1. Cool off with the hose! Many dogs love to chase and bite at the water from a garden hose. Just make sure your dog doesn't drink too much or overexert himself playing this game. Karma, a 9-year-old mixed-breed, loves playing with the hose in her backyard in Hermitage, TN, with her owner Rebecca Lynch, […]

When pursuing success in breeding dogs, there is no substitute for hard work, and there is nothing more necessary in that endeavor than establishing a great female line. “Great bitches come from other great bitches” was the advice of my mentor, Alma J. Starbuck. And she knew of what she spoke, having produced one famous […]

A female dog reaches sexual maturity at around six months old. The stage of the cycle when she’s receptive to mating is called estrus, or heat. During this stage, there’s an increase in estrogen levels, then a sharp decrease and then her ovaries release eggs. Although six months old is the average age of a […]

Ripple, a rescue Mastiff mix, takes over a Canadian television station's weather forecast! The good news is that Ripple was adopted after the broadcast. (The other good news is that these temperatures will make you feel better about the hot summer conditions!) Rescue dogs and mixed-breeds can participate in AKC events and programs through the […]

From about six months old to through the rest of her life, a female dog will experience estrus, or heat, roughly every six months. This is the period of time when she’s receptive to mating. Hormonal changes will cause pronounced differences in your dog that will indicate she’s in heat, including a swollen vulva, bleeding, […]

Nekoda loves hiking and carrying his back pack through the Oregon wilderness with his owner Sally Freeman of Warrenton, OR. The 11-year-old mixed-breed dog is a member of the AKC Canine Partners program with the AKC formal name of Nekoda Pepper Freeman-Forster. If you would like to start hiking with your dogs and want them […]

A dozen four-legged heroes bravely served our country overseas, saving thousands of American lives. But for the past year and a half, they’d been living in limbo at a kennel in Chester, Virginia, while a contract company who purchased the dogs from the Department of Defense tried to place them as therapy dogs. The new […]

The University of Washington has trained a rescue Lab mix named Tucker to detect the scent of whale scat to aid its research department in the study of the majestic creatures. The university now also has trained a Conservation Canines team of former shelter dogs to aid in the research of other wildlife. See complete story […]

There’s a story that nicely sums up the Boxer breed. One morning at the dog park, a group of neighborhood dogs were playing as their owners looked on. The life of the party was a male Boxer. With all the boisterous enthusiasm of a pup, the big fawn-coated bruiser was cavorting and careening, bouncing and […]

A recent increase nationwide in cases of a serious bacterial disease has caused concern among U.S. dog owners, but thankfully a new test is available that may speed diagnosis and allow quicker treatment. This week the veterinary diagnostics company IDEXX Laboratories announced the release of the SNAP® Lepto Test that detects antibodies for leptospirosis, a sometimes […]