Goals
The Positive Gun Dog Association, Ltd. is a network of enthusiasts, hunters, positive trainers and breeders dedicated to advocacy and education within the gun dog industry. Our aim is to demonstrate the applicability of positive training techniques for creating reliable, competent, motivated hunting dogs. By working together to build an awareness of the power of positive training, we hope to literally shift the training methods used in this niche from traditional, aversive methods to positive, dog-friendly ones. Please consider joining forces with us to accomplish this goal.
Business Structure
While we may change our business structure in the future, we have decided to forgo non-profit status for now for the betterment of the industry. To be specific, we have opted for a hybrid organization that offers services common to those of most associations, but operates more like a business in its generation of revenue. Our reasoning is as follows:
- Free Membership. Most non-profits require members to pay fees or dues to maintain their membership. In order to open our association to as many interested parties as possible and to give them a voice within the gun dog industry, we have decided to keep membership free forever. In order to do this, the Positive Gun Dog Association, Ltd. supports itself by holding Denver-based and nationwide educational workshops. Funds from these workshops supports the organization, pays employees, and supports advocacy.
- Very Small Niche. The positive gun dog training niche currently has a very small contingency. According to our market research, there probably are approximately a dozen or less true positive gun dog trainers in the United States. Besides that, there are very few gun dog owners, hunters and even very few general positive dog trainers, who have thought to seek out more dog-friendly training techniques for hunting dogs. Although awareness of positive gun dog training is slowly gaining traction, we believe that there currently are not enough interested parties to financially support an association with our goals and aims.
- Cumbersome Legal Requirements. After consulting with non-profit and business attorneys on the best structure for the Positive Gun Dog Assocation, Ltd., we concluded that the make-up of our membership, our educational and certification emphasis, and several other factors did not meet the cumbersome requirements of the IRS for achieving non-profit status. In summary, we are better able to meet our goals, and attract the membership we feel is necessary for achieving our goals, if we are a hybrid, for-profit association.