Kreg Hill competes with two Australian Terriers in multiple dog sports.

Never underestimate what terriers are capable of is a theme for this team! Jan Moller and her Irish Terrier Griffin (GCH CH Bay-Lei's MacGryphon BN RA...

Salishan Tibetan Terriers, in Tolland, Connecticut, was founded by Gary and Susan Carr. They began exhibiting Tibetan Terriers in 1975 and breeding them in 1979. The Carrs became AKC Platinum Breeders of Merit, and their kennel has produced some of the top show dogs in the country. Their dogs have earned more than 300 AKC Championships and Obedience [...]

Let’s just admit it: Getting started in showing purebred dogs can be intimidating. For newbies, it can seem like the other exhibitors have been given the steps to a choreographed dance that they execute with fluidity and flair, while you are left to lurch around the ring with two left feet. And if you [...]

Peter Holson of McHill’s Border Terriers lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He has been involved with Border Terriers for more than 20 years and has bred them for about that long. McHill’s is a brother/sister breeding program. Typically, Peter’s sister, Hillary Zimmerman, whelps and raises pups while Peter is more involved [...]

AKC Breeder of Merit Debarah Billings hails from Bristol, Tennessee. Her breeding program and Windsong Biewer Terriers began in 2009. Her goal was and continues to be breeding for improvement as well as promoting the Biewer Terrier.   AKC: How did you get started in breeding dogs? Debarah: After retiring in 2008, I started my search for a [...]

Dori Anderson, an AKC Breeder of Merit and preservation breeder of Outbackred Australian Terriers, lives in Hartford, Wisconsin. Established in 1983, Outbackred produces show quality Aussies with a focus on temperament, conformation, and structural soundness for future generations. They have produced many AKC Champions.     AKC:  How did you get started in breeding dogs? Dori: We [...]

A passion for terriers and dog shows led 17-year-old Royal Miller, from Pennsylvania, to become ranked as #7 Junior Handler in the Terrier group. "I never expected to be in the top 10 in my group because of COVID-19," Royal explains. "Yet there I was, winning in juniors and moving up to #7 in the Terrier group." Royal's [...]

“When Harry Met Minnie: A True Story of Love and Friendship,” by Martha Teichner. Celadon Books. $26.99. OK, admit it. When you see that book title your first thoughts turn to the popular 1989 romantic comedy, “When Harry Met Sally,” starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. Some of the same elements are in this tender, affecting volume [...]

Dogs can suffer from diabetes mellitus, which resembles Type I or insulin-dependent diabetes in humans. In this condition, the pancreas does not make any insulin, the hormone needed to move sugar from the bloodstream into the body’s cells that use it as fuel. Insulin must be given as treatment for the body to function [...]

Jean Tuggle and Emily Foster became friends after they each got a Black Russian Terrier from the same breeder. They lived in the same area, and a mutual love of the breed led to a partnership in a breeding program. Jean has called many places home, being from a military family (she was born in [...]

Taylor Schwartz, of Lakeville, Minnesota, partners with Belfox and Misty Hollow Smooth Fox Terriers to both breed and show. She got her start in the breed when she was asked to show a puppy. That puppy eventually came home with her, and “the rest is history,” Taylor said. “I have been fortunate to partner with [...]

Barbara Miller of Glen Head, New York, is synonymous with Norfolk Terriers. And not just those from her top-winning Max-Well Kennel. The 2007 AKC Breeder of the Year (and 2002 AKC Terrier Breeder of the Year), Miller was the president of the parent club when her breed amicably split in 1979, creating the drop-eared Norfolk Terrier and the [...]

Among the marvels of human ingenuity is the way various breeds of dog were developed, mentally and physically, to tackle specific jobs. Consider the farmer’s eternal war against rodents and other burrowing mammals that devastate grain stores, raid henhouses, tear up fields, dig away riverbanks, and carry disease. As their number-one weapon in subterranean [...]

Linda Jarvis, an AKC Breeder of Merit, started breeding Airedale Terriers in 1984. A resident of New Bern, NC, Linda is a past president and current board member of the Airedale Terrier Club of America and is very active in the sport of dogs, attending seminars and judging. AKC: How did you get started in breeding [...]

Amanda Halsey, a hobby breeder of Toy Fox Terriers (TFTs), lives in West Central Ohio. Her dogs are bred under the kennel name DynAsty Toy Fox Terriers. She has been breeding and showing TFTs for 16 years. AKC: How did you get started in breeding dogs? Halsey: I showed horses competitively, starting around age 12, and continued [...]

Photos courtesy of Wavemaker Staffords Lynn and Jim Caswell of Grayson, Ga., own, show, and breed Staffordshire Bull Terriers. They travel around the country promoting health, exercise, and the breed standard, with a focus on the total dog: temperament, structure, movement, and type. The Caswells have been involved with this breed for 14 years and are [...]

If you're a musician, there's the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. If you're an actor, there are the Oscars. And if you're a dog breeder, the maraschino cherry atop a lifetime of hard work is to be named an American Kennel Club Breeder of the Year. After all, anyone can have a one-hit wonder [...]

Got a minute? If so, you can learn the essentials of any breed. Not enough to call yourself an expert, of course. But in the time it takes to watch a TV commercial, you can pick up just enough breed knowledge to bluff your way through a conversation at the dog park. The average adult [...]

Francis Redmond’s “Totteridge” Smooth Fox Terriers were a famous British line of the late 19th century. Redmond was a master dog man who did much to standardize his breed, and the Totteridge kennel was pivotal in the creation of the modern Smooth. It was the custom to immortalize dogs of such [...]

(AKC Breeder of Merit Buffy Stamm was co-breeder of the 2010 Westminster Best in Show winner, GCh. Roundtown Mercedes of Maryscot. In 2008, She was named AKC Terrier Breeder of the Year.) A few years ago, our most promising young stud dog had already sired the Best of Winners at two national specialties. One of his offspring [...]

Smith, the 2012 AKC Breeder of the Year, attended his first dog show with a Dalmatian in 1956 and has been involved in the sport ever since. He quickly gravitated to the terrier rings and acquired a Wire Fox Terrier in 1957. His first Smooth came in 1962. The AKC delegate from the Dalmatian Club of America [...]

Ask AKC   Dear AKC: My question deals with how Yorkshire Terriers socialize. Do "Yorkie" females get along better with other females or with male Yorkies? We have been told varying opinions and need to know, as we are in the process of purchasing another Yorkie and need to pick the correct gender to get [...]

Is the Scottish Terrier the right breed for your lifestyle? Learn more about this iconic terrier breed and see if they're right for you.

For Karen Rowan, a lifelong love of dogs became a decades-long commitment to one breed in particular: the Dalmatian. Alongside her husband, Paul, Rowan has spent more than 30 years developing Gaelic Dalmatians in North Carolina. Their program reflects careful planning, respect for the breed’s history and purpose, and a deep commitment to responsible breeding [...]

Is it safe to have dogs and small pets in the same home? Learn more about the risks and training to help them coexist.

Eggheaded and muscular, the Bull Terrier is “full of fire but of sweet disposition,” according to its breed standard — and it takes a handler who truly understands the breed to show one at its best. “They are ornery, and they are clownish,” says 14-year-old Kole Brown, who shows his family’s Bull Terriers and Miniature [...]

Hyperkeratosis refers to the overproduction of keratin, the protein that makes up a dog's hair, skin, and nails. Learn about the condition.

The American Kennel Club is the world's largest registry of purebred dogs, and uses these statistics to rank the most popular breeds — and the rarest breeds. The numbers are in: these are the rarest dog breeds according to AKC registration statistics. In 2025, 202 total breeds were counted in the registration statistics. In 2026, 205 breeds will be counted [...]

Though she's barely taller than the tips of her Great Dane's ears, Junior Handler Olivia Betancourt shines in the conformation ring.