Mom, Elizabeth Hoettels, and her best girl, Rio, are inseparable after work and on weekends. Photo courtesy Sweet Ventures by Nichole DuPont. Picture this for a moment. You're a military critical-care nurse, with a surgical team stationed in East Africa for several months, away from family, friends, and everything familiar. But the wonderful world of […]

Whether it’s learning pedigrees, wrapping your head around difficult breed standards, or staying on top of important medical issues that can adversely affect our beloved show dogs, achieving success in our sport demands that we remain lifelong students. We pore over a wealth of data and try to make the wisest, most objective decisions possible. […]

Watch a dog show, and the routine looks so easy. But handling a dog in the conformation ring is harder than it looks, and takes practice.

This K&H Kennel Heated Pet Pad is the perfect addition to your whelpling box. A bed warmer is a great way to keep litters warm when your dam needs a break or is nursing some puppies. The K&H Lectro Kennel Heated Pad is available in three sizes to meet the needs of any size whelping […]

A nose punch to the hand, a play bow, and a swipe with a paw. Add a yip, a lick, and a tug at clothing, and it looks like a dog in hijinks heaven. These silly shenanigans are all fun and games until someone’s type 1 diabetes fluctuates to a life-threatening level. That’s when a […]

Lacey and Luisma Benítez, of LBK American Staffordshire Terriers, are the first and only Platinum Breeders of Merit of the American Staffordshire Terrier. They are a married couple, navigating life between Spain and St. Augustine, Florida, and have been deeply involved in this breed for 20 years. Luisma, who is from Spain, is a software […]

As part of the American Kennel Club’s continual efforts to provide our valuable breeders with the best services for managing their business, the AKC created the Breeder Toolkit.  Since initial release in mid-2020, the platform has been expanded to be more user friendly and include additional features. Litter and Dog Management, Breeding Records, Online Reports, […]

When pursuing success in breeding dogs, there is no substitute for hard work, and there is nothing more necessary in that endeavor than establishing a great female line. “Great bitches come from other great bitches” was the advice of my mentor, Alma J. Starbuck. And she knew of what she spoke, having produced one famous […]

Two police officers are being lauded for their efforts to help a Bronx family after their dog escaped last week. Officers DeAngelis and DeBellis were on patrol at the Baychester Houses when a woman approached them and said that a car had struck her dog after he escaped during a walk, NYPD News reported. Because […]

The AKC works with several non-AKC service and sports organizations to recognize the titles that AKC-registered dogs earn in their programs. This includes the AKC Therapy Dog titling program and the AKC Search & Rescue title program. AKC also recognizes titles of the Barn Hunt Association (BHA); North American Diving Dogs (NADD); and the North […]