| | Welcome to the New AKC.org! | | Enhanced Guidelines, New Format Provide Best Practices for Breeders | | We are excited to share an online experience designed for dog lovers, breeders, owners, delegates, club members, and exhibitors who have one thing in common: A passion for dogs. AKC knows that dogs are an integral part of our lives and understands that the ways we enjoy canine companionship are endless. | | Read more ► | | |  | | Helping Hands | | Breeders Supporting Breed Rescue (Part Two) | | By Arliss Paddock | | Longtime breeder Kitty Steidel, who raises Petits Bassets Griffons Vendéens, makes an important observation in a recent article for the AKC Gazette: "If all the breed-rescue groups affiliated with our AKC parent clubs are considered together as a whole, this combined force of dedicated individuals makes up by far the largest dog-rescue operation in the country, perhaps in the world." | | Read more ► | | |  | | Your Partner in Reproductive Science by Royal Canin | | Variables Influencing Litter Size | | Many variables work collectively to determine litter size. We expect the dam to exert an influence, but there are other contributing factors. Breeding management plays several roles in the number of offspring we can expect. It's not too hard to accept that genetics, environment and nutrition all play a part as well. | | Read more ► | | |  | | Take the steps that may help prevent the transmission of canine tick–borne diseases | | There are a variety of disease-causing organisms that can be transmitted to dogs through ticks. Help new owners take steps to help reduce the risk of transmission of the disease–causing organisms ticks may carry. | | Read more ► | | | | |  | | | |  | | AKC Breeder articles are selected for their general interest and entertainment values. Authors' views do not necessarily represent the policies of The American Kennel Club, nor does their publication constitute an endorsement by the AKC. | | © 2012 American Kennel Club | |
| | The Whelping Box | | Beginner's Luck: Establishing a Great Female Line | | By Lois J. Thomasson |  | Originally published in the August 2012 AKC Gazette breed columns
"You should really give some thought to adding compost mix and making the holes larger," I advised my neighbor, who had bare-root roses still in their colorful boxes strategically placed up and down her driveway.
"Oh, I only have an hour before I leave for an engagement," she replied, as she proceeded to drop each rose, box and all, into its hole. Imagine my surprise next spring to look out my kitchen window and see a display to rival the famous Huntington Gardens.
Most of us who have been in dogs for any length of time can tell a similar story of the novice breeder who manages to come up with the coveted Best in Show dog in their first litter. Upon careful study, however, it becomes apparent that their success is due not to beginner's luck, but to the work of those who have gone before them — no different than my neighbor, who just happened by chance to select plants from one of the great nurseries. | | Read more ► | | |
