Breeder Referral
The James River Kennel Club is an American Kennel Club (AKC) member-club representing the Lynchburg, Virginia area including Bedford, Amherst, Appomattox, Nelson, Campbell and Pittsylvania counties.
JRKC members are active in conformation, obedience, agility, and field events, providing educational and training opportunities to members of the purebred dog fancy as well as educating the public about the sport of purebred dogs.
Upcoming Events
4–8, 2010 Mountain Valley
Dog Show Cluster
Salem Civic Center, Salem, Virginia
26, 2010
Conformation, Obedience and Rally Obedience Match; CGC Testing
Boonsboro, Va.
Club Meetings
All meetings are held at 7 p.m. at the Quality Inn, 3125 Albert Lankford Drive at Odd Fellows Road, Lynchburg, Virginia, 24501
Board Meeting
General Meeting:
Cluster preparation
General Meeting:
Board nominations and Obedience Trial Prep
Board Meeting
General Meeting:
Annual Meeting and Election
Board Meeting
General Meeting
The American Kennel Club (AKC) Individual American Kennel Club dog clubs have long recognized their responsibility to encourage potential owners to purchase quality dogs from responsible breeders. With that goal in mind, the James River Kennel Club has worked closely with the American Kennel Club and local dog clubs in Virginia to develop a statewide Breeder Referral Program.
Our goal is to educate the public and put potential puppy/dog buyers in direct contact with responsible breeders. The decision to purchasing a puppy or an adult dog has long lasting consequences, most of which are wonderful. The love and adoration a dog gives you and your family is unconditionally and brings a sense of well being to everyone in the family. But there are downsides that people often overlook. This includes things like early morning feedings and walks, damaged furniture and shoes from energetic chewing, ensuring someone is home at a particular time to feed and walk the pup, etc.
The first thing anyone should do is determine if they are ready for a dog.
- Do you have the time for training and dealing with an enthusiastic puppy? A puppy 8 weeks old will need feedings 3 times a day until they are 4–6 months old. Can you be home to feed them or make arrangements to have the pup fed?
- Can you afford to lose several days of sleep because of a crying puppy?
- Does your work scheduled allow you to come home at reasonable times so your dog spends a minimal amount of time alone — or can you provide that he is watched or attends a doggie daycare on those days you will be working after hours?
- Do you have the time and are you dedicated to housebreak a puppy or adult dog? Housebreaking is critical in young pups and is the #1 reason pups/dogs are taken to shelters. It is very easy to housebreak a pup but it does require consistency and time on your part.
- If you have kids, are they at an age where they can respect living things and understand what is appropriate behavior around a dog/puppy? Dogs and kids are a wonderful combination but both need to know the rules and be able to live by them. Sometimes it is better to wait until children are a older and are better able to understand.
If you feel the time is right for a dog in your life, and that of your family’s, the next step is to determine what breed is best for you. Things like:
- Size
- Coat characteristics (long or short haired — double coated or single coated)
- temperament
- compatibility with your lifestyle and that of your family’s
are just some of the things you need to consider. Go to http://www.akc.org/breeds/index.cfm?nav_area=breeds for a list of the various purebred breeds.
Your next step is to go to the library and find a good reference book that talks about the breeds that you might be interested in. Many references give you information about a breed’s ability to kept in an apartment, or if they are good around kids, how much exercise they need, etc.
Finally, the best way to ensure a long and happy relationship with a purebred dog is to purchase from a responsible breeder. While neither the AKC nor the James River Kennel Club endorse or recommend specific breeders, we do offer several resources to locate breeders. The AKC recommends puppy buyers begin the search process by contacting the AKC Parent Club. A Parent Club is the national club of a particular breed. Typically Parent Clubs have wonderful information on their websites that can help you decide if a particular breed is right for you. Go to http://www.akc.org/breederinfo/breeder_search.cfm for a complete list of AKC Parent Clubs. Often the Parent Club will have a breeder referral section on their website. Take advantage of this and talk to several breeders.
If you need more information about purchasing a purebred dog and finding breeders in Virginia you can contact the James River Kennel Club Breeder Referral at 434/384-8891.
Please Note: The breeder referral contact is appointed by the club to provide referral services only and may not be a breeder themselves. You are calling a volunteer from a breed club who is eager to take the time to put you in contact with breeders who may have puppies available. You are not calling an office. Please respect time zones when calling these contacts. They may be away at dog shows or on vacation and may take a few days to get back to you.