This trick tip is brought to you by AKC GoodDog! Helpline trainer Milena Barreto. Milena and her Standard Poodle, Phoebe, are a therapy dog team and entertain many people with their large repertoire of tricks. Here, Milena tells us how to get your dog to give you a hug on cue! Playing outside with your […]

Heidi’s Bella RA THDD loves to play disc and is quite accomplished at her favorite past time, as you can see by the photo of her graceful leap to make that catch. Bella’s owner, Heidi Armstrong of Austin, TX, taught Bella to retrieve, starting with a tennis ball when Bella was just a puppy. Bella […]

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 […]

Meet Officer Sammy of the Walnut Cove Police Department, Walnut Cove, NC Did you think all police dogs were German Shepherds or Belgian Malinois? Not so! A mixed-breed dog who was abandoned by his owner is a valued member of a police department in North Carolina. Officer Sammy was not always deemed law enforcement material. […]

Is every attempt to "socialize" a puppy really good for him? Sometimes puppies are forced to endure unpleasant, emotionally damaging situations when their owners follow advice that was given with good intentions. To ensure that our pup receives every opportunity for optimal mental and physical development, we often need to stop, take a calming breath, […]

UPDATE (June 1, 2015):  Governor McCrory vetoed HB 405 on Friday, May 29.  The legislature now has the option of overriding this veto with a 3/5 majority vote in both chambers.  The AKC supports this measure and urges North Carolinians to contact their state senator and representative today and ask them support a veto override. […]

By Joan Harrigan and Susan BeegelMuch is demanded of show dogs – they must be adaptable, calm, and tolerant in addition to meeting the requirements of their breed standards. Two Beaucerons, both champions and exhibited at the 2011 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, have show careers that are secondary to their day-to-day work. For Beaucerons […]

n 1897, when two Newfoundland puppies, Canton and Sailor, were rescued from a shipwreck off the Maryland coast, the heritage of the Chesapeake Water Dogs began. Hunting season on the Chesapeake Bay is cold and stormy, with icy winds and strong tides. The sportsmen needed a tough retriever who could brave the bay’s freezing waters […]

Xena, a rescue dog who is a member of the AKC Canine Partners program, is a honorable mention winner in the AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence in the category of Exemplary Companion. She is owned by Linda Hickey of Johns Creek, GA. Xena has been nicknamed “the Warrior Puppy.” As a young puppy, she was […]