Our Club and It's Philosophy
The US club is very, warm, welcoming and open to dog lovers whether you have a Lucas Terrier now, in the past -- or just hope to own a Lucas Terrier one day. We think of one another as a Lucas family and we treat one another as family. Our members come from all over the world.
The US club is very informal and open to new ideas. In fact, we welcome new ideas from our members. That is how progress is made -- by soliciting the good ideas and advice from others.
Although we love the Lucas Terrier -- we are respectful and appreciative of ALL breeds whether they are pure bred or mutt. We love dogs...period.
As a breed - ours is very rare and endangered. When we started in 2006, only 36 dogs could be documented living in the US and Canada. Thanks to the club's aggressive and cooperative breeding efforts (and a little luck), that number has grown to 83 as of 2011. In contrast, The UK Club has registered just under 600 dogs (595 as of Oct 2011), so we have some catching up to do on our side of the pond.
Our breeding priorities for the Lucas Terrier are: health, intelligence and sound temperament. These are non-negotiable. The fact that our dogs just happen to be gorgeous is a bonus!
Sir Jocelyn's decision not to register the breed with The Kennel Club - and hence not have them at shows like Westminster and Crufts - has hurt their visibility - (some would argue their legitimacy as a breed too - but we would adamantly disagree with this point.)
Even though the breed has been around since the late 1940's, life-long dog lovers commonly say - "gosh...I've never heard of them before." This is why the breed is still "rare" and a well-kept secret after all these years - the average American has never been 'exposed' to one on TV trotting around Westminster or even at a locally held dog show. That is how we, as Americans, have been "trained" to learn about new breed's and meet "good breeders."
Another reason why the Lucas is so rare, is that it has small litters - on average only two to four puppies. In our best year in the US - we had a grand total of five litters consisting of fifteen dogs.
In contrast, the AKC registers about 60,000 litters of Labrador puppies each year (every year!) out of its 150 plus recognized breeds - and Labs have large litters - averaging eight to ten puppies per litter.
In the US - we screen our new puppy buyers very carefully because we want to make sure it is the perfect fit on both sides of the equation. Breeders keep in touch with their puppy buyers for the lives of their dogs. So once you are part of our family - you are family! We take good breeding practices VERY seriously. It is a passion for those of us who are lucky enough to own a Lucas Terrier.
As a club, we are placing more of an emphasis on placing puppies on the best homes who will also contribute to the breed by breeding back one litter or fathering a litter (either naturally or via a sperm deposit). Unless we protect our gene pool now - we won't have a breed to protect later.
Of course not all dogs are suitable for breeding and we recognize this. But we are no longer considering spay/neuter homes first. With 20 Lucas buyers in the US for every one puppy we produce - we can afford to choosy - and e have to be if our breed is to survive.
We encourage all new puppy buyers to join the Lucas Club and stay active. Dues are just $25 per year if you life in the US or Canada. (They are pro-bono/free) if you live out of the states - particularly in Great Britain who we owe the very existence of the breed to. This is one of our ways of thanking our friends in the UK.
If you like what you read and see on this website - and would like to join a friendly group of like minded dog lovers -- join us!. All are welcome in the Lucas Terrier Club of America!
Mojo Pounders dancing to the music.
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