Not sure whether to post this under the Rant thread or here...
The good news is that mixed breed dogs are now able to compete in most AKC events, and there
are many that will provide stiff competition. The only requirements are that they are registered with the AKC
(a $75 fee) and that they are spayed or neutered. I've seen mixed breeds competing in agility, tracking, lure coursing and obedience for years as many obedience clubs have venues separate from the AKC that allow this.
The bad news is that unscrupulous BYB's are already cashing in. Three or four weeks ago, I saw an ad in the Indianapolis paper...Borderjacks (Border Collie/Jack Russell Terrier cross) for sale...$2200. There are literally thousands of dogs dying in shelters every week that would make excellent agility or tracking dogs, some mixes and some are purebreds without papers.
I would say that most if not all mixed breeds that I have seen competing in dog sports in the past have sort of stubbled into it through obedience classes or clubs. Now there's a new market for the BYB's to flood.
Getting a purebred dog registered for an AKC event can be difficult already. In mid January, when Baloo was just 3 months old, I registered him for events later in the year that I had no idea whether or not he would be ready for. Two or three months can go by before you get registration conformation. COE breeders will not breed if their dogs are not judged to be fit in the job they were bred to do. Will this mean more events? Or less purebred dogs and more mixed breed dogs. BYB's don't care if the dogs they breed are healthy and genetically sound.