Westminster Kennel Club: Red, White... where's the BLUE?

Kypros and I look forward to watching the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and 2013 was no exception.   We`ve promised ourselves that one year, we`ll wrap it into one of our trips to NYC and see all those doggie superstars in person.  Next year, Westminster will be adding three new breeds to the February 2014 line-up:  Rat Terriers (Terrier Group); Chinooks (Working Group) and the Portuguese Podengo Pequeno (Hound Group).

These are all great dogs, but why not the Blue Picardy Spaniel?

We know the breed is represented in the US and without proper breeding lines and with less than a handful of breeders (2 or 3 tops) in North America, us BPS families are in danger of losing our Blues. The BPS is a registered breed in Canada and in Europe... why not in the States?  I've done a bit of research and found the following on the AKC website:

How do you add new breeds of dogs to the list of AKC-recognized breeds?

The AKC Board of Directors has the authority to add a breed to the list of AKC-registerable breeds if, in its opinion, sufficient evidence is presented to justify such action.

There are a number of factors the Board considers in making this decision, including documentation that the breed in question has been breeding true for many generations, with accurate record keeping; evidence that there is sufficient interest in the breed throughout the United States; and a national club in place that meets AKC requirements to act as the parent club for the breed.

There are a number of reasons why some breeds might not be registerable with the AKC. They could include such things as lack of sufficient interest in the breed in the U.S., registry records that fail to meet AKC requirements, the absence of a national club that meets AKC requirements or no desire on the part of enough dog owners to become affiliated with the AKC.

Many of the "rare breeds" are being recorded in our Foundation Stock Service (FSS). This service is provided by the AKC to help new breeds develop and establish breeding records. It does not mean the breed is AKC recognized. It does mean there must be some parent club that is organizing and working on having the breed recognized by the AKC.

Information about the AKC's FSS program may be obtained by e-mailing fss@akc.org.

For more information on a breed that AKC does not recognize, you may want to contact the American Rare Breed Association.

American Rare Breed Association
Website: www.arba.org
E-mail: Info@arba.org
Phone: 301-868-5718

So, this might not give all the answers, but its a great place to start. Look into starting a Club, talk to your breeder... it's up to you - our friends south of the border, show your Red, White and BLUE!!!!!  Let's get our beautiful, intelligent and soulful dogs out there - let's show the world that our spaniels are worthy of the ring!!