-- Happy 125th Birthday AKC -- New York, NY– This Thursday, September 17, 2009, marks AKC’s 125th anniversary. Since 1884, we have maintained the definitive registry of purebred dogs and governed thousands of annual canine competitions. We have always remained true to our original mission of promoting the sport and breeding for type and function […]

-- Inaugural Meet the Breeds an Overwhelming Success -- This past weekend, the American Kennel Club, along with our friends at the Cat Fanciers’ Association, hosted 36,000 people over two days at Meet the Breeds in New York City. As anticipated, it was an unparalleled success resulting from the participation of nearly 200 dog clubs […]

-- AKC Humane Fund Founding Members Wall of Honor Unveiled at AKC Open House -- Next month visitors to the American Kennel Club’s Open House will be among the first to see the AKC Humane Fund "Founding Members Wall of Honor." The Wall occupies a prominent place in the executive offices of AKC’s Corporate Headquarters […]

-- New AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Program -- The AKC Canine Good Citizen® program debuted in 1989, with 1,392 dogs taking the CGC test. Today, nearly 40,000 purebred and mixed breed dogs per year participate in all 50 states. To date, we have enrolled more than 9,000 official CGC evaluators in communities across the country to […]

-- AKC Canine Health Resource Center at www.akcdoghealth.com -- As I reported in my November 2008 Chairman’s Report we know that canine health remains a top priority for AKC, its parent clubs, and all responsible breeders. In that report I outlined the resources available to the responsible breeder from a variety of sources such as the AKC Breeders’ Department […]

-- Responsible Breeders Part of a Long Tradition of Presidential Pets -- Yesterday, America finally got their first peek at the Obama family settling in with their new AKC-Registered Portuguese Water Dog, Amigo's New Hope, affectionately known as "Bo." Since the first mention of a potential "first" dog many months ago, the Obamas have taken […]

-- Make Plans to Attend Meet the Breeds™ This October in New York City -- Building on the success of the annual Meet the Breeds event held at the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship each December, the American Kennel Club will be holding its first stand-alone Meet the Breeds™ October 17-18, 2009 at the Javits Center in […]

Last month the American Kennel Club along with Karen R. Breslin of the Progressive Law Center, LLC of Lakewood, Colorado and the Washington D.C. office of Kaye Scholer LLP filed a brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit asking to reverse a lower court’s decision and grant former Denver resident […]

The American Kennel Club faces enormous challenges in reversing the continuing decline in registrations. Today, we are losing market share at an alarming rate, especially in the retail sector. We are being challenged competitively and financially. The declining registrations and associated core revenues, if allowed to continue, will fundamentally change our organization going forward. Make […]

-- Parent Club Breed Flier Valuable Tool to Recruit New Members -- The American Kennel Club recognizes the need for parent clubs to build a strong foundation of members in order to secure their breed's future in this country. Membership rosters should be a diverse list of knowledgeable responsible breeders, breed health enthusiasts, dedicated rescue […]