Canine Partners Blog

This training tip is contributed by Julie Kirkland of Swansea, IL, owner and trainer of OTCH Sophie Sparkle Gypsy UDX4 OM6 RN. Julie and Sophie, a former shelter dog, have made many achievements in Obedience, including winning High in Trial and being only the second All-American Dog team to earn the Obedience Trial Championship. They […]

Photo by Michael Blake Southern Californian Michael Uy lives for the outdoors and luckily his canine companion keeps up with him. Abbie holds her own with Uy whether jogging, mountain biking, hiking or even paragliding. One of their favorite stops is the local dog beach where they both like to swim in the ocean. During […]

When Aryn Hervel met Crush, her first thought was “this dog needs a job.” The petite cattle dog mix had gone through two owners who couldn’t live with her energy until dog trainer Hervel adopted her and put her to work. Hervel channels Crush’s exuberance into agility with great success. The former shelter dog has […]

He’s A PatchWork Puppy CDX CGC TDI OJP OAP OFP GN CD BN RAE Sheila Dempsey of Jane Lew, WV, wrote this special tribute to her amazing multi-titled All-American Dog, Patches, when he retired from competition at age 13 two years ago. Patches is now 15 ½ years old and enjoying his retirement, Sheila says. […]

PACH Reggie MXP3 MXPB MJP3 MJPB PAX OFP owned by Lee Sutherland of Columbia Station, OH Reggie was one of 10 puppies left in a box by a burned-out trailer and was lucky enough to be adopted by Lee. “I chose her because of her white back feet.  I wanted an agility dog and, knowing […]

This training tip has been shared by Stacey Campbell, a dog trainer in San Francisco, CA, who owns and operates Go Fetch Dog Training.  Stacey is also known as the human component of an agility team with her mixed-breed rescue dog, NAC MACH2 Roo! Stacey and Roo! are one of the most accomplished teams in the country, […]

This story originally appeared in a 2011 issue of the AKC Canine Partners News newsletter. Since the story was published, Harley, now 9 years old, has earned the AKC’s highest honor in agility – the Master Agility Championship (MACH) and is now pursuing her Preferred Agility Championship (PACH). Most puppies spend their early months being […]

Melanie Woods and her mother Colleen Woods of Sewickley, PA, rescued Luci, who is now a multi-dog sports titled competitor through AKC Canine Partners. Both Melanie, a junior handler, and her mother show Luci in AKC Agility, Obedience, Rally and Coursing Ability. Luci also competes in Barn Hunt through the Barn Hunt Association (BHA); the […]

This story originally appeared in the summer 2012 issue of the AKC Canine Partners News and later was reprinted in a 2013 issue of AKC Family Dog magazine. The story won first place in the 2013 Dog Writers Association of America writing competition in the category of “Magazine Feature Article with the topic of Rescue.”Since […]

Iyong Tapat Kaibiagan CAX4 owned by Stephanie J. Markgraf of Locust Grove, VA Kai, a retired service dog, is the first All-American Dog to earn the AKC Coursing Ability Excellent 4 title for successfully passing 100 runs. "Lure Coursing is the best outlet for him to satisfy his prey drive and have lots of doggy […]