The AKC is what it always has been, as Ang stated, a simple registry.
Except (and I'm not trying to hurt any feelings, apologies right now, but I feel really passionately about this) THAT'S NOT HOW THE CURRENT AKC REGIME REPRESENTS THE ORGANIZATION to the general public!
The AKC uses splashy televised "dog shows" with lots of judges with high sounding qualifications to promote the idea that AKC knows everything there is to know about dogs. Most people learn 75% of what they know about pure bred dogs from the blurbs on these dog shows. The AKC COULD use these shows to educate the public about the realities of owning dogs, breeding, breeders, etc., but instead focuses on running as many dogs past the camera as possible, spending less than a minute on each dog. It's rare to hear or see even a mention of a breed club. You talk about educating consumers as being the key to the whole pyramid--this is where is SHOULD be being done, but AKC won't do it.
The problem is that the consumer is lazy, and expects the AKC to do the homework for them.
AKC encourages this belief in every way possible. The brand is used to promote all kinds of clinics about dog ownership, to promote training and various other competitive certifications like obedience and the CGC. The public face of the AKC is that of a genial grandpa or grandma, out there trying to help everyone, including dogs, enjoy a happy life.
They even have other companies referencing "Find out more on the AKC website" in ads for products and various dog related programming.
In the meantime, behind the curtain, they take VAST amounts of money from evil and/or stupid people to register disastrously bred puppies that at least as often as not break the hearts and the wallets of the people who buy them.
And the organization gets away with it because if anyone calls them out, "they're just the registry."
AKC has leveraged the brand to turn itself into conventional wisdom's ultimate authority about dogs and their best welfare. Having done that deliberately (and with $$ signs in their eyes) I think it's incumbent on the organization to actually start acting in the best interests of dogs and their welfare.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!
Yes, I'm on a huge tear. Ask me why!
Because I had to walk past the puppies in the window when I went to the mall just now for lunch--the escalators on the north side that I use to avoid that devil place are being worked on for the next six months. Every time I see those glass walls and those poor babies, it's all I can do not to bite every person in the store, especially the manager!
AKC, my big fat butt.
GGGRRRRRAAAAAH
HHHHHHAAAAAAAA
RRRRR!!
Just so mad. I'll bite an AKC board member too, if I can find one.