-Entries Open Today-  The American Kennel Club (AKC®) is pleased to announce the judging panel for the third AKC Virtual Top Dog Challenge. This virtual conformation competition is open to all AKC recognized breeds including Miscellaneous breeds. Entries close on October 12th at 12pm ET.   Heading the panel as Best in Show and Best […]

  - "AKC Breeder of the Year" to be Announced at AKC/Eukanuba National Championship - Today, the American Kennel Club® announced the seven group winners for the 2006 AKC® Breeder of the Year Award. The award honors breeders who have dedicated their lives to improving the health, temperament and quality of purebred dogs. "We are […]

  --David Keene and Dr. William R. Newman Elected to Board of Directors; Incumbent Director Nina Schaefer Re-Elected; Ronald H. Menaker and David C. Merriam Re-Elected as Chairman and Vice Chairman Respectively -- The Annual Meeting of the AKC Delegates and subsequent meeting of the Board of Directors took place on March 14, 2006. David […]

Necessity is the mother of invention, the saying goes. And no dog illustrates that better than the Black Russian Terrier. This relatively new breed – barely two decades in the making – was developed after World War II, when Europe was divided into two geopolitical spheres: the Western bloc led by the United States and […]

These champion show dogs took the top prize in conformation at the AKC National Championship presented by Royal Canin.

The American Kennel Club is the world's largest registry of purebred dogs, and uses these statistics to rank the most popular breeds — and the rarest breeds. The numbers are in: these are the rarest dog breeds according to AKC registration statistics. In 2025, 202 total breeds were counted in the registration statistics. In 2026, […]

The Black Russian Terrier is large, majestic, and even a little mysterious, especially when all that hair is hiding his eyes. But there's no mystery behind where this breed came from. Here are five interesting facts about the Black Russian Terrier: 1. This Is a Very New Breed The Black Russian Terrier (BRT) has been […]

WINNER Tracy Dulock & Gryff SEMI-FINALISTS Laura Morefield & Carly Sharon Page & Dash Outstanding Performances from the 2019 AKC Trick Dog National Competition In addition to the competition winners listed above, here are 20 other submissions (in random order). Each of these has something special about the performance. Some of the performances included fabulous […]

Omri is a Miniature Schnauzer/American Staffordshire Terrier mix that Karen adopted from a shelter when he was just 3 months old. He proved very early on that he was born to be a therapy dog. “Everywhere we go, he makes a beeline toward people, regardless of what else is going on in his environment,” Karen […]

The following are the group designations that AKC breeds have been assigned. There are currently 205 breeds and 9 breeds with 21 varieties.  The varieties are by size, color or group.   The varieties are marked by **(Revised 3/10/26) [accordion] [accordion_panel title="Sporting Group – 33 breeds"] Sporting Group Naturally active and alert, Sporting dogs make likeable, […]