Make Next Year Your Dog’s Best Ever: 5 Great Dog Training Resolutions AKC GoodDog! Helpline Trainer Breanne Long says don’t forget your dog when you are making your New Year’s resolutions for 2016, like try something new and fun with your dog. Kurtis of Kingfisher CAX DJ RATN CGC, (pictured) a member of the AKC […]

This is the final profile in a series on the six top mixed-breed dogs that received the invitations to compete in the 2015 AKC Agility Invitational. The annual event takes place Dec. 11-13 in Orlando, FL, in conjunction with the AKC/Eukanuba National Championships in conformation and the AKC Obedience Classic. Mixed-breed dogs, known as All-American Dogs, […]

Ferris,a mixed-breed dog in the AKC Canine Partners community, went to his first AKC Rally trials in September and on his second try, he earned a score of 95 out of a possible perfect score of 100 in the Rally Novice A class for beginning handlers and dogs. Rally is a very fun sport in […]

Watch this great canine freestyle performance by junior handler and 4-H member Claire Wilcox of Wichita Falls, TX, and her Chihuahua mix, Shadow. Canine freestyle is also known as "dancing with your dog" and requires off-leash control, obedience training and tricks. Shadow is a member of the AKC Canine Partners program for all dogs, including […]

Susan Smith of Bordentown, NJ, shares this special story of her mixed-breed, Charm, who has overcome many obstacles to earn the highest honor in AKC Rally. Today, Charm Princess Jewell Smith RAE THD CGC, is healthy, happy and also making others happy through her work as a therapy dog. Charm is a  member of the […]

The Vizsla was developed in Hungary centuries ago as both a versatile hunting dog and a devoted companion, and the breed today retains those combined qualities. Vizslas typically love to do things with their owners, and they’re curious and interested in all kinds of activities. Vizslas are athletic and exuberant. (Bob Holmes/AKC Photo Contest) With […]

Stone Age fossils suggest that spitz-type dogs resembling today's Keeshond co-existed with cavemen back as far as 5000 B.C. Images of dogs just like them appear on everything from ancient Greek wine jugs to the Great Seal of Amsterdam. Today, they are the national dog of the Netherlands. Historians have different opinions of how the […]

This is an easy and fun activity to play with your dog on a rainy day when they can’t get outside to exercise. It also a good way to mentally challenge your dog – and their nose – anytime.   Get a muffin tray and tennis balls or any size balls you can fit in […]

Visitors and residents of Savannah, Georgia, who are hoping to catch a glimpse of something (or someone) otherworldly are getting a little help from a rather intuitive Golden Retriever. Bailey The Ghost Hunting Dog of Savannah accompanies his owner, Melynda Ware-Loomis, as she leads walking ghost tours of what is considered by some to be […]

Originally published in the AKC Gazette: In my work as an agility instructor, I find that the use of quotations and sayings does two valuable things: It brings some humor to the teaching process, and it gives students key phrases to help them remember specific handling theories. Here are a few that I use. Playing […]