A groundbreaking shelter study released today by the National Animal Interest Alliance (NAIA) reveals that U.S. animal shelters are reporting an all-time low in the number of purebred dogs available.  The study finds that only about five percent of the dogs available in U.S. shelters are purebred; a significant departure from the 25% figure commonly […]

Nicole Carazo of Riverside, CA, wrote this compelling story of a little shelter dog that she rescued with no intention of keeping. The dog had so many issues that no one would adopt her so Nicole started training her and realized that she had something really special. Today, that dog is MACH2 She’s a Keeper […]

MACH Pancho Villa MXB MJB MXF T2B2 owned by Kacey McKinney of Princeton, TX Pancho is a Chihuahua-terrier mix who was just under 1 year old when he came to live with Kacey. Kacey had never trained a dog before, but Pancho and she clicked during agility training and became a great team. They went […]

  A groundbreaking shelter study released today by the National Animal Interest Alliance (NAIA) reveals that U.S. animal shelters are reporting an all-time low in the number of purebred dogs available. The study finds that only about five percent of the dogs available in U.S. shelters are purebred; a significant departure from the 25% figure […]

With a joyful bark and bound, Philo, a 5-year-old Samoyed, pressed his shoulders against his padded harness. Behind him, a cart loaded with gray concrete cinder blocks slowly moved forward, as his handler called out, “Work, work, work.” On that day, Philo pulled a load of more than 1,800 pounds—winning the event at Doggie U […]

On the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina wreaking havoc in the southeastern United States, Seattle Times journalist Ranny Green reflects on his time in Louisiana on assignment with Noah's Wish, an organization that helps animals affected by natural disasters. Read Ranny's diary of his trip below, which originally ran in The Seattle Times in 2005. -- […]

At a recent agility trial hosted by the Red Dirt Agility Club earlier this month, judge Cynthia Blanton (second row kneeling, far right) and the majority of the competitors wore blue to demonstrate their support for law enforcement officers. Red Dirt Agility, founded in March of 2009, is an AKC club located in the Oklahoma […]

Dachshunds are bound to pop up anywhere, doing anything. But who has time to keep track of all those Dachsie doings? As a public service, AKC Dog Lovers goes around the corner and around the world to bring you (cue deep-voiced announcer with lots of reverb) DACHSHUNDS IN THE NEWS! EL PASO, TEXAS—You never know […]

According to an article on Continental Toy Spaniels by Baron Albert Houtart, the spaniel family, regardless of size, belongs to the “braccoid” classification of the canine species, as defined by Pierre Megnin. One distinction that Houtart makes is that all spaniels characteristically have short hair on the skull, muzzle, and fronts of the legs with […]

Each of the AKC registered breeds are assigned to one of seven groups representing characteristics and functions the breeds were originally bred for. Current as of June 17, 2025 [accordion] [accordion_panel title="Herding Group"] HERDING GROUP The Herding Group, created in 1983, is the newest AKC classification; its members were formerly members of the Working Group. […]