Meet Tessa Trusner: The Family Pet Became Her Sports Partner Name: Tessa Trusner Age: 14 Grade: Eighth Hometown: Stephens City, VA Family: Sisters, Audrey and Ella; Parents, Katie and Ryan Trusner Just a few months after Molina became the Trusner family pet, it became clear that she would really be Tessa’s dog. Now the pair […]

Meet Keslyn Kampschroeder: From Basic Training to Competing in Portugal Keslyn began training her family’s dogs at an early age. When they brought home a rescue who urgently needed help with his manners, Keslyn got busy right away. This led to an interest in dog sports, and watching Crufts Agility competition inspired her to get […]

Put Your Dog’s Nose to Work in the Fun Sport of Tracking This issue’s training tip is brought to us by Sue Kotlarek of Romulus, Michigan. Sue has had great success in a variety of dog sports with her two rescue mixed-breeds, including the sport of AKC Tracking. Her All-American, Rodger Rowbinawitz UD GO VER […]

Former Shelter Dog Becomes Top-Titled Fast CAT All American! Turned in as a stray to a shelter in Alabama and then turned back in by her first adoptive family, Holly was lucky that Danny Terry realized her potential and took her home. The now 8-year-old dog has the impressive formal name of DMT's Christmas In […]

Meet Mia Federico: A Junior Career led to big Agility Goals In just three years, Mia has gone from beginner to top-winning competitor in obedience, rally, and agility. With her All American Dog, Mochi, she was a member of the Junior Open Agility World Championship Team in 2023 and was High Combined at the Juniors […]

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, […]

My name is Skylar Sowiecki and I am a 15 year old junior handler. I train dogs and compete with my own in various sports. The biggest thing that people seem to forget about when training for dog sports is that having a good relationship with your dog will always make your 'performance' better. Having […]

Part of the mission of the American Kennel Club is to "Take whatever actions necessary to protect and assure the continuation of the sport of purebred dogs." The AKC's Junior Showmanship Program is just one example of the kennel club's commitment to fulfilling this portion of its charter statement. In the late 1920's a group […]

The Retriever Field Trial sport of today can trace its origin to the late 1920's to early 1930's when a small group of avid hunters devised a sport in which they could evaluate the performance of their hunting retrievers in a competitive environment and obtain Championships along with bragging rights. Today's modern Retriever Field Trial […]

Although giant breeds aren't necessarily what people first think of when it comes to canine athletes, these biggest dogs love having a job to do. Most...