Chapter 1: Planning For an event to be successful, a great deal of planning is involved. The first organizational meeting is a time to consider many things. SCOPE The first consideration is the scope of your Test/Trial. Be realistic. Will your event draw club members only? Is your area one with a large number of […]

Traditional Media Ways to Increase the Chance of Coverage for Your National Specialty Encouraging local media to cover your National Specialty is a great way to promote your breed and educate potential owners about the type of lifestyle that is suitable for your breed. Aside from inviting the local news station or newspaper reporters to […]

Mary R. Burch, PhD Canine Good Citizen Director Here in the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen department, we receive frequent requests from trainer and dog owners who want us to expand the menu of fun things people can do with their dogs. Trick training is becoming increasingly popular and many evaluators teach a few tricks in […]

The AKC Rules for Retriever Trials state that the word "Retriever" includes the several breeds of Retrievers and/or Irish Water Spaniels. Continuing, it says that field-trial clubs formed to improve any one of the several Retriever breeds may hold field-trial stakes in which one or more of the Retriever breeds may compete. The organization of […]

[AKC Pointing Breed Gun Dog Championship]   Gun Dog Homepage Day 1  |  Day 2  |  Day 3  |  Day 4  |  Day 5  |  Day 6  |  Day 7  |  Photo Coverage Day 8  |  Day 9  |  Day 10  |  Final Day  |  In Conclusion  |  Photo Coverage   Day 1 – AKC Pointing Breed Gun Dog Championship The 2013 AKC Pointing Breed Gun Dog Championship returns to Branched Oak Lake near Lincoln, NE for the 20th […]

The roots of the Earthdog program go back to the beginnings of small game hunting. Farmers and hunters used the small terriers and Dachshunds to pursue vermin to its lair and then to follow the game into to the ground. These dogs had to possess not only the physical attributes that would allow them to […]

The AKC Raccoon Hound Events Program consists of Nite Hunts, Hunt Tests, Field Trials, Water Races and Bench Shows.  Nite Hunts are the most popular of the events and are one of the only competitive sports where dogs hunt in natural areas where native game must be trailed and tracked and has not been planted. […]

Warrior Ancestors Many canine historians believe that huge, fierce Molossian dogs, kept by the Ancient Greeks, were brought to British shores by Phoenician traders in the sixth century BC and became the ancestors of the early mastiff-type dogs. These canine giants were used as dogs of war. Julius Caesar, in his account of the Roman […]

Beagle Field Trials, a sport found only in the United States and Canada, started with this announcement in the Sunday Boston Herald on October 26, 1890: "A group of Beagle Owners would hold a Beagle field trial in Hyannis, Massachusetts, in a fortnight." This Group called themselves the National Beagle Club of America, and the […]

AKC Obedience Trials owe their existence to a pioneer in the sport of purebred dogs, Mrs. Helen Whitehouse Walker. Helen was a breeder of Standard Poodles and the dogs of her Carillon Kennels were quickly gaining recognition as dogs with outstanding quality and character. Like many Poodle breeders, Helen had to fight the stereotype that […]