Here at the AKC, we believe in honoring responsible breeders who have gone above and beyond on health issues, temperament, and genetic screening, as well as to the individual care and placement of puppies in responsible homes. That’s why we started the AKC Breeder of Merit Program: To give breeders a way to prove [...]

Despite our patriotic name, the American Kennel Club® is a world-class organization with an international presence. Earlier this month, the AKC/USA World Agility Team put in a stellar performance in Basel, Switzerland at the 11th FCI World Agility Championships. Sending Americans and their globe-trotting dogs to world competitions represents just one way in which we […]

-- Board Planning Session Nurtures Ideas And Reviews Initiatives to Grow AKC’s Future -- In August the Board added a special “planning session” to the regular Board meeting to discuss a variety of topics including registrations, events, and brand imaging. On Sunday, Sept.12, AKC Vice Chairman Tom Davies, President and CEO Dennis Sprung, COO John […]

-- New Additions to the Grand Championship Program and AKC/Eukanuba National Championship -- Since the introduction of the new AKC Grand Championship title in April, we've had hundreds of dogs in nearly every breed complete the requirements for a Grand Championship title. Thus far, the program has fulfilled the hopes we had for it - […]

-- New Programs and Services Introduced in 2010 -- As we wind down the year, I am pleased to highlight programs and initiatives we have introduced in 2010. In April, the first agility, obedience and rally trials open to mixed-breed dogs in the AKC Canine Partners program were held. So far, 853 AKC-licensed clubs have […]

- Doing the Right Thing for Dogs Everywhere - The American Kennel Club, along with its affiliates, the AKC Canine Health Foundation and AKC Companion Animal Recovery, is the only not-for-profit registry devoted to the health and well-being of dogs. We have allocated more than $30 million to fund programs for the betterment of dogs […]

- Highlights of 2011 - It was a pleasure to be with many of you in Florida this weekend as we enjoyed the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship, AKC Agility Invitational, AKC National Obedience Invitational and the surrounding festivities. We hope you enjoyed the incredible series of events that unfolded over the weekend. We are all aware […]

-- Join Us in the AKC Conversation -- This isn't so much a Chairman's Report as it is a little straight talk among friends. And I intend it to be the first of many. We are fortunate that my predecessors, Ron Menaker and David Merriam, had the foresight to carefully plan for a financially sound […]

-- AKC Breeders a Labor of Love -- One of the founding fathers of the American Kennel Club was William G. Rockefeller; his family is featured prominently throughout the history of the AKC. The Rockefellers had a family creed that formed their guiding principles. Visitors to New York will find it carved in granite at […]

--"Keep On Keepin’ On"-- In his insightful and highly acclaimed biography of Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson chose to capture a defining characteristic of Jobs by giving him the last word on his own life. Jobs, who proved to be a good student of singer-songwriter Bob Dylan’s philosophical insights, used a Dylan lyric to explain his […]