Meet four representatives of the Working Group, blue-collar dogs with strength and smarts, and understand why responsible breeding of working dogs is particularly important.

Though we often don’t think about them in this way, dogs are really about people — those long-ago (or, sometimes, not so long-ago) figures who developed particular breeds for particular tasks. Some breeds — like the Doberman Pinscher, Teddy Roosevelt Terrier, and Cesky Terrier — owe their existence to just one visionary person. Other breeds were brought into being […]

AKC Meet the Breeds has gone to the...cats?! That's right. Fabulous felines are back in New York City as part of AKC Meet the Breeds presented by Purina® Pro Plan®. The Westminster Kennel Club, in conjunction with The International Cat Association, will offer Meet the Breeds, a family-friendly event where you can meet dog breeds […]

  Nicknames make everyone's lives easier. We like things short and sweet. And nicknames are usually easier to say, spell, and type. Just like humans have nicknames, "Jon" for Jonathan, "Mike" for Michael, "Jen" for Jennifer, dog breeds do, too. There's "Lab" for Labrador Retriever, "Golden" for Golden Retriever, and "Yorkie" for Yorkshire Terrier. Some […]

AKC Community Canine is the advanced level of Canine Good Citizen. For people interested in taking the test with their dog, we created this video to demonstrate the 10 steps of the test. We hope to see you and your dog earning your AKC Community Canine title soon! Learn how to get started here. The […]

As part of the 2026 Westminster week, Junior Showmanship took place to crown Best Junior. See the winner and runner-ups.

Vicktory Over Adversity Seeing Audie, tail wagging as he greeted a group of children, it was hard to believe that he once cowered at the sight of a human hand. Watching Audie, as he zipped and weaved from tunnel to tire in a noisy agility ring, it was hard to believe that he once fled […]

We get a lot of questions from dog owners each week asking why do their dogs behave in certain ways. One of the most common questions we get is 'why does my dog bark so often or all the time?' There could be lots of reasons why this might be happening, sometimes it is that […]

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

Issues at the City, County, and Metropolitan Levels, and in US Territories The AKC Government Relations Department is pleased to assist dog owners with canine legislation issues in their local communities, but we can’t help unless we are aware of the proposal. Please contact us at (919) 816-3720 or doglaw@akc.org when new laws are discussed or introduced […]