etc).
If I was new to dog sports and had the choice to pay a fee to the CKC or join another venue, guess what, I probably would not be paying the CKC. Especially considering that the entry fees for CKC events are nearly double what they are in other venues.
CKC performance events are already hurting. Just look at obedience. Not many people seem to do traditional obedience anymore. The more the CKC excludes people from the performance events, by adding fees or forcing people to join the club, the less likely it will be that local kennel clubs will offer events such as agility, obedience or draft, as no club wants to lose money due to poor entries. This means that we could be seeing the end of some of the performance events and that would be sad.
If you are already a CKC member and disagree with this new business plan, please email your local director. The link to the BODs can be found here: CKC Board Of Directors.
**Update Dec 20.
The CKC decided to change this fee to a per person fee, not a per dog/per title fee.
Oh my gosh Kim...I LOVE LOVE LOVE your new header!!! Beautiful!
ReplyDeletegreat post Kim!
ReplyDeleteLOVE the new header !
I love the new header too!!! Very creative!!! Diana
ReplyDeletei'm glad we finished up our big CKC titles this year - PHEW!!!!!
ReplyDeleteya ... that photo is awesome kim!!
your page is great - greetings from switzerland - roger & family with shila (3,7 year jung bernese)
ReplyDeleteYour post really got to me; we got two titles this year and I decided not to renew with CKC. Now I'm upset with their new gouging policy! But how can I possibly be upset, with that awesome header! We love it! You have wonderful talent with that camera, Kim! Great stuff!
ReplyDeleteRick
I'm not sure how I feel about all of this.... I'm in two minds, I suppose. CKC is a valuable and needed service - they keep track and regulate pedigree dogs and essentially provide certification that a dog is purebred. Without that, it would be up to trusting individuals that their stud dog is purebred, etc.... As a CKC member, I feel that with the current set up, I am also paying for non-members to receive this service (plus the service of keeping track of events, titles, awards, placements, etc). Although I recognize that non-members pay more for registering litters etc.
ReplyDeleteWhile there was an uproar about the original proposal to charge a slightly higher entry fee for non-members, I think that was actually a better idea than the current tracking fee. For my puppy owners that might want to enter the occasional event (e.g. one WC test in one year), the tracking fee could very well put them off entering. But a $3 non-member charge for that one entry would have been much more reasonable.
I know that a lot of people complain about the service they get at CKC, but I have always recieved prompt answers to my questions, quick turn arounds for registrations (even my foreign dogs which I always worry about!) and also good service when putting in event applications, judge approvals etc for the FCRSC events.
Just my humble opinions!
Thanks for adding your thoughts Liz.
ReplyDeleteI am just worried that with this new fee, people who are not members but who do occasional performance stuff like rally or agility, will simply go to other venues to play where there are no fees. With less entries will clubs be able to afford to hold trials? I don't know. I would hate to see CKC agility end because of that. Some trials have already been cancelled for next year - the hosts may just be making a point about the new fees, I don't know.
I just sent them an email telling them I will not enter any CKC events as long as this policy/extra fee is in place.
ReplyDeleteThey have chosen the absolutely wrong tactic!
Maybe if they REDUCED fees people would consider joining. It is bullying and they will lose big time over this.
I am EXTREMELY disappointed as after many years I finally have a dog and myself ready to trial.