Incest breeding, once a convenient tool for the rapid fixation of type in newly-registered breeds, has become virtually standard practice for those who seek success in dog breeding. The net effect has been the decimation of gene pools, widespread homozygosity and the unintended fixation of unknown scores, hundreds or thousands of alleles, many of which are proving to be harmful or lethal to the animals that bear them. The CKC, born in the height of the Victorian era, seems to cling to cumbersome structures, making it difficult for the Club to respond in a timely fashion to external challenges or internal needs. The entire By-Law and Amendment structure could do with modernisation. Many members also feel that Board of Directors initiatives are frequently arbitrary and undertaken hastily, with insufficient grassroots consultation, while initiatives from the general membership must go through a slow and cumbersome multi-stage routine before they can be acted upon.
Breed clubs seem to possess little real power to represent breeders or their breeds effectively.
Since breed clubs have relatively little real power, they often tend to be less than fully representative of all breeders of a particular breed. Breeders, as well, are sometimes far from free to make their own responsible decisions for the best interests of their own dogs and bloodlines being closely constrained by CKC Bylaws and by the Animal Pedigree Act. Little discretion is given them regarding matters such as the withholding of registration papers, delaying registration of stock until it reaches physical maturity, the introduction of new genetic material when in their judgment it is needed for genetic health, etc. Many of the abuses and deficiencies not rooted in outmoded attitudes such as racism and elitism arise from misunderstandings of genetic realities.