The 2026 AKC Photo Contest — Now Open to All! Are you an accomplished shutterbug (or aspiring to be one)? Then we invite you to enter the 2026 AKC Photo Contest! Our theme this year is “The Great Outdoors.” As always, the entries are based solely on creativity, quality, and originality. The top winners will take home […]

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) has become a hot topic in education. Schools all over the country are finding ways to enrich students in these key subject areas. Why is STEM important? The U.S. Department of Commerce claims that STEM careers are growing at a rate of 17%, which is almost double the growth […]

A quick quote from Brian Hare, Ph.D https://evolutionaryanthropology.duke.edu/people/brian-hare “There are so many questions that we have as dog lovers that are impossible to truly answer based on expertise and individual observation alone. Our most powerful tool is to work together collectively and contribute data to citizen science projects that can bring the full power of […]

Put Your Dog’s Nose to Work in the Fun Sport of Tracking This issue’s training tip is brought to us by Sue Kotlarek of Romulus, Michigan. Sue has had great success in a variety of dog sports with her two rescue mixed-breeds, including the sport of AKC Tracking. Her All-American, Rodger Rowbinawitz UD GO VER […]

I will start by stating that I was raised as an Air Force brat and was told I could never have a dog, because we moved so frequently. So, being an obstinate child, I asked for a dog for every birthday that I was old enough to speak. When I was 14 I “borrowed” a […]

https://fs.blog/2018/12/spacing-effect/ I like the above article because it reminds us that rote and repetition are not necessarily the best tools for learning. Ebbinghaus’ theories, which were based on language and symbols, are still reasonable in considering training our dogs. Great food for thought! Ebbinghaus found: 1. It takes longer to forget material after each subsequent […]

The American Kennel Club, Inc. ("AKC") grants nonexclusive, limited permission to website owners to develop a link ("Permitted Link") from the owner's website (the "Linking Site") to the AKC website home page (www.akc.org) or any other page of the AKC website, subject to the following terms and conditions: Permitted Links shall be: text-based and may […]

In conjunction with the AKC National Championship presented by Royal Canin, the third Fast CAT Invitational took place between December 13 and December 17 in Orlando, Florida. The top five of the fastest representatives of each dog breed, based on AKC Fast Coursing Ability Tests (Fast CAT) ratings, were invited to compete. In total, more than 380 dogs […]

The bond that exists between canines and humans is unmistakable (there’s a reason dogs are called “man’s best friend,” after all). They’re adaptable creatures that bond with their human counterparts — and that includes babies. Like humans, dogs are extremely social creatures. Alexandra Bassett, lead dog trainer and behaviorist at Dog Savvy Los Angeles, says, […]

June 2026 The Board VOTED to approve a request of the Delegate Companion Events Committee to amend the Obedience Regulations, removing the words “must run” from the current statement and replacing them with “Fast,” meaning that the handler and dog must move forward at a noticeably accelerated speed. These changes are effective June 1, 2026. […]