Meet Officer Sammy of the Walnut Cove Police Department, Walnut Cove, NC Did you think all police dogs were German Shepherds or Belgian Malinois? Not so! A mixed-breed dog who was abandoned by his owner is a valued member of a police department in North Carolina. Officer Sammy was not always deemed law enforcement material. […]

Canine Care Tip Brought to You by the AKC GoodDog! Helpline Team School will be out soon and summer vacation is coming up! Planning to bring Fido on your family road trip? A little planning ahead will make your trip smoother. Here are a few tips to keep your dog cool and comfortable! Before your trip: […]

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 […]

Meet Vera the Dragon Slayer CAX2 Vera is a 3 year old Boxer mix that Norman Price of Kennewick, WA, adopted from a rescue group in July 2011. “But the truth is she rescued me. She is my best friend and I love her very much,” he said. Norman was told that a family found […]

There was a time not long ago that nearly every advertisement featuring a child with a dog seemed to include a Lab or a Golden Retriever, consistently among the most popular dog breeds in America. Today, there’s a bit more variety in the breeds being photographed with children for commercial advertising. Perhaps the public perception […]

The 2015 Obedience and AKC Rally National Champions were crowned this weekend at the American Kennel Club's National Obedience Championship and the AKC Rally National Championship, held at Purina Farms just outside of St. Louis, Missouri. The Championships drew more than 500 of the most highly trained dogs in the nation. Pamela Manaton, AKC Director […]

New York, N.Y. – The 2015 Obedience and AKC Rally® National Champions were crowned this weekend at the American Kennel Club® (AKC®) National Obedience Championship and the AKC Rally National Championship, held at Purina Farms just outside of St. Louis, Missouri. The Championships, sponsored by J & J Dog Supplies, RB Rubber Products, Inc. and […]

By Cheri Rankin It all started when my daughter, Erin, wanted a "sled dog" for her fourth birthday (because she was enamored of sled-dog movies like Iron Will and Balto). I've been a dog lover all my life and had always had a dog growing up, but at that point we had not had a […]

“Most Popular Dog Names” is a common search term, with lists going out almost as regularly as your dog does. But we don’t usually come across ones that connect popular names to their specific breeds. Based on 2015 data sourced from members who included pet information in their profile settings on a social network called […]

The Labrador Retriever has done it again. The intelligent, family friendly breed held onto the number one spot on the most popular list for the 24th consecutive year, continuing the longest reign as the nation’s top dog in American Kennel Club history. For the full list of breed rankings, click here. While the Lab holds strong, […]

New York, NY - The Labrador Retriever has done it again. The American Kennel Club (AKC®) announced today that the intelligent, family friendly breed holds tight to the number one spot on the most popular list for the 24th consecutive year, continuing the longest reign as the nation’s top dog in AKC history. While the […]

Finding your first family dog is a daunting process—one that's up there with dating and house-hunting. And like parenting, when it comes to raising a dog to be perfectly well-behaved, successful, and sociable, well, let's just say practice makes perfect. But, these breeds, while they appeal to different interests, are easily trained and friendly (especially with children), […]

We often hear dog shows accused of being nothing but “beauty contests.” In reality, they’re organized more like job fairs. At AKC shows, dogs are exhibited in seven groups organized by the original work the breeds were created to do. The dog judged best in each group becomes one of the final seven to vie […]

Every year, the AKC releases the list of most popular breeds. But which breeds were top 10 from 2000-2009? Find out here!

The only breed to rank in the top ten breeds every decade since the founding of the American Kennel Club became the nation’s top breed in the 1950s—the Beagle. Not coincidentally, Charles Schultz’s pet Beagle, Snoopy, made his illustrious first appearance in national newspapers on October 4, 1950, and swiftly became a pop phenomenon. The […]

No doubt spurred on by the famous Best in Show wins of My Own Brucie in the early 1940s, accompanied by this handsome dog’s likeness appearing on the cover of Life, the Cocker Spaniel became the country’s number-one dog. The breed enjoyed the number-one ranking for sixteen years, from 1936 to 1952. Although the Pekingese […]

No velvet pillows, hair ribbons, or French pedicures for these big bruisers. These are the no-nonsense, punch-the-clock-and-get-it-done dogs of the AKC Working Group, the Ford pickups of the canine kingdom. Many factors go into breeding dogs that work hard for their feed. Let’s consider a few, and then watch some well-bred workers in action. Physical […]

As the second-longest continuously run sporting event in the United States, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show presented by Purina® Pro Plan® has been around longer than the AKC and has seen new breeds, a growing number of entries, and an upgraded venue in its 140-year history. Here are a few other facts you probably […]

AKC Gazette breed column, Bearded Collies: Try something new with your dog in 2015 — there's a veritable feast of canine activities out there that he's likely to enjoy. I recently spent a pleasant afternoon cruising on Lake Ontario in a sailboat owned by friends who have two Bearded Collies of my breeding. The Beardies, […]

  Atlanta's top 5 most popular breeds for 2013 "In keeping with the national trend, Atlanta loves its big dogs," said AKC Spokesperson Lisa Peterson. "Lovable large breeds clearly dominate the city's top five." Labrador Retriever Golden Retriever German Shepherd Dog Boxer Cavalier King Charles Spaniel * Registration data pulled from Atlanta zip codes as […]