New York, NY – The American Kennel Club (AKC®) is pleased to announce the appointments of Mari-Beth O’Neill to Vice President of Sports Services and Keith Frazier to Vice President of Optimization and Support Services. “Through their years of dedication and demonstrated leadership they have helped us make strides in the sport and support services […]

As a dog trainer and an instructor for puppy socialization classes, I can’t help but notice that almost all of the purebred puppies I see (and many popular purposely-bred mixes) are not from good local breeders but were purchased through the Internet. It’s actually quite astonishing: On a whim, anyone can Google a breed, click […]

  The American Kennel Club recognizes the benefits of spaying and neutering dogs that are not part of a responsible breeding program or are not being shown. However, the decision of when and whether to spay or neuter a dog is not one to be taken lightly. Though commonplace, these elective procedures are major surgeries […]

Labrador Retriever puppy. Courtesy Barra Labradors Bringing a dog into your life is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. It is a serious commitment to care for an individual who will rely on you completely—for food, shelter, health, and happiness—for a decade or more. In exchange, this puppy or adult dog […]

Police K-9s have long been an invaluable part of the Stratford (CT) Police Department’s force.  The K-9s perform important tasks that human officers often cannot: pursuing and apprehending fugitives, detecting drugs and explosives, and searching for lost and missing children and senior citizens. Each time a K-9 is retired or leaves the force, the Stratford Police Department must […]

Header photo courtesy of Karen Moureaux, Contact Point Border Collies You finally decided on the breed of your dreams. You researched and found a potential breeder of your ideal dog on AKC Marketplace. Ready to pick up your new addition? Not so fast! Responsible breeders do as much interviewing and questioning as the buyers to […]

When you get a dog, you have a friend for life. And part of being a good friend, and a responsible dog owner, is doing activities and bonding with your dog. There are many ways to do this. You can go for walks, hang out at the dog park, or if you're looking for a […]

Each month the American Kennel Club profiles breeders to hear how they got started, their breeding program, and their experience with AKC Marketplace. We recently spoke with Success Kennel’s Nancy Sedlacek, who breeds Portuguese Water Dogs. Nancy is an AKC Breeder of Merit and her dogs are among the top ranked in the country with […]

  Each month, the American Kennel Club (AKC) profiles breeders to hear how they got started and learn about their breeding program and experience with AKC Marketplace. We recently spoke with Karen Hanson of Labyrinth Brittanys in Maidens, Va. Karen began breeding Brittanys when she was a teenager, and today she is an AKC Breeder […]

Whether it’s learning pedigrees, wrapping your head around difficult breed standards, or staying on top of important medical issues that can adversely affect our beloved show dogs, achieving success in our sport demands that we remain lifelong students. We pore over a wealth of data and try to make the wisest, most objective decisions possible. […]