An overreaching bill that seeks to regulate dog and cat breeders and sellers in Alabama is scheduled to be voted on by the Senate Government Affairs Committee tomorrow, April 20, at 8:45 a.m.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) is pleased to announce that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has conditionally vetoed Senate Bill 3041. The AKC, a multitude of our grassroots advocates, and a number of organizations allied in opposition to the onerous provisions of the legislation, worked together in urging Governor Christie to veto the bill. The […]

At its meeting on Wednesday, June 28, 2017, the Hillsborough County Animal Advisory Committee is scheduled to discuss an ordinance that would regulate, set requirements for, and establish fees for dog training businesses and dog trainers in the county.

The Massachusetts' General Court's Joint Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider two bills of great concern to the American Kennel Club at its Tuesday, July 18, hearing. H.2290 seeks to change the legal status of pets from personal property to companion animals, while H.852 seeks to establish an animal abuse registry and impose certain additional […]

The Joint Judiciary Committee of the Massachusetts General Court is scheduled to consider four dog-related bills at its upcoming hearing on Tuesday, September 12, 2017.

In addition to bills to be considered by the Joint Judiciary Committee, the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture is also scheduled to consider several dog-related bills on Tuesday, September 12.

Massachusetts residents, take action now! AKC Government Relations has learned that House Bill 1080 and Senate Bill 1155, which seek to be impose regulatory oversight over personal and commercial kennels, mandate annual inspections of all kennels, and create consumer protections laws is scheduled for consideration by the Joint Municipalities and Regional Government Committee on Tuesday, […]

Earlier this week, AKC Government Relations (AKC GR) provided an action alert on two Massachusetts bills of major concern, House Bill 1080 and Senate Bill 1155, in preparation for their committee hearing next week. Since then, additional bills have been scheduled for consideration next week.

Being selected for one of the US World Agility Teams is considered the ultimate achievement by many in the agility world. Now junior handlers who are 18 years old and younger have the same exciting opportunity. The European Open Junior (EOJ) Agility Championships will take place in Luxembourg July 13 – 16, and the 2017 […]

ASK AKC Dear AKC: My wife and I are having a disagreement about whether to let our new Boston Terrier puppy sleep on the bed with us at night. Is this a good practice or will it create problems for us or the dog down the road? -- Let Sleeping Dogs Lie Dear Sleeping Dogs: […]

ASK AKC Dear AKC: I have a question about the possibility of registering my Scottish Terrier with AKC. At the time of purchase I was given an application from another kennel club's registry because the father of the puppy was AKC registered but the mother was not. Does this mean my Scottie can NOT be […]

If you celebrate Easter, you probably fondly remember going on Easter egg hunts as a child. Learning how to get your dog involved in the tradition allows you to never outgrow the fun. Here is a helpful guide to setting up a safe and fun Easter egg hunt for your dog.   Plastic Easter eggs can […]

  When you're training a dog, there are several ways to get him or her to do what you want. The method of capturing a behavior may be a bit time consuming, but sometimes it's the only way to get a very specific behavior. Capturing means marking and rewarding a specific target behavior. There are […]

As any dog lover knows, we always miss the dogs we've lost. So today, we want to focus on and celebrate the great lives of all our dogs, past and present. Sometime in the 1980's or early 1990's, an unknown author wrote a story poem called Rainbow Bridge, in which he (or she) envisioned a […]

Golden Retriever breeder Denise Hoyt of Granbury, TX, shares two good tips for stud dog owners – on maintaining a confident attitude and a good grip! It's natural for male dogs to attempt to mount females who are not in heat, to mount other male dogs, and even mount a friend's leg or a sofa […]

The American Kennel Club (AKC®) joins the world of online learning with the launch of AKC Canine College -- an initiative that will extend robust, interactive learning content to breeders and judges, adding subject matter for groomers and trainers in the near future. Anyone interested in learning more about the dog world will find a […]

How do you know what your dog is thinking? Give him an MRI, of course. While this isn’t practical for the majority of dog owners, for the past five years Dr. Gregory Berns and his colleagues at Emory University have been training dogs to lie still while awake in an MRI scanner, so that they […]

Once again, the Bulldog took Los Angeles’s top spot in the 2016 ranking of the most popular AKC-recognized dog breeds in the U.S. The Bulldog was also recognized as the #1 pup in Las Vegas and San Diego. After a down year, the Labrador Retriever made a jump from a tie in 4th with the […]

Real Life Search and Rescue Dog Hero Unveils New DOGNY Sculpture Ruger Von Konigsdorf, one of the many search and rescue (SAR) dogs who inspired the American Kennel Club's charitable DOGNY public art program, had the honor Wednesday, September 4, of unveiling the DOGNY sculpture that will serve as the unofficial mascot to New York […]

So now you are ready for the next step after puppyhood for a potential future therapy dog. A great place to start in preparing your dog for therapy work is to take an AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) class. Some therapy dog organizations require a dog to obtain a CGC certificate as a prerequisite for […]