Navigating Dog Show Economics and Governance with Pam Mandeville

Pam Mandeville showing one of her homebred Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers.

Host Laura Reeves is joined by corporate expert Pam Mandeville to discuss dog show economics, AKC reforms and why getting involved in kennel club governance is just as crucial as US politics for the future of purebred dogs.

Pam Mandeville brings a deeply unique perspective to our sport. Pam is a Georgetown lawyer and MBA graduate who spent years as an AKC project manager and in corporate America, plus she’s bred and owner-handled dozens of Soft-Coated Wheaton Terriers. She brings her real-world business experience to give us a reality check on the sport we love.

Pam walks us through the true economic realities of dog shows, pointing out that having the disposable income to show dogs actually puts us in the top one percent of the country. Instead of expecting average America to pour money into massive dog shows, Pam suggests we embrace our status as a “niche sport.”

“We don’t have to be massive,” Pam said. “We can be a high-quality “jewel” by supporting smaller, more accessible shows.” Pam digs into the numbers behind AKC registrations and event entries, questioning whether the boom in companion events is actually bringing in new people or just giving our current exhibitors more titles to earn with their dogs.

Because AKC is a representative government, Pam and Laura also brainstorm ways to drag it kicking and screaming into the 21st century. They hash through structural reforms like professionalizing the board of directors with outside business experts, ending absentee delegates, and creating regional delegate Zoom meetings so small grassroots clubs aren’t priced out of having a voice.

“Years ago, a friend told me something that has resonated ever since: the American Kennel Club is government and Pure Dog Talk is small business,” Laura said. “I cannot emphasize this enough, y’all—just like our own government in the United States, being a responsible member of the purebred dog community means knowing how our AKC government works and actively participating in it. Civic awareness and taking action applies to the AKC just as much as it does to US politics and the Constitution. Rights and responsibilities are two sides of the same coin!”

Join your local or parent club, communicate with your delegates and register every single puppy in your litters to support the organization. We are the core constituency, and it is up to us to protect the future of the dogs.