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Expert Advice: Conformation
Getting Your Puppy People Primed for Conformation
Watch a dog show in action this Easter. The Kennel Club of Beverly Hills Dog Show in Pomona, California will be televised Easter Sunday, April 21, on NBC affiliates nationwide. It’s at the top of every breeder’s wish list: the once-clueless “pet person” who is now willing – even eager – to show their promising new […]
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/sports/getting-puppy-people-primed-conformation/
| March 26, 2019
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Expert Advice: Dog Sports
Remembering Dr. J.P. McCain, AKC’s First African-American Judge
According to a friend, Dr. James Price McCain started exhibiting dogs in the 1930s to “relieve the nervous tension of his medical practice and perhaps most of all to participate in an activity in which his success or failure would be determined in merit, not solely upon the color of his skin.” Dr. McCain’s merit […]
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/sports/black-history-month-dr-j-p-mccain-akcs-first-african-american-judge/
| February 21, 2020
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Expert Advice: Dog Sports
Saving Your Best for the Bred-by-Exhibitor Class
As we continue to breed, show, and finish generations of our dogs over the years, it’s important that we never function on autopilot, participating in the sport mindlessly just because “it’s what we do every weekend.” The cancellation of shows over many months this year gave us a new appreciation of our passion. We learned […]
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/sports/saving-best-bred-exhibitor-class/
| December 9, 2020
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Expert Advice: Dog Sports
Junior Handler Spotlight: Royal Miller & His Passion For Terriers
A passion for terriers and dog shows led 17-year-old Royal Miller, from Pennsylvania, to become ranked as #7 Junior Handler in the Terrier group. "I never expected to be in the top 10 in my group because of COVID-19," Royal explains. "Yet there I was, winning in juniors and moving up to #7 in the […]
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/sports/junior-handler-spotlight-royal-miller-passion-terriers/
| April 8, 2021
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Expert Advice: Breed Preservation
How One Breed Club Is Saving Its Breed From Extinction
In 1977, 14-year-old Maris Sienstecker read about a pregnant blue whale dying a slow death on a whaling dock. The story upset the teenager to such an extent that she and her mother resolved to help other marine mammals avoid a similar fate. Together they founded Save the Whales. The Seaside, California organization dedicated its […]
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeds/how-one-breed-club-is-saving-its-breed-from-extinction/
| November 22, 2020
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Expert Advice: Breeding Tips & Best Practices
AKC Breeder Spotlight: Pamela, David, & Maggie Peat of Pramada Kennels
Talk about a three-peat – just make sure you spell it with a capital “P.” A winning family trio for more than four decades, David and Pamela Peat of Scottsdale, Arizona, along with their daughter Maggie first made a name for themselves in the sport with Longhair Dachshunds. Their Pramada kennel has produced more than […]
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeding/breeder-spotlight-peats-pramada-kennels/
| July 16, 2020
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Expert Advice: Dog Breeds
Why One Couple Chose a Purebred Over a Designer Dog
When Maria B. Moya was growing up, she always wanted a dog, but it wasn’t possible where her family lived. Then she got out on her own and moved to Hoboken, New Jersey. In her new town, everyone, it seemed, had a dog. Many of them were the trendy mixed-breeds, known as "Goldendoodles." Moya, who […]
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeds/one-couple-chose-purebred-over-designer-dog/
| October 19, 2020
Expert Advice: Breeding & Whelping
Next of Kin: The Importance of Extended Family in Your Dog’s Pedigree
You didn’t want your lowlife cousin to come to the party, but he came uninvited with your sister. Dog breeding can be like that. Some relatives can’t be avoided. Genotype, the genetic makeup of a dog, involves the extended family. My mentors taught me that linebreeding, the practice of breeding dogs who are somewhat […]
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeding/importance-of-extended-family/
| July 8, 2015
Expert Advice: Breeding & Whelping
Reasons to Breed
From the Dalmatian Club of America breed column in the March 2016 AKC Gazette “I only breed for myself” is a phrase I’ve heard frequently over the years. It does sound rather noble: I’m not in it for the money, I’m not filling shelters with surplus dogs, and most importantly, I’m not a backyard breeder/puppy […]
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeding/reasons-to-breed/
| September 1, 2016
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Expert Advice: Breeding & Whelping
Breeder Spotlight: Brittany Cipriotti of Ellenni Danes
Tuxedos are usually reserved for formal affairs, but Brittany Cipriotti of Warrenton, Virginia, lives with that striking black-and-white pattern day in and day out. Under her Ellenni banner, she breeds mantle Great Danes with her mentor and co-breeder Kristi Allison of Blackstone Great Danes, as well as similarly patterned but more vertically understated Boston Terriers. That’s not to say this Silver Breeder of Merit is monochromatic: Cipriotti also breeds fawn and brindle Danes with Marion Clark of […]
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeding/breeder-spotlight-brittany-cipriotti-ellenni-danes/
| April 16, 2021