UKC Forums (http://forums.ukcdogs.com/index.php)
- UKC Registrations (http://forums.ukcdogs.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=8)
-- New breed acceptance process (http://forums.ukcdogs.com/showthread.php?threadid=304136)

New breed acceptance process

I can't find this anywhere on the site. Assuming you're part of a breed that has an extremely large following and meets all the definitions of being a distinct breed of dog which breeds true to type and has for years, what steps must be taken to get the ball rolling in the direction of having this breed officially recognized AS a separate breed by the UKC, rather than the breed it's currently recognized as? Thank you.

After more searching, I did find a quote that I would like to address.

Many of the people currently involved in establishing the American Bully as a distinct breed have a notable history in the current show-bred American Pit Bull Terrier. There are actually quite a few of us who don't believe in over-breeding these dogs for profit, but for the love of the breed that was created. Just as there are people in the UKC Pit Bull world who breed for profit or unlawful purposes, there are breeders in this breed who do the same. Some of us do know and care a fair bit about structure and conformation (the differences between the current and originating breeds are significant, but like the differences between the Rottweiler and the Basset Hound, you can still have a structurally sound dog with a great variance in type), and health.

This is exactly one of the many reasons we'd like to have our breed recognized with the UKC. No, it won't stop the greeders, but it opens up opportunities for those of us who want to responsibly show and breed our American Bullies, the same as we do with our APBTs. I believe that those of us who want to do the right thing shouldn't be punished by those who don't, and quite frankly, those people are already UKC registering their dogs as APBTs, so their personal profit margin isn't changing one way or the other. Those of us who love this new breed as a BREED rather than a profit mill would like to draw a new standard, have the stud book opened and inspections done for a relatively short time period, and then closed after that short period of time in BOTH directions. Long enough to have desired genetic diversity, and then being cut off in order to attempt to stay away from the ADBA vs. UKC, and AKC vs. UKC controversies. The majority of us pushing for acceptance don't consider these dogs to be another "style" of Pit Bull Terrier.

This doesn't require an inspection of all living dogs within the registry, only those who wish to participate and go through the "trouble" of it, which would hopefully weed out some of the undesirables between this and the inspections that would need to be done themselves. No, these dogs don't have a unique purpose as far as working qualities go. Neither did the White Shepherds, or the Russkiy Toy. These are companion dogs, and IMO belong in the companion group. I'll quote from one of the standards: "The new standard for the breed that was drafted in Russia differed significantly from that of the original English Toy Terrier. From that point on, evolution of the breed went its own way and during a long period of development a new breed was created, the Russkiy Toy." This is the exact case as we see it here. Those of us pushing for this do not believe "new breed" and "responsible breeder" to be mutually exclusive, regardless of where the breed originated.

We hope that the UKC will understand our position and work to negotiate this with our community, as it's the love of the breed driving us, and not the greed or irresponsibility of others. We'd like a new standard, and an enforceable code of ethics for OUR breed, which again most of us no longer view as simply another "style" of APBT, and many of us breed these dogs along side but as a separate entity from the APBT.

I believe a lot of the UKC's issue with the breed is the fact that these Bullies are stereotypically dogs with mounds of loose skin and lip, with broken down pasterns and rears 5 inches higher than their wither. In some cases they are, but those are cases of breeders who don't care what they're producing, and the same can be said of any breed. These dogs can be beautiful, and structurally sound.



----------------------------------------------------------------

"The issue of the bully-style dogs is one that UKC has considered at length.

Our national association for this breed, the National APBT Association (NAPBTA), has come out strongly against the bully dogs, so much so that they want our inspectors to refuse registration to Single Dog Registration to "Bully" type APBTs.

The problem is that in the vast majority of instances these dogs are purebred APBTs and just exhibit natural variations within the breed that in many cases have been perpetuated and exaggerated by breeders looking to produce the "Bully" type dog. Possibly, some have been mixed with other breed(s) to achieve this look, but that's a different issue.

The problem is that to register these dogs as American Bully dogs would require the inspection of all the living dogs in our registry to discern which are "Bully" and which are APBTs. This is a HUGE, logistically impossible undertaking.

More importantly, though, is UKC's commitment to do what we feel is best for each of the breeds we register. As I stated before, NAPBTA does not want these dogs registered as APBTs. We understand that. You suggest that the creation of a new breed, the American Bully, would be a solution. This solution would make a new breed out of a particular style of APBT that is contrary to the standard. True, UKC might make money doing this, but financial gain has never been the driving force behind our decisions. Creating a new breed which has no unique purpose other than to make money for breeders as the result of a fad is not in the best interests of the registry.
These dogs are simply exaggerated examples of APBTs that are outside of the parameters of the breed standard.

We hope you understand our position in this matter.

Steve Redmond
Customer Service Manager
United Kennel Club, Inc."