The American Kennel Club (AKC®), the world’s largest purebred dog registry and leading advocate for dogs is proud to announce the winners of the 2021 AKC® Lifetime Achievement Awards: Peter Green (Conformation), Betty Winthers (Companion Events) and Jim Basham (Performance). The Awards, created by AKC President and CEO Dennis Sprung, are presented in recognition […]

These policies have been adopted by the AKC Board of Directors, although they have not yet been incorporated into an official publication. This reference will be updated as policies are adopted, revised and published. [accordion] [accordion_panel title="AKC Board Administration Policies"] AKC Charter and Bylaws Article XII Complaints (August 2016 Board meeting) AKC Educational Requirements Policy and Recommendations […]

The American Kennel Club is pleased to announce that Gregory McCarthy of Avon, Massachusetts has been hired as an Executive Field Representative in Conformation. He starts effective May 2021 and will cover the Pacific Northwest territory. “Gregory has been involved in AKC dog sports since 1979 and certainly possesses the level of expertise that we […]

Originally bred to help hunters, retrievers were tasked with finding birds or other game and bringing them back undamaged. For this sort of job, the dog needed a “soft,” gentle mouth, where they would carefully carry the prey without damaging it. Also required were strength and agility to traverse a rugged landscape or work in […]

The AKC works with several non-AKC service and sports organizations to recognize the titles that AKC-registered dogs earn in their programs. This includes the AKC Therapy Dog titling program and the AKC Search & Rescue title program. AKC also recognizes titles of the Barn Hunt Association (BHA); North American Diving Dogs (NADD); the North American […]

In the final hours of one of the most exciting dog sports weekends of the year, 29 dogs qualified to run in the National Agility Championship Preferred Finals. In preferred competition, the jump heights are one height lower than the dog would ordinarily qualify to compete at. This makes it possible for senior dogs and other […]

In its endless pursuit to recognize outstanding members of the fancy, The American Kennel Club Lifetime Achievement Awards were created and first awarded in 1999 to honor our best. The purpose of the awards is to celebrate those individuals whose many years of dedication have led to significant contributions to our sport on a national […]

The American Kennel Club® (AKC®) is pleased to announce the judging panel for the 2021 AKC National Championship Presented by Royal Canin to be held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, December 18 and Sunday, December 19, 2021. The 2021 event will showcase the top canine athletes and will also […]

The 2020 AKC National Championship Presented by Royal Canin on Dec. 12 and 13 hosted 3,680 dogs who all competed for the coveted title of Best in Show. The competition began with each dog competing for best in their breed. Best in Group Best of Breed winners then advanced to compete in the group competitions. Each […]

The 2020 Junior Showmanship Finals at the AKC National Championship took place on Dec. 12 in Orlando, Florida. To qualify, juniors had to have at least three first-place wins in Open Class with competition present between Oct. 10, 2019 and Oct. 7, 2020. In addition, juniors must have a grade point average of at least 3.0 for the past […]