There was a time not long ago that nearly every advertisement featuring a child with a dog seemed to include a Lab or a Golden Retriever, consistently among the most popular dog breeds in America. Today, there’s a bit more variety in the breeds being photographed with children for commercial advertising. Perhaps the public perception […]

We often hear dog shows accused of being nothing but “beauty contests.” In reality, they’re organized more like job fairs. At AKC shows, dogs are exhibited in seven groups organized by the original work the breeds were created to do. The dog judged best in each group becomes one of the final seven to vie […]

Every year, the AKC releases the list of most popular breeds. But which breeds were top 10 from 2000-2009? Find out here!

The country’s top breed of the 1990s, the Labrador Retriever, continues in its popularity to this day. The Rottweiler, accepted by the AKC in 1931, makes its first appearance in the decade’s top ten as the number-two breed, the highest ranking of any first-timer on the list (since the Boston Terrier in the 1900s). The […]

The number-one breed of the 1940s, the Cocker Spaniel, enjoyed a renaissance in the 1980s, climbing to the number-one position. The breed was the most popular dog in the nation from 1983 to 1990, giving it the distinction of holding the number-one spot for more years than any other breed to that point (23). After […]

The 1930s marked a pivotal turning point for the United States, as the Great Depression reshaped American life. Here is a look back at the top ten dog breeds that captured the heart of a resilient nation.

Accepted in 1908, the German Shepherd Dog overtook the Boston Terrier in 1925 and became the number-one dog of the 1920s. The breed then disappeared from the top ten until after World War II, when it reemerged as the number-six dog of the 1950s and has remained among the most popular breeds to the present […]

Accepted into AKC in 1885, the Saint Bernard swiftly rose to the position of the most popular dog of the 1890s. To this day, it is the only giant breed to secure the country’s top position as well as the only number-one breed to never appear in the top ten again. In later decades, two […]

  Riley peered through the tunnel, as if he were Alice about to tumble down the rabbit’s hole into Wonderland. Such a small space, such a big dog, it seemed impossible. Yet, on a bright, sunny Sunday morning in May, Riley’s trusted, well-loved human, Jay Cruz, was asking the 14-month-old Mastiff to squeeze his whole […]

  You and your dog can both enjoy working—and playing—together by participating in AKC agility trials. In these events, you will run alongside your dog, urging her on, as she does things like run through a tunnel, jump through a tire, leap over jumps and weave through poles. In order to participate, your dog needs […]