Mary R. Burch, PhD Canine Good Citizen Director Here in the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen department, we receive frequent requests from trainer and dog owners who want us to expand the menu of fun things people can do with their dogs. Trick training is becoming increasingly popular and many evaluators teach a few tricks in […]

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 […]

What is a Therapy Dog? Therapy dogs are dogs who go with their owners to volunteer in settings such as schools, hospitals, and nursing homes. From working with a child who is learning to read to visiting a senior in assisted living, therapy dogs and their owners work together as a team to improve the […]

  If your dog meets the criteria and you would like to apply for an AKC Therapy Dog title, please complete this AKC Therapy Dog Title Application and mail to the AKC address shown on the application with fee.. AKC accepts the following forms of payment: Check or money order made out to "American Kennel […]

The AKC® Humane Fund is proud to announce the winners of the 23rd annual AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence (ACE). These awards celebrate five loyal, hard-working dogs that have significantly improved the lives of their owners and communities. The five winners were carefully chosen from a pool of over 600 impressive nominations. The […]

Lotus is one of five 2022 AKC Awards for Canine Excellence recipients, winning the Service Dog category. This category recognizes task-trained service dogs that enrich the lives of owners with physical or mental disabilities. Including but not limited to guide dogs for the blind, seizure-alert dogs, hearing dogs, and balance dogs. It was only seven […]

After the airing of the popular special AKC Heroes: 2022 Awards for Canine Excellence on ESPN2, the AKC is excited to share the winners of this year’s AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence (ACE). These annual awards celebrate loyal, hard-working dogs that have significantly improved the lives of their owners and/or communities. Five remarkable dogs […]

If you are unfamiliar with the spunky, sturdy breed known as the Havanese, you might make the mistake of thinking it is some sort of Poodle. Or, you might think it is related to the Bichon Frise. If you guessed any of these well-known breeds, you’d be on the right track, because all of them […]

When we go on vacation, we want to escape from the mad pace of our daily lives. Rest, relaxation, time to meditate, and spend time in nature. But can we feel truly rested when we’ve left our best friend back home? Why not take your dog along with you? Luckily, there are a few wellness […]

It was just a little town in south Texas until May 24, when 19 children and two teachers lost their lives in a horrifying act of gun violence. Then, everyone was talking about the nightmare in Uvalde. Within a day, Therapy Animals of San Antonio’s CARE (Crisis Animal Response) teams were speeding to the site, […]