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 […]

Radar is a “decomposition dog" who is trained to pick up the scent of death. He can also find missing people, suspects of crimes, and track evidence. Now eight years old, Radar has been training for this since he was just 10 weeks old. Since then, he's helped put away about 24 murders and has […]

The Irish Wolfhound is an ancient and giant breed. These tall, muscular dogs can weigh as much as 180 pounds and can stand as tall as seven feet when up on their hind legs. They have a strong instinct to hunt, which makes them a wonderful candidate for AKC sports like tracking, agility, and lure coursing. […]

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 […]

No doubt you've seen a Whippet or Italian Greyhound. These absolutely adorable dogs look like Greyhounds that have been blasted with a shrink ray. Thanks to their size, it's easy to see that they are not actually Greyhounds, but the trickier question is, how do you tell these two breeds apart? The larger Whippet is […]

MACH2 PACH Cooper X MXG MJB2 MXP3 MXPB MJP6 MJPS PAX OF T2B CGC owned by Shelley R. Webster of Trenton, NJ Cooper was found as a stray in Ohio at the estimated age of 7 months. His next 11 months were spent in shelters until Shelley adopted him in Princeton, NJ, on July 6, […]

SB 285 recently passed the Senate Finance Committee and is pending consideration by the full Senate. The measure seeks to eliminate the West Virginia Greyhound Breeding Development Fund (GBDF) and redirect all money from the Fund to the State Excess Lottery Revenue Fund.  Additionally, it would eliminate the requirement that video lottery and racetrack table […]

American English Coonhounds are sweet, mellow, and too friendly to perform as a guard dog. Bred to hunt raccoons, the breed descends from English Foxhounds brought to America in the early 1800s. American English Coonhounds sound a distinctive howl when locating their quarry. On a rugged hiking trail, a young couple turns around and realizes […]

Kimberly and Colin Fritzer are AKC Breeders of Merit and the owners of Windrock Greyhounds in Grand Junction, Colorado. They are originally from Wyoming and plan to return to their home state next year. The Fritzers have been breeding Greyhounds since the early 1990s, having bred Afghan Hounds before that. Kimberly, who describes herself as “just an old farm kid,” is also a livestock judge with a very critical eye when it comes to animals. She has raised more than 350 champions and […]

If modern dogs were required to have resumés, most would list their job description as “companion." But from the badger-battling Dachshund to the sled-pulling Alaskan Malamute, dogs' bodies – not to mention their brains – still reflect the original purposes for which they were bred. Indeed, dog breeds display a tremendous variety of not just […]

Corkey Basset Hounds is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Christiansburg, Virginia, on 10 acres of wooded land. Nancy and Dan Corkey have been breeding Basset Hounds for almost 24 years, producing a plethora of pet companions and AKC champions.  

With their trailing ears and adorably drooping faces, Basset Hounds are beloved pups—but did you know the breed originated in sixth-century France, as hunting cousins to the longer-legged Bloodhound? Here’s everything else you need to know about these jowly jewels of dogs.

Louis Murr was a renowned Borzoi owner, breeder, exhibitor, and judge. Most authorities of the time considered Murr's Ch. Vigow of Romanoff to be the greatest Borzoi ever bred on American soil A tragic event cut Vigow's career short Murr died in 1978, two years after retiring from judging, at age 84 Never mind Rasputin's […]

Being the "first" to achieve something takes a lot of determination and tenacity, something that Scottish Deerhound Brodie and his owner, Linda Beisswenger, know all too well. In St. Louis, Missouri, Brodie came to Beisswenger as just a puppy. Previously, Beisswenger competed in AKC Tracking with her Borzoi. "I just fell in love with Tracking and I'm still in love […]

When you think about breeds competing in Obedience and earning a Utility Dog (UD) title, an Afghan Hound probably isn't the first breed that comes to mind. Count on Golden Retrievers, Shetland Sheepdogs, Border Collies, Labrador Retrievers, and German Shepherd Dogs to lead the pack of breeds who achieve UDs in obedience. But Hope, a blue and white […]

AKC Breeders of Merit Brenda and Neil Brody have been involved with Afghan Hounds for more than 46 years — since before they were married. In fact, they met because of Brenda’s pet Afghan Hound Disraeli. In 1970, she was walking him on East 65th Street in New York City, and Neil was walking with a friend in the opposite direction. When they passed each other, Neil commented on Disraeli, and “young and naïve” Brenda responded.   Today, they are […]

The sleek and graceful Saluki has hunted with humankind for thousands of years. Because the history of this ancient sighthound reaches back long before the invention of breed clubs and written records, the breed's origin is veiled in mystery. Here are 10 interesting facts about this beautiful breed. 1. The Saluki Is One of the […]

In any field of endeavor, there are personalities so larger than life that only part of their name is sufficient inducement to bring them to mind. In fashion, there are Valentino and Iman. In music, Adele and Beyoncé and Madonna and too many more to count. And in purebred dogs, there’s Sunny. A Household Name […]

When you think Basset Hound, athleticism might not be the first word the pops into your mind. But Karen Prichard and her Instagram-famous Basset Hound, Poppy, are out to prove all breeds can excel at dog sports. Karen and her husband, Timothy, from Pensacola, Florida, were initially drawn to Basset Hounds because of their personalities. Shortly […]

Two of the largest dog breeds in the world – and both sighthounds with wiry coats – it's no wonder that people often confused the Irish Wolfhound (IW) and the Scottish Deerhound (Deerhound). Although these two members of the Hound Group may have similarities on the surface, the truth is there are several qualities that […]

Yesterday, Florida voters approved a new state constitutional amendment that will phase out commercial dog racing in the state in connection with wagering by 2020. Passage of this amendment means that Florida will join 40 other U.S. states that ban this practice.  The amendment passed with 69% of voters supporting the amendment.  The amendment provides that after December […]

Yesterday, Florida voters approved a new state constitutional amendment that will phase out commercial dog racing in the state in connection with wagering by 2020. Passage of this amendment means that Florida will join 40 other U.S. states that ban this practice.  The amendment passed with 69% of voters supporting the amendment.  The amendment provides that after December […]

The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that proposed Amendment 13 to the Florida Constitution can appear on the ballot on November 6, 2018. This amendment seeks to ban Greyhound racing in the state effective December 31, 2020. Please scroll down to view the text of the proposed amendment. The American Kennel Club’s canine legislation position […]

32 AKC recognized breeds make up the hound group. We're taking a closer look at what each of these beauties were bred to do.

Molly and Michael Nye, of M&M Bloodhounds, live just outside of Charlotte, N.C. Bloodhound fanciers for close to 20 years, they are members of the American Bloodhound Club, regional Bloodhound clubs, and local all-breed and obedience clubs. They are AKC Breeders of Merit, American Bloodhound Club Breeders of Merit, and they both hold offices and […]

Ever hear of the phrase, “the nose knows” ? Scent hounds are guided by their nose! Any Beagle, Basset, Dachshund or Coonhound out in the field working a track is happy to be sniffing out rabbit, hare or raccoon. In addition to scent hounds having amazing noses and the drive to pursue a scent, they […]

Learning Objectives SWBAT cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text by unpacking the text and illustrating.   Grade Levels 9-10   Common Core Standards RL.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says […]

Learning Objectives Students will conduct research and analyze text to determine the reasoning behind an author’s choice and will describe how that choice impacted the novel.   Grade Levels 9-12   Common Core Standards Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where […]

How do you feel about a grand adventure, with a bit of challenge and surprise tossed in? If this appeals to you, the Grand Basset Griffon Vendéen may satisfy that urge. With fewer than 400 in the United States, the rough-coated scenthound, a native of France, is one of two new breeds the American Kennel […]

Copper, a 16-month-old Black and Tan Coonhound, has achieved more in his 16 months than most people do in their first 10 years of life. Copper is a K-9 with the Cocoa Police Department in Brevard County, Fla. He's also a certified therapy dog and a courtroom dog. We had the pleasure of meeting Copper […]