The 2019 AKC National Championship Presented by Royal Canin on Dec. 14 and 15 had a record number of dogs in its 19th year. The competition began with 5,284 dogs each competing for best in their breed. Best in Group Best of Breed winners then advanced to compete in the group competitions. Each AKC-recognized breed falls […]

The 2019 AKC National Championship marked one of 18-year-old Caroline Clegg's last shows as a Junior Handler, after aging out in April. Although Junior Handlers must be 17 or younger, they are invited to the AKC National Championship based on having at least five first-place wins in Open Class with competition present between Oct. 11, […]

It's kind of fitting that a dog named "Snowhill’s Zygmund Marley" is a Polski Owczarek Nizinny (PON in the United States) who answers to a name like Ziggy. Chances are, this is a breed (Polish Lowland Sheepdog) many of you have never heard of. In 2019, the breed ranked 173 out of 193 in popularity. […]

Katie Cones started competing in dog sports at 12 years old with a seven-year-old Golden Retriever who was the family dog (and who also wasn't very interested in competing.) Her dog, Bailey, much preferred leaving courses during competitions and going up to the judges to get attention and pets. Katie, wanting to be a serious […]

As her Golden Retriever entered the last week of pregnancy, Melody Lyons had made all the checks on her list. Like most breeders, she wanted to be ready for anything. Whelping box set up; heat lamps installed; milk replacer on the shelf. The veterinarian gave Carly a check-up and thought delivery would happen in about […]

Training Your Dog to Be a Therapy Dog The AKC GoodDog! Helpline receives frequent inquiries about how to train dogs for therapy work. GDH Trainer Christie Canfield conducts therapy visits with her dog and also teaches therapy dog classes. She tells us the “who, what, when and how” of making a therapy dog. Because of […]

  This Friday marks the release of the Warner Brothers/MGM film, Max, which follows a Belgian Malinois who works as a military dog. When his handler is killed in action in Afghanistan, the dog, stricken with post-traumatic stress disorder from the loss of his handler, returns to the United States to live with the soldier’s heartbroken […]

Saturday marked Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the U.S. Originally conceived as a way to save resources and better utilize the sunlight of the increasingly shorter days, it was first adopted in 1918 by President Woodrow Wilson. Every year, we remind ourselves to “fall back” in autumn and “spring ahead” into Standard Time once winter […]

Dogs dancing were depicted in ancient pottery, and vaudeville-era included musical numbers with dogs. Modern musical freestyle dates back to the '80s, helped by "heelwork to music" displays at Crufts. Dogs of any breed capable of learning obedience and tricks can ultimately learn musical freestyle. In 2013, Zandra Brown took in a 5 1/2 –year-old […]

Kathy Santo trains dogs for home life and competition at her Kathy Santo Dog Training school in New Jersey. She is the author of Kathy Santo’s Dog Sense and has handled multiple Obedience trial champions. She also teaches digital dog-training courses available online. When I first heard the phrase “old dogs are the best dogs,” […]