Kalamals Kennel is a family-run show kennel in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, where Eric and Julie Kalamaja have been cherishing and sharing their lives with their beautiful Alaskan Malamutes since 1988. Their focus is on health, temperament, longevity and total well-being, producing happy and affectionate companions, as well as champion show dogs. AKC: […]

Growing up on a farm, Adrienne Hales developed a love of raising animals at an early age. Her passion turned to pets at the age of 8 when she began breeding Teddy Bear Hamsters for her friends. Her dedication to detail included designing their playgrounds and building them with paper towel rolls. At age 12, […]

From the Lone Ranger to Zorro, we know good guys can wear masks. But just try convincing your dog of that. As controlling the spread of the coronavirus becomes a paramount concern, the federal government has recommended – and some states have mandated – wearing face masks in public. While we humans have acclimated to […]

AKC Breeder of Merit Stephanie Mazzarella has had Xoloitzcuintlis for 30 years. She and her husband live on seven acres outside of Atlanta, Georgia, and have a home in Florida as well. She has produced many AKC and international champions and trained Xolos as service dogs. Many Amoroso Xolos are also serving as therapy and […]

There are two kinds of breeders: Those who think that the history of their breed commenced with their arrival, and those who understand that they are part of a larger, grander tapestry.  John Buddie of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, is one of the latter.  A retired schoolteacher and the 2015 AKC Herding Breeder of the Year, Buddie has been rearing his Tartanside Collies for 55 years – and counting. Starting […]

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 […]

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. Since […]

The 2020 Junior Showmanship Finals at the AKC National Championship took place on Dec. 12 in Orlando, Florida. To qualify, juniors had to have at least three first-place wins in Open Class with competition present between Oct. 10, 2019 and Oct. 7, 2020. In addition, juniors must have a grade point average of at least 3.0 for the past […]

Golden Retriever Pigmentary Uveitis (GRPU) is an inflammatory disease of the eye recognized in Golden Retrievers throughout the United States and Canada. It was first described in the scientific literature in 1996 and is now recognized as common in Golden Retrievers more than 8 years of age in the United States. Despite ongoing research to […]

Dr. Renee Lara is that rare gem – a veterinarian who understands dog breeders. And that’s because she is one herself. Owning her own veterinary clinic in Bryan, Texas, since 1990, where she offers a full array of reproductive services, Lara is Platinum Breeder of Merit with her Ehrenvogel German Shorthaired Pointers. She purchased her […]

Though we often don’t think about them in this way, dogs are really about people — those long-ago (or, sometimes, not so long-ago) figures who developed particular breeds for particular tasks. Some breeds — like the Doberman Pinscher, Teddy Roosevelt Terrier, and Cesky Terrier — owe their existence to just one visionary person. Other breeds were brought into being […]

Joseph and Brenna Carlisle are AKC Breeders of Merit Bronze and AKC Bred with HEART breeders. Their kennel, Heritage Hounds, is located on about 80 acres just outside of Birmingham, Alabama. Brenna has bred and shown Standard Longhaired Dachshunds her whole life, and Joseph has bred Treeing Walker Coonhounds and competed in competition hunts with […]

With a three-legged hop and a skip, 6-year-old Ari, aka Hero No. 1651, knows how to work a crowd. Giving his amputated limb the cold-shoulder, the Golden Retriever with the soft, friendly eyes can’t wait to cheer up anyone who needs a dose of happy. His specialty? Hospice patients, nonverbal people, children using wheelchairs, and […]

AKC Breeder of Merit Kym Burch-Ryan has raised and shown Australian Shepherds since 1993. She lives on a 20-acre farm in Roxbury, Kansas. Her daughter Brandi shares her passion for the breed; she has shown Aussies since she was 8 years old. Kym’s younger daughter, Hadlei, is also now showing Aussies. AKC: How did you […]

Labrador Retrievers are popular and versatile sporting dogs that make wonderful family companions and top athletes. Labrador Retrievers excel at retriever field trials, where they are tested on their retrieving skills and “learned abilities like steadiness, control, response to direction, and delivery of bird.” So, the retriever community was rattled when these high-drive athletes started […]

Since 1884, The AKC has been the nation's leading not-for-profit organization devoted to the study, breeding, exhibiting, welfare, and advancement of purebred dogs. We operate the world's largest purebred-dog registry, affiliated with U.S. dog clubs and serve as the governing body for the dog sport, sanctioning over 22,000 events per year. The American Kennel Club […]

–Award Presented at AKC National Championship Presented by Royal Canin – Gail S. Wolaniuk and Joan E. McFadden were presented with the 2020 AKC Breeder of the Year award for Unique Standard Poodles at the AKC National Championship Presented by Royal Canin on Sunday, December 13, 2020.  The annual award honors those breeders who have […]

The AKC® Humane Fund is proud to announce the winners of the 21st annual AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence (ACE). These awards celebrate five loyal, hard-working dogs that have significantly improved the lives of their owners and communities. The five winners were carefully chosen from a pool of more than 800 impressive nominations. […]

The American Kennel Club® (AKC®) is pleased to recognize breeding programs from the Sporting, Hound, Working, Terrier, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding groups as 2020 AKC Breeder of the Year group honorees. “We are proud to honor these esteemed breeders,” said Dennis Sprung, AKC President and CEO. “Each of them has made important contributions to the […]

Here are some highlights of state-level issues AKC GR is currently tracking. California – SB 1115 allows commercial blood banks to obtain blood from community-sourced animals (currently not allowed in California) and establishes procedures for phasing out current commercial blood banks (captive closed-colony blood banks) for animals if certain criteria are met.  This is in […]