BlogPaws 2013 Pro Sessions

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The BlogPaws 2013 pet conference had a wide range of talks and sessions. There were 3 separate categories of talks that were given: Beginner, Intermediate, and Pro in which you could attend. These accommodated the different skill levels and needs of different BlogPaws attendees and you were allowed to jump around to different session as you saw fit.  In addition there were was a “Be the Change for Pets” set of talks, Special Topics, and Law sessions available as well.

For the most part we decided that the Pro sessions were the best ones to go to.  These seemed to be the most useful for what I wanted to get out of BlogPaws and the theater room, where the talks were being held, was much more comfortable compared to where the rooms the other sessions were being held in.  You had a table and could set down your laptop or notebook to take notes and write down anything you found useful.  The seats were also a lot more comfortable and were spaced apart which was great since we had Cody and Sierra.

Anyway, here is what I thought of the different Pro BlogPaws sessions I attended.

Intro to Google Analytics

On the first day I decided to go attend “Intro to Google Analytics.”  Even though I familiar with Google Analytics, the capabilities  and customization options I thought I could learn something since the session was being taught be Blerina Sanocki, a Senior Account Manager from Google.  Who better to learn something Google Analytics from than Google?

I got into the session a little late and it was packed.  I had to stand in the back with Cody since the all the seats in the room were taken.  It was quite a popular session as they were others standing in the room as well.    As the session continued for about 15 minutes I was a little bit bored since Blerina Sanocki was just going over the basics of what Google Analytics offers and how you can use it.

I was getting a little bored until she mentioned Kaushik.net, run by Avinash Kaushik, which is a site all about utilizing data and web analytics.  Since I have never heard of the blog I decided to check it out.  Some of the articles and posts are quite useful and have started to make me think a little differently about how to analyze web data to my advantage.

So I got something out of “Intro to Google Analytics” but not quite as must as I would have hoped for.  If you were a beginner I assume the session was useful.

Anatomy of a Video

Kenn Bell lead this session on how to format and construct videos so they have a story arc, convey a message, and generally come out more professional.  He used examples from his own Dog Files episodes and showed a short documentary he did of 9/11 dogs (meaning dogs that went into the debris and rubble to search for people) which was quite moving.

He talked a little about equipment and how easy it is nowadays with inexpensive camcorders that can shoot in Full 1080 high definition (HD) available on the market now.  (Sony showcased some of their newest camera models at BlogPaws by the way.)

Bell showed people how to conduct on camera interviews with Tom Collins, one of the co-founders of BlogPaws, which I found interesting and useful.  He mentioned that the interview wasn’t supposed to be a 60 Minutes hard hitting journalist type of expose but should be casual interview.  The objective was to get info from Tom and not put him on the spot.  Kenn said it was fine to ask the interviewee to elaborate, ask for more details, and shape the direction of  the conversation.  This was useful for me to see and observe as I it’s good to know how to interview people properly in different situations.

My only complaint was that I wish Kenn Bell talked more about the technical aspects of making videos.  Such as what would be good free video editing software and resources for learning to use them.

I thought it was a useful session and would definitely like to see more video content creation sessions at next year’s BlogPaws.  Video is big nowadays and I think a lot of bloggers are interested in learning how to make videos.

Note: I got to this session late because of “Intro to Google Analytics” but was filled in by Mom and Sierra who were in attendance.  

So You Want to Write a Book Proposal

This session was Fantastic!  Darlene Arden was a lot of fun and offered insightful tips and advice for those who want to get a book published.  She didn’t pull any punches, was straightforward, and was quite honest about how the publishing industry works (or doesn’t).  Darlene gave us great advice and said quite frankly, “You want a lawyer that will eat their own kids!” since publishing house can screw you over.

It was good to hear from an established author the realities of the industry since it ain’t easy.  Her slides were not that well done and were a bit hard to see though.  I am sure that could be fixed easily if she had some help for next year.  Also I would have liked the session to be longer to her talk about getting an agent, which is an important factor.

BlogPaws should definitely have Darlene Arden back again next year and I will attend any of her sessions again, happily.

SEO: Getting Ahead in Search

Matt Beswick hosted this session to a packed crowd.  Clearly showing that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is something a lot of people want to learn about.  Despite the fact that a lot of focus nowadays is on social media marketing and tactics.

Matt gave a nice concise talk and his slides were well prepared.  I learned about two sweet SEO tools from this talk actually.  The first is a site called UberSuggest.org which shows you what keywords Google will automatically suggest when typing in certain keywords.  Technically the Google Keyword Tool will show you suggestions for other similar keywords but the nice thing about Ubersuggest is that you can select different verticals such as Video, News, Images, etc.  (It will not show monthly searches but you can import lists.)  The second one is the Schema Markup Plugin that can be used for adding additional information, such as reviews and ratings, to your content in Google searches.  Just like apps, there is a WordPress plugin for everything.  (I don’t remember if he actually mentioned the plugin but he posted the URL where I found the plugin.)

Matt demonstrated how he used oDesk to help gather information contact info for sites for sites that he might be interested in getting a link from. Never really occurred to me to do this and since a lot of people on oDesk are from low-wage countries you don’t need to spend a lot to do it.  It also give you valuable data quickly and easily while you can spend your time doing other things.

One topic in the session was the growing importance of Google Authorship and Author Rank.  I 100% agreed with this and felt validated that I got on the Google+ bandwagon early.  Since a lot of people at BlogPaws were professional bloggers I was a bit surprised that most were not aware of Google Authorship or assume Google+ is going away.  If you have a blog or doing writing online you NEED to start using authorship and therefore Google+.

There were also other topics covered during the talk such as the power of relationships, building cool content, and fixing orphaned (dead) links.

Since I am pretty familiar with SEO techniques and terms the talk made sense to me.  If you didn’t have basic SEO knowledge and skills I am pretty sure you were lost but I obviously don’t know what other people were thinking.  I still got a lot out of the talk and the information was presently in an easy to understand, concise, and clear way.

Matt Beswick did make the presentation available online on Slideshare for people to review by the way.

I’m Building a Blog: Do I Need to Form a Company?

Wondering if you should form a business entity around you blogging empire?  Then this was the session you should have attended at BlogPaws.  Lyvonne Brittingham conducted this session and I found it useful since I have thought about forming a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC).

Lyvonne covered forming an LLC and covered a lot of concerns and questions I have had about it.  In addition she covered the advantages and disadvantages and what you should be aware of.  She also covered sole proprietorships, general partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, and different types of corporations.  As well as the different pros and cons with these as well.

I thought Lyvonne prepared the talk well and the presentation slides were clear to understand.  In addition she gave handouts with all the slides in the talk.  Next to each slide on the paper was lines which enabled you to talk notes easily.  I thought this was very smart and it is something I will probably utilize if I ever give a talk at a blog conference.

Forming a business probably isn’t something that a lot of bloggers want to think about since it isn’t cool and flashy, like the social media talks.  I will admit anything to do with law can be a little dry but I found it informative and hope BlogPaws will have a similar session next year.  Bloggers need to be ware of legal implication of what they do and how to protect their assets (if you have any!) if they want to take their blog to the next level.

The Professional Product Review

Rebecca Pollard, a Pet360 marketing specialist and blogger, moderated this panel discussion with:

  • RoseHamilton - Chief Markeing Officer of Pet360
  • Carol Bryant – PR and Marketing Director for BlogPaws and Blogger
  • Jeff Davis - Senior Manager of Public Relations & Social Media for PetSmart

The panel discussion was on creating products reviews that resonated with customers and provides value to brands.  Other things that were discussed was how to conduct yourself and communicate with brands that you receive products from and how to standout from other bloggers.

It was great to hear how Carol, a seasoned pet blogger, handles getting products to review.  She mentioned it takes her less time to make video reviews.   Carol also mentioned to be careful not to “brand brash” as that can turn off potential companies and brands that want to work with you.

On the flipside it was nice hearing from Jeff Davis about what PetSmart does and does not like to see when searching for bloggers and communicating with them.  For instance they don’t mind getting phone calls and feedback.  Also that the little things matter such as “PetSmart” and not “Petsmart!”

The panel discussion format is something that BlogPaws should utilize more since you get different takes and opinions, which is really useful to hear.  Everyone who attended this season learned a lot (unless you were sleeping).

WordPress 201

Ryan Hughes led this session which was supposed to be for people who are experienced with WordPress but want to take it to a next level.  I thought some of the topics he covered are not what I would say are “WordPress 201″ but I still learned a few things in the talk.  Ryan recommended Gravity Forms, a WordPress plugin, that creates custom post types which I didn’t know about.

Since WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) it is a good idea for BlogPaws to continue to do more sessions on WordPress.

The Key to Social Media Marketing

I assumed this talk was going to be on ways to truly expand and enhance social media marketing skills.  While hearing Kimanzi Constable’s story was motivational, that’s really all I got out of the session.  A motivational speech and more specifically one to get everyone to buy his books.

This would have been fine if I had paid to go to a motivational conference but that wasn’t the case.  Kimanzi really didn’t go over many social media marketing tactics which were applicable and judging from the questions afterwards from rescue groups felt the same way.  I am not really sure his advice was good either as he recommended giving away products for free.  Since rescue groups have limited resources that’s is shitty advice.

I overheard some other people complaining that they liked the talk, but didn’t feel he had enough substantive info about social media marketing as well.  Checking out Kimanzi Constable’s website I realized that he runs what I call “Selling the Dream” businesses.  While he might have made ok money selling ebooks and books Kimanzi really makes good money traveling and speaking at conferences about social media and blogging.  (He even said he travels a lot of conferences.)  He “Sells the Dream” instead of actually having accomplished what he is advising about and doesn’t know anything about getting a massive social media following or truly improving engagement.

While I don’t have a problem with people making money talking at conferences, I don’t like “Selling the Dream” type of people.  The like to promise a lot but deliver little real value to what you are trying to accomplish with your blog or web business.  They just tell you good things you want to hear.  There wasn’t a lot of information about how to improve my blog’s social media presence or increase followers.  It was mostly what I already know.  Also it annoyed me that for a large duration of the presentation he kept up the cover to one of his books.  I guess that is sly but well placed advertising.

Considering my traffic on my personal blog is equal to (or most likely better) than Kimanzi’s I seriously wonder why he was invited to give a talk at BlogPaws.  Since the talk didn’t accomplish the intended goals and was essentially a sales pitch I would have to rate it a serious failure.

Get More Blog Readers with Email Marekting

Think Email is Dead? Think again!  Email returns better results than search and social media.  (Yeah, I learned that during the talk.)  If you are serious about building a successful business around your blog than you need to spend some time thinking about an email list and newsletter.

Crystal Gouldey hosted this talk and I learned a lot since she is a marketing manager with Awever, an email newsletter provider.  Good tidbits of information I learned during the talk included;

  • 65% of people open emails based upon the subject line.
  • Clear emails had 500% more responses.
  • Personal tones in emails have a 130% increase in response.

Crystal also had a lot of information in the session about how to build an email list, the best practices, and what you should do to make people actually sign-up for the list.  The best way is to offer someone something for free, like an eBook, or content they can’t get anywhere else besides signing up for that list.

While SEO and social media are important getting a successful email newsletter going is a great way to connect you with your most loyal fan base and help grow you blog too.

The Future of Blogging

Dino Dogan is an amazing speaker.  Something about his presence makes you want to part of whatever he is doing.  I guess that makes sense since Dino starter Triberr, a platform where bloggers can connect and help share content.

Dino started off his talk saying, “Blogging will save the world.” which was definitely preaching to his audience well.  Probably the three takeaways I got from the talk was that attention is good, people need to interact with content, and trust is worth a lot online.

The debate and discussion sparked during the Q&A was telling that everyone else was engaged in the room and listened to what Dino Dogan was saying.  I guess that’s the mark of a good blog conference speaker.

Conclusion

I want to make it clear that even though I didn’t enjoy all of the talks and sessions I still got a lot out of attending BlogPaws 2013. The BlogPaws and Pet360 staff did a great job organizing the 3 day event but I do wish the “Pro” sessions were a little more advanced.  I am planning on trying to make it out to Las Vegas for BlogPaws 2014.  Maybe I can make some money while in Las Vegas to cover the cost of attending! :)

 

BlogPaws 2013 an Amazing Experience

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The Singing Dogs spent the last couple of days at BlogPaws 2013 in Tysons Corner, Virginia.  The crazy filled 3 days of BlogPaws was a lot of fun (but tiring) for all of us.  We met new pet people, made great connections with other bloggers and writers, and got to learn a lot.

If you were to ask me what I learned most at BlogPaws it would be just how big the pet blogging industry is.  I mean… Wow!  There were over 500+ people that came to BlogPaws 2013 and the organizers oversold.  It was quite a spectacle seeing all the people and pets that came out to this blog and social media conference.  Some people traveled quite far to attend and god only knows that traveling with pets can be a real pain even with so many products out on the market.  (A lot of those products were on display at BlogPaws.)  The majority came without pets though as lets be honest that made attending the conference sessions a lot easier.

What surprised me at the conferences was that even some of the pro sessions seemed like they were geared toward people just getting started with blogging and running their own websites. I taught and told people about some cool sites and resouces they didn’t know about which felt great.  I realized the main value from these conferences is not learning but growing your connections and network.  I got a lot more out of BlogPaws 2013 from meeting new people rather than learning new skills.   That’s fine with me though as taking away knowledge and giving it away is what it is all about.

I will be blogging more about BlogPaws over the next few days sharing experiences, tips, and my general thoughts about the whole event.  Kudos to the entire BlogPaws and Pet360 Media team that helped make the conference a success for everyone that attended.

Next year’s BlogPaws will be in Las Vegas and I will definitely try to go.  Flights out there are inexpensive since Casinos subsidize the flights to get people out there to gamble your money away.  Hopefully next year I will be meeting new people and seeing others I connected with this past BlogPaws.  Without losing all my money of course.

 

We’re heading to BlogPaws 2013!

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blogpaws 2013

Just to let all of our friends, fans, and followers know, Cody, Sierra, and I are heading to BlogPaws 2013.  (If you don’t know what BlogPaws it is a pet blogging and social media conference.)  We are very excited to be attending this year since this is the first time we are going to go to BlogPaws or have gotten a chance to go to any sort of pet conferences or events.

Since BlogPaws 2013 taking place in Tysons Corner, VA (just outside Washington DC) and we live in Baltimore attending means we will not have to travel far.  We are going to be driving back and forth to the  hotel where the conference is taking place which will be a bit of a pain but people drive into DC all the time for work.  I figure I can do it a couple days if people do it 5 days a week.

We hope to get a lot out of BlogPaws networking with other dog lovers, pet brands, bloggers, writers, social media gurus, SEO gurus, and generally anyone who loves pets as much as we do.  We also hope to meet some of the Singing Dogs fans at BlogPaws 2013 as I know there are a lot of our followers out there that want to meet us and are attending this year.  We are just as excited to meet you in person too by the way!

I will be in attendance all 3 days but we are still unsure about bringing Cody and Sierra for all of BlogPaws 2013.  We think it would better to bring them 1 day and then to get more out of the conference leave them home so we can takes notes from speakers and talk with people more.  Sierra can be a bit whiny in the car since she is a “Dog Diva’ and Cody is usually good but will probably get bored if we are just sitting around doing “boring” people stuff most of the day.  (He’d rather be playing Chuckit!)  If you have any thoughts or advice about bringing pets to BlogPaws I would appreciate it if you left a comment and let us know your experiences.

Anyway, we have new slick business cards to give out, gave the dogs a bath and are preparing ourselves for BlogPaws 2013.  I hope to see you there and please let us know if you are going and if we should keep an eye out for you at BlogPaws.

 

An English Shepherd always finds other English Shepherds

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A couple days ago I was walking with Cody and Sierra in Sherwood Gardens, one of the best places to go in Baltimore this time of year, and I saw what I thought looked like an English Shepherd.   I wasn’t so sure since everytime I see a dog that looks slightly like our dogs I think “That dog looks like my dogs!”   Most of the time it is usually an Australian Shepherd or Border Collie mix though.  This usually what most people assume when they see Cody and Sierra too.  However, on this day I was pleasantly surprised.

At Sherwood Gardens this dog was lying down casually when he spotted us walking by.  Bandit, which we later learned was his name, starting pulling to come say hello to Cody and Sierra and it looked like his owner couldn’t stop him.  Since Bandit  looked friendly I thought I would let my dogs have a little greeting Bandit.  After I was confident no snarly faces would be directed at Bandit I casually asked his owner, “What type of dog is that?” she replied, “English Shepherd” to my surprise.  I told her that Cody and Sierra were English Shepherds too!

Being such an unknown and rare dog breed I was pretty surprised that we meet another person with an English Shepherd in Baltimore city.  I mean Baltimore isn’t a huge city but it isn’t small either.  What are the chances of English Shepherds running into each other?

Some of you might remember, the last time we meet another English Shepherd in Baltimore was when we fostered Scout.  You might remember that Sierra gave Scout a singing lesson and he was pretty good.  Scout doesn’t live in Baltimore city anymore though since he is currently being fostered again by the NESR with a great trainer in Pennsylvania that knows a lot about working with English Shepherds.

What was interesting to see was that Cody and Sierra both really liked Bandit.  Sierra was especially playful and they both wanted to run off leash with each other.  (Not a good idea in Sherwood Gardens though.)  It seemed like Bandit, Cody, and Sierra all knew they were the same breed or something.  Usually Sierra is a bit snarky with other dogs but she was fine with Bandit.  I took this picture of Sierra and Bandit lying together.

english shepherds

Bandit really like Cody and Sierra too.  When we tried to say goodbye and started walking away, he pulled his owner and followed us.  He probably thought “Oh no, my friends are leaving!” He clearly felt an English Shepherd kinship too.     

Talking with the girl that owned Bandit we agreed that having an English Shepherd is a bit different from other dogs.  They can be too smart for their own good sometimes, but it would be hard to own any other breed of dog.  It is a lot of work but a lot more interesting and fun in my opinion.

Since Bandit doesn’t live to far from us we told his owner he and she could come over for a dog playdate sometime.  Cody and Sierra love having friends over since I think they get bored of each other sometimes.  (Cody definitely doesn’t like dealing with his little sister.)

Hopefully we will see Bandit again and run into more English Shepherds in our area.

Wordless Wednesday: Cody and Sierra at Sherwood Gardens

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Lately I have been taking Cody and Sierra to Sherwood Gardens, which is a famous Baltimore park, often on our daily walks now that is is Spring.  The walk there for us isn’t too bad and both dogs really love seeing the Tulips, which are in full bloom right now, and all the people who come to enjoy Sherwood Gardens.

I took this picture of Cody and Sierra while we were at Sherwood Gardens the other day.  The day I took this picture at Sherwood Gardens it was a bit overcast at the park.  However, the picture came out really well and it almost looks like I went to edit and smooth out the image, but I didn’t.  I like how happy the dogs look and how surreal the picture is.  It looks like a painting or piece of art.  (Ok, I might be getting a bit over-my-head now.)

sherwood gardens

I hope everyone likes my Wordless Wednesday picture.  What do you think?  Leave a comment below and let us know!

Puppy Mill Auction

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This is guest post from a passionate animal care advocate that wanted to have this story heard, but wished to remain anonymous.  We thought the story should be told on SingingDogs.net for people to be educated and aware about puppy mills. 

Bidding on puppy mill dogs at an auction is controversial.  On the one hand it is like buying a puppy from a pet store; you are putting money into the hands of the puppy millers and many rescues won’t buy dogs from auctions for this reason.  Other rescues feel that the dogs will be sold regardless, so the mill breeders will get their money regardless, and they focus on relieving the plight of the individual dogs being sold.

We arrived at 2:30 pm, about halfway through the auction.  The first shock was that the place was packed with at least 150 cars.  There were so many people in the arena where the auction was held that it was difficult to move, see, or hear one another without putting your ear next to the speaker’s mouth.  Imagine the dogs trying to cope in such strange surroundings amidst that din! There were signs posted on the wall warning that anyone using cameras or video cameras, including cell phone versions, would have their equipment confiscated.

The dogs were brought out in lots by breed, up to 4 at a time.  Smaller dogs were placed in a sitting position on a table, larger breeds left on the floor.  Bidding was per dog, with the highest bidder getting to say which dog of the 4 they wanted, up to all 4 at the high bid price.

Some dogs went for as little as $50, but most were considerably more than that.   I was also shocked to find that some breeds sold for as much as one would pay for a puppy from a reputable breeder; Soft-coated Wheaten Terriers sold for $1200.  I was surprised to find Neapolitan Mastiffs being auctioned.  The most numerous breed was the English Bulldog.  I wondered aloud why puppy mills would raise a breed that had such small litters born by caesarian section, but someone explained to me that they would sell each puppy for as much as $2,500.

When bidders were ready to check out, they went to a line where they could pay by cash or credit card. Then they moved to a line where they signed a transfer of ownership form, and received vaccination records for the dog.

Then some guys brought the dogs out of a holding pen area to load them into the buyer’s vehicle.  We had intended to go into the holding pen area to look around until we noticed that at least 1 dog in the auction had failed its brucellosis test.  As my friend and I have litters planned, we decided to stay outside and wait for our dogs to be brought out to us.

As we got a better look at the dogs, the following issues came to light.  All of the dogs had severely overgrown toenails.  Most of the dogs were grossly overweight.  Puppy mill breeders free-feed cheap dog food in big buckets; they have too many dogs to monitor individual intake.  The dog’s coats were poor and greasy due to the cheap food and lack of brushing or baths.  Few of them knew how to walk on leash.  One dog had a puncture on her nose that was oozing pus.  Two of the females were full of milk; their puppies had obviously been pulled off of them so that the dams could go to auction.  The biggest dog we took had extensive pressure abrasions on her hocks and elbows from resting on hard surfaces.  The only vaccinations on record were rabies shots.  Most of the dogs had only had these within the past month so that they could go to auction.  One of the dogs had just received her rabies vaccination that day.

For these dogs, at least, and those purchased by a couple of other rescues in attendance, their life is about to take an abrupt turn for the better.  The majority of dogs went to other puppy mill breeders and a fate I wouldn’t wish for any dog.  I encourage all of us to screen our puppy buyers carefully, make sure that our spay/neuter contracts are honored, and to stay in touch with puppy buyers, doing all that we can to make sure that no dog bred by us ever ends up in these straits.

While waiting to collect our rescues, I picked up two magazines from a stack published by the “Professional Kennel Industry” and brought them home to study later.  The shocks just kept coming.  In what follows, everything in quotes comes verbatim from one of the two magazines.

There’s a memoir-like article by a guy who moved from California to Missouri with 13 dogs; he nonchalantly mentions that he now has 320 dogs.  Can you imagine?  Forget socialization; even if someone had 10 employees it would be impossible to provide adequate basic care for that many.

The advertisers in the magazines surprised me.  Pro Pac and Sportmix, the makers of those cute little biscuits we put out at shows, had an ad with a banner at the bottom saying “We are Proud Supporters of the Breeder Industry!”

And how about this ad from the Hunte Corporation?  “Get 5 pounds of puppy dog food free for every puppy you sell to The Hunte Corporation”  The logo is “Hunte (with a little Christian fish symbol under it) where puppies come first!”

Several registries advertised in these magazines.  America’s Pet Registry (APA), located in Arkansas, styles itself The People’s Registry.  They have what they call a hybrid registry for designer dogs.

Most of the dogs we rescued were registered with the American Canine Association, Inc. (ACA) “Receive credit and recognition for being one of the finest breeders in the nation”. ACA was advertizing its Champion of Champions Conformation Show in Poplar Bluff, MO.  If I remember what she told me correctly, my friend from Missouri said that you have to be licensed to have more than 10 intact bitches, unless you show them, so these organizations now put on shows.

And yes, AKC was among the advertisers.  “AKC for You!  Dedicated Support For Your Breeder Needs!” “AKC Registration of Breeding Stock  Our Administrative Research Registration service (ARR) allows AKC staff to research pedigrees of dogs not currently registered with AKC.  If the dogs come from AKC registered stock, the dog may be eligible for AKC registration.  The AKC is currently waiving all fees for this service.”

The AKC ad appeared facing an ad for The Cavalry Group.  While both magazines were full of diatribes about Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), this group appeared to be the most extreme in its fear-mongering.  “The Cavalry Group is here!  Protecting your farm, your animals, and your livelihood from illegal searches of your farm or business, illegal seizure of your animals or property…”

Back to other AKC ads: “Waived Late Fees  Have you postponed registering your litter or dog?  In many cases the Breeder Relations team can waive any late fees.”  “AKC Web Banners  Breeders in good standing may use an AKC web banner on their web site.  What better way to signify you are part of America’s premier purebred registry?  Contact Breeder Relations for details.”

In an article by Michael Ganey, AKC Marketing Director, titled “The AKC Offers New Breeder Support”, the following paragraphs appear: “One size does not fill all – You sell your puppies in many ways: to distributors, direct to pet stores, or directly to families.  No matter which approach you choose, it’s a decision that fits your personal style.  Some folks like dealing with families over the phone and in person.  Others enjoy working directly with pet store owners and managers.  A third group enjoys the convenience of having distributors handle all the sales and delivery of tasks on their behalf.  There is even a small group that employs all three strategies.  It’s all a matter of personal choice and preference.

We responded by streamlining our communications to fit the way you sell.  Distributor customers now receive monthly reminders highlighting the bonuses AKC puppies often command.  And new marketing tools and services are being developed for breeders who sell direct.”

Clear enough for you?  AKC feels it has to compete with these other registries and is willing to support puppy millers to do so.