With a joyful bark and bound, Philo, a 5-year-old Samoyed, pressed his shoulders against his padded harness. Behind him, a cart loaded with gray concrete cinder blocks slowly moved forward, as his handler called out, “Work, work, work.” On that day, Philo pulled a load of more than 1,800 pounds—winning the event at Doggie U […]

AKC GoodDog! Helpline trainer Hilarie Erb provides tips for starting a jogging program with your dog. It is important to do this safely and provide the proper training before you take off running! If you are a runner and think that your dog would be the ideal running partner, you may be right. However, there […]

When people start training their dogs, "sit" is usually where they start. It’s an easy basic.  I've taught lots of dogs to sit! Then I got a retired racing greyhound.None of the usual methods worked; his back legs were pillars of unbending granite. No amount of luring or tricks would get him to fold those […]

Bruce was in bad shape physically and emotionally when the Keslers adopted him. But with their love and care, Bruce blossomed and today he helps others through a therapy program called Canines for Christ. He recently earned the AKC Therapy Dog Distinguished title for making more than 400 visits! Bruce THDD owned by Steven & […]

This tip is brought to us by Sue Kotlarek of Michigan, who competes very successfully with her two All-American Dogs in a variety of sports. Both Jazz and Rodger have earned the AKC Utility Dog title in Obedience and the Rally Advanced Excellent title in AKC Rally. Rodger is the first mixed-breed dog to earn […]

Ally spends her days like a typical suburban canine. She watches for the squirrels and birds that wander into her yard. She plays with her favorite toy – a squeaky football. Occasionally she breaks into a run and makes speedy loops around her house, just to show those pesky squirrels that she could catch them […]

There are times when it makes sense for a breeder to stamp more than just a "thumbprint" of influence on a breed. Dogs are generally thought to have descended from wolves. Kim Campbell Thornton's recent article "Looking Back to the Beginning" (AKC GAZETTE, September 1999) describes research that has determined, through DNA sequences, that the […]

He’s A PatchWork Puppy CDX CGC TDI OJP OAP OFP GN CD BN RAE Sheila Dempsey of Jane Lew, WV, wrote this special tribute to her amazing multi-titled All-American Dog, Patches, when he retired from competition at age 13 two years ago. Patches is now 15 ½ years old and enjoying his retirement, Sheila says. […]

MACH4 PACH Harley MXC MJC MXP3 MXPB PAX NF owned by Cheryl Alfred of Las Vegas, NV Harley was one of the first mixed-breeds in the country to earn the AKC Master Agility Championship and moved to the Preferred Agility class, which allows dogs to jump a height division lower, after he finished his fourth […]

Creek Ridge’s Found in a Pickle CAX2 RN owned by Terry & Suzanne Lane of Peachtree City, GA Pickle, once an abandoned puppy, is the first All-American Dog to earn both the AKC Coursing Ability Excellent title (for passing the Coursing Ability Test 25 times) and also earning the Coursing Ability Excellent 2 title for repeating […]