Valerie Aaron of Yulee, FL, was just running in the store to pick up some dog food shortly before the store closed. But a little puppy with sad eyes resulted in Valerie coming home with more than kibble. Norman won her heart and a place in dog competitions through the AKC Canine Partners program. Now […]

Kathy Matjeka of Colorado Springs, CO, often hits the road with her pooches, Brewster and Zinger, for weekend getaways. Here she offers some tips for making the most of your canine road trips: Stop often for potty, play and exploration breaks. We like to go into small towns along the route where there is often […]

Photo by Kathleen Schaffer/Pup Art PACH Cross Fire Copper Cricket, owned by Lydia Sharp of Gilbert, AZ, recently earned one of the highest honors in AKC Agility – the Preferred Agility Championship (PACH). But as a puppy, Cricket lived wild in the Arizona desert, just getting close enough to the Sharps’ business to grab an […]

Donald Rakestraw of Wichita, KS, wrote this amazing story of a nearly feral dog who was found living in culverts in a neighborhood. Donald and his wife, Naomi, adopted the dog after her rescue and quickly realized that they had taken on a dog with many serious issues, including extreme fear that led to growling […]

Then a hero, clad in a life jacket, appears, rips open the car door and --- licks the driver all over his face as the crowd goes wild. Meet Radar the Weather Dog, star of Tray’s Wild Weather Camp – a fun show with a very serious message – teaching children how to be safe […]

Smarty is a rescue dog who was turned in to a shelter after showing up at a factory every day for several weeks to share the workers’ lunch. “That’s why we call him a  professional beggar - because he made his living at it for a while,” his owner Sheila Booth of Free Union, Va., […]

MACH Jinx Falkenburg McLean MXB MJB owned by Adrienne McLean of Richardson, TX Jinx was rescued as a small puppy and had obviously been feral for some amount of time, Adrienne said. “I call her a gremlin-ewok mix, and people seem to get it instantly.  She's smart, but is sometimes hard to motivate. Food matters […]

By AKC GoodDog! Helpline Trainer Breanne Long For your sake - and that of your canine companions, teaching self-control, also called impulse control, is an important aspect of dog ownership. Not only will it make your life easier, it makes for a calmer and more focused dog. If your dog dashes through doorways, starts into […]

By Aryn Hervel This training tip is brought to you by Aryn Hervel of Novato, CA. Aryn owns and runs Leaps & Hounds Dog Training, a behavior consulting and pet dog training business.  Aryn and her All-American Dog, MACH4 Crush, are one of the top AKC Agility teams in the AKC Canine Partners program, having […]

Some dogs regularly chomp on fingers while taking their treats. Some only do it when they are excited or all revved up.  Either way, taking things gently in the mouth is a learned skill for some dogs, especially when they are excited! If your dog is a regular “Jaws,” he needs to learn that fingers […]