The American Kennel Club (AKC) honored New Jersey Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney with the AKC Legislator of the Year award in recognition of his strong advocacy for responsible dog ownership. Sheila Goffe, AKC Vice President, Government Relations; Jeffrey Ball, President of the New Jersey Federation of Dog Clubs; and representatives of area AKC dog […]

More and more we will read stories about brave military working dogs saving the lives of servicemen and -women—and suffering traumatic war injuries. So why aren’t these dogs decorated with the medals given to their brave human counterparts? It all goes back to Chips. In 1942, the mixed-breed dog was volunteered to the war effort by his […]

Jo Anne Fusco has been involved with the American Kennel Club for as long as she can remember. As an owner of AKC registered Golden Retrievers, Jo Anne became a Canine Good Citizenevaluator and began working with a therapy dog group. She was instrumental in starting the Doggy Daze program at St. Jude's Children Hospital, which helps to relieve […]

By Jerry D. Mann, Field Director -- Sporting Breeds As I entered the grounds for the Mid-South Hunting Retriever Club fall hunt test near Bruce, Mississippi I hurriedly approached the contestants' sign-up area to obtain a copy of the event catalog and locate the running site of the Master test. It was with anxious anticipation […]

A New Diet Might Help a Senior Dog Stay Sharp Research has shown that antioxidant supplements can spark significant improvement in elderly dogs that display signs of canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome. Is your senior dog driving you crazy by pacing around at night, barking at thin air, house-soiling, getting lost in the yard, demanding to […]

by Elissa Kirkegard Ch. Realta's Galileo CD TD SH MHU QAA CGC (IWSCA ALL AROUND RETRIEVER AND IWSCA WCX) Who says you can't teach old dogs new tricks? Nine year old veteran retriever and hunting dog, Gali, owned and handled by Elissa Kirkegard, took to the spaniel hunt test game with gusto. This is the […]

By Milton S. Holcombe On the weekend of April 18-19, 2009, the first revised edition of the AKC Advanced Judges and Handlers Seminar was held at Forest Lake, Minnesota. This seminar was sponsored by the Northern Flight Hunting Retriever Association and the Lake Country Retriever Club. Chuck Stokes was the lead person for Northern Flight […]

By Lyle Johnson, AKC Executive Field Representative In Pointing Breed Field Trials, the gun dog stake is probably one of the most fun stakes for the judges to choose the winners. While the Open All-Age dog might be the prototypical "big running dog," the Gun Dog should be more in tune with the handler and […]

By: Zach Simpson Zach Simpson is a16-year-old from Wadsworth, IL, who knows exactly what he wants for his future. An All Honors or Advanced Placement student, this Junior is heavily involved in competitive shooting as well as his Hunting Test activities with his Vizsla, Otis, who Zach trained and handled to his Master Hunter title. […]

Hunting Tests for Pointing Breeds were developed so people would have an opportunity to demonstrate a dogs ability to perform under actual hunting conditions. Judges should evaluate a dog's natural abilities as well as those traits obtained through training. Hunting Tests are for people of all ages, male and female and for dogs at least […]