Re: Rant about national breed clubs

"diannes" <diannes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:dgn0jp$sj7$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Tee <crappolagozhere@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>"Robin Nuttall" <robinjn@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Its these breeder referrals that I'm saying cost money to obtain.
>>>
>>> Which breeds are you talking about? Because I don't know of a single
>>> breed
>>> that charges money for a breeder referral list.
>>
>> The Border Terrier is one.
>
> Ah. I went and found what you're talking about
> (http://clubs.akc.org/btcoa/clubfr.htm
> for those who are interested) and have to say that I like the approach
> this club
> has chosen a LOT. What you left out in your diatribe is that the packet
> the club
> sends out contains not only the breeder directory, but also a breed
> education
> booklet developed by the club ("The Border Terrier in Brief"), the club's
> code
> of ethics, an AKC pamphlet on choosing a good breeder, and a directory of
> BT clubs,
> publications, and rescue volunteers. Sounds like quite a lot of paper to
> me, and I'd
> bet that the big fat whopping $5 they're charging for it basically pays
> for the costs
> of reproduction and postage. I sure don't see any problem with the club
> trying to do
> some breed education up-front to weed out the non-serious and to help
> people decide
> if the BT is for them before potential buyers start contacting people in
> the breeders'
> directory.

I didn't mention it because it wasn't related to the breeder referral. I
didn't mention alot of stuff that club websites offer. I also didn't make
my opinion known regarding cost so whether I consider $5 as "whopping" or
not is irrelevant. Its a charge to obtain information that, IMO, should be
very plainly available on their site and Adobe PDF makes that more than
possible.

> And - heck - for those who balk at paying the $5, there are even email
> addresses
> for board members of the club on the same page that they can ask questions
> for
> free. Truthfully, I don't see any high hurdles to breeder access here;
> just
> a clear expectation that potential buyers do some basic reading about the
> breed
> before they start calling around looking for puppies.

While its a nice enough idea to pre-screen people I think breeders should be
doing that.

> Granted, the BT is something of a special case; it's not as though there
> are BTs
> advertised in every newspaper every Sunday all over the country. It's a
> tightly
> held breed with little-to-no backyard breeding, and most pups are placed
> before
> they're born. And how come the breeders of this breed have been so
> extraordinarily
> successful in protecting it? Hmmm... the fact that they do such a good job
> of
> breed education and weeding out non-serious buyers might have something to
> do
> with that, don't you think?

I don't know. What's the ration of public education vs breed popularity in
general? Are all rare (or small qty in the USA) breeds represented by such
educators?

> But here's the most clever part, as far as I'm concerned. The booklet I
> mentioned
> that's part of their breed education packet - "The Border Terrier in
> Brief" - is
> also included in full on their web site. And if you bother to read the
> through
> whole thing (which you apparently didn't, Tara)

No, I didn't. I was searching for someone which is why I went to the
national club site to find their referral list.

> at the end you'll find a link to
> an on-line version of their breeder directory,

Yes but did you notice how on that page you linked to, the Contact page,
only the option of paying for a hardcopy mailing of the list is offered?
The breeder referral is shown clearly but is not linked to. As you pointed
out, someone would have to read the manual to get to the directory. Its
sneaky because its still hiding the information. One other website I saw,
and I can't seem to put my finger on it at the moment, was charging $7 and I
don't recall it being setup the same as the BT site. Just make the
information available to people and let them control how they use it rather
than trying to control them.

> 100% free. So if you had been truly
> sincere in your efforts to learn more about BTs, the information you were
> seeking
> would've been put right in your hands. The fact that you were neither
> willing
> to pay $5 for a substantial breed information packet nor to read the
> information
> that was available right there for free effectively screened you out as a
> serious
> potential buyer, just as I suspect it was intended to do.
>
> Kudos, Border Terrier Club of America. I wish all breed clubs were as
> proactive
> about educating prospective buyers.

By trying to control people? Its effective but can be too effective as I
learned long ago (by putting an adoption app at the bottom of a page of me
preaching about all the things to consider, the requirements that need to be
met, etc.).

Many websites (and books) reiterate the same information time & again so its
not inconceivable that a person may not want to read yet another variation
of the same thing. Give people easy access to information and let them do
what they want with it.

I am still displeased with the BT Club for making it seem that information
is unavailable without paying for it and waiting for the mail but I admit
they're not as bad as those just fully withholding that information.


--
Tara


.

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