On Saturday, March 16, the top 50 of 118 dogs advanced to the next day of competition at the National Obedience Championship. The winners and top four dogs in each of the eight groups were also announced. Sporting Group Beacon the Golden Retriever, handled by Kathy Rasinowich This is Rasinowich's 17th NOC. "Beacon is like Clem […]

There are champions, and then there are champions. Every year, the American Kennel Club acknowledges the most accomplished dogs in a trio of sports – Agility, Obedience, and Rally – by hosting championship competitions to which the nation’s top-ranked dogs are invited. A handful of these top winners then run, jump, weave, heel, or retrieve their […]

Alopecia X is a non-inflammatory hair cycle abnormality that typically affects double-coated breeds like the Pomeranian and other arctic dog breeds. Affected dogs start losing their outer guard hairs as a young adult. The disease progresses to what veterinarians call bilaterally symmetrical alopecia – complete hair loss on the trunk that spares the head and […]

Watch as 27-year-old Daniela Flores communicates with her deaf dog by waving her hands and giving signals. Holly, an Australian Shepherd, is completely deaf and blind in one eye. Trust— this one word perfectly describes Daniela Flores and Holly, a 9-year-old Australian Shepherd, when they enter the Rally ring. Holly isn't like most Australian Shepherds. She […]

AKC Breeder of Merit and Bred with H.E.A.R.T. breeder Beth Lilly, owner of Safari Schipperkes, fell in love with her first Schipperke, Smokey, more than 30 years ago. At first, she was “just your average pet owner.” But with encouragement from a friend, she became a dedicated fancier and in the past 23 years has produced 38 champions and had well over 100 health tests performed on them. Smokey passed away at 19 years of age, and Beth said she still misses him.  […]

Among the marvels of human ingenuity is the way various breeds of dog were developed, mentally and physically, to tackle specific jobs. Consider the farmer’s eternal war against rodents and other burrowing mammals that devastate grain stores, raid henhouses, tear up fields, dig away riverbanks, and carry disease. As their number-one weapon in subterranean warfare, […]

Every sport has had its great ones. And the sport of dogs had Alva Rosenberg. Excruciatingly modest and correspondingly revered, Alva Rosenberg was, and arguably still is, the most respected judge in the history of dog shows in America, and perhaps the world. Even the British, who invented the conformation game and have no tendency to […]

The top dogs in the nation were crowned from an overall combined entry of more than 1,800 dogs this past weekend at the AKC National Agility Championship, AKC Preferred National Agility Championship, AKC National Obedience Championship and AKC Rally National Championship. Competitions were held March 15-17th, 2019 at the Built Ford Tough Livestock Complex and […]

The American Kennel Club® (AKC®) is pleased to announce the judging panel for the 2019 AKC National Championship Presented by Royal Canin to be held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, December 14 and Sunday, December 15, 2019. The 2019 event will showcase the top national and international canine athletes […]

Hoping to meet a specific dog breed when you visit AKC Meet the Breeds during AKC National Championship in Orlando? Or maybe you just want to meet them all! Don't miss a single wag or woof with this list of breeds that will be in attendance at the 2019 show. Get your tickets now. Dog Breeds […]