AKC Gazette breed column: Giant Schnauzers — The proposed AKC rule change to include an obedience path without group stays will provide an option for owners and handlers who are concerned about group-stay safety. Hopefully this is a question we will be able to ask ourselves when competing in AKC obedience. The creation of another […]

Mary Burch is the Director of AKC's Canine Good Citizen Program. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and an experienced dog trainer. Most modern dog trainers can name several people who popularized the use of clickers in dog training. But do you know about the history of clicker training? In 1951, B.F. Skinner published […]

Dog trainer Brian Burton rescued Sammy and recognized his extreme intelligence which has been channeled into amazing performances in AKC Rally. Enjoy this video of one of Sammy’s perfect score AKC Rally trials: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjvQn54xZH0 Read more about Sammy's story: It was nearly Christmas 2009 when the New York City Animal Control picked up the terrier […]

Clark's Logan UD BN GO RN THDX CGCA owned by Kathy Clark of Chino, CA Logan is a rescue dog who has earned the AKC Obedience title of Utility Dog (UD) – the most advanced class level in competition obedience. Utility requires dogs to perform many difficult exercises, including Scent Discrimination in which the dog […]

Janie Semprevivo, owner of mixed-breed dog Tey-ha, tells how to give your dogs the ultimate vacation. Before rescuing Tey-ha in February of 2009, I never really went on any vacations as I own my own grooming salon that keeps me busy year-round. But Tey-ha changed my life.  Now we go to Camp Gone to the […]

AKC GoodDog! Helpline Trainer Elizabeth Sandling teaches therapy dog classes and is a long-time therapy team volunteer with her Shetland Sheepdogs, Sandy and Nivy. Here she gives owners some helpful tips on becoming a therapy dog team with their canine partner. Why Volunteer As a Therapy Dog Team: Therapy dogs provide affection, support, and comfort […]

Jbach's Little Piece of Heaven CD BN RAE CGCA owned by Justine Embach of Waterford, MI Justine adopted Abbey from a shelter in 2007 when the pup was about 12 weeks old. “Abby loves to work, but also has a goofy side, which you can see in her photo,” Justine said. Abbey started obedience training […]

New York, NY – The American Kennel Club continues to expand on AKC.org with four new sections dedicated to Training, Government Relations, AKC Family Dog, and AKC Gazette.  These mobile-optimized, digital content platforms mark the next exciting phase of AKC’s digital transformation and their goal of being the educational and entertainment destination for all dog […]

That’s right! Big or small, shaggy or sleek, fast or slow, every dog has the makings of a hero. That’s the message from Jennifer Arnold, founder and executive director of Canine Assistants, an organization that trains service dogs. Arnold was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 16 and had trouble obtaining a four-footed helper because the […]

Over the years, a number of authors have projected the annual cost of raising a dog. In many cases, even with food, supplies and veterinary care considered, the estimated costs have seemed low. Two veterinary students from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have recently updated the statistics related to costs involved in […]