The deadline has passed for bills to be introduced in the California state Legislature. AKC is monitoring several bills impacting dog owners in California. Below are a few highlights. To see the complete list visit the AKC legislative action center at www.akcgr.org  and/or the AKC legislative tracker.  AKC Government Relations (AKC GR) will continue to […]

Named after an iconic British sports car, 1½-year-old Aston exudes a wow factor of his own. The 49-pound Canine Partners mixed-breed, who is blind and deaf, recently earned a coveted American Kennel Club Novice Trick Dog title. Finding a Home Aston’s owner, Miriam Scheinblum, of Winter Park, Florida, dubs herself his “guardian and teammate.” She […]

We dog people can be an emotional bunch. We care very deeply about our dogs and every aspect of the sport: their breeding, their health, their assessment in the show ring, and their influence on future generations. We don’t sit idly by when criticism is aimed our way, but that's where dog show etiquette comes […]

Yesterday, the Oklahoma Senate voted 45-2 to approve Senate Bill 349, which makes positive changes to breeder reporting requirements. The bill repeals a section of the Commercial Pet Breeder’s and Animal Shelter Licensing Act that requires commercial breeders to file a yearly report with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF) that specifies […]

News from the State Capitols Here are some highlights of state-level issues AKC GR is currently tracking. Alabama – SB 2 as pre-filed seeks to prohibit inmates from participating in training of dogs for tracking humans. AKC is monitoring this legislation. California – AB-240: This proposal would create a tax on the sale of pet […]

Federal Regulatory Update – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in late January that it is extending current requirements for the import of live dogs from countries at high risk for rabies. These requirements had been due to expire January 31, 2023.  Under current requirements established in June 2022 all categories of […]

While other Great Pyrenees people may have a different list than mine of common myths about our breed, I believe that most of us have heard all of the following things said. So here is my list of the top five untrue things about Great Pyrenees that are commonly heard. Pyrenees Myth #1: “They are […]

Avoiding malnourishment of a bitch from the pre-breeding phase to parturition is vital to the health of both the bitch and her pups. We are all aware that good nutrition and proper prenatal care play important roles in ensuring the birth of healthy human children. The same is true in ensuring that our canine friends […]

A walk down the pet food aisle shows high-end (and high-priced) kibbles boasting “grain-free” formulas. We’re made to feel guilty if we feed our dogs the dreaded grain. But what’s the big deal? Grain may have gotten a really bad name from the 2007 pet-food contamination tragedy in which wheat gluten imported from China had […]

You’re bringing home a new dog. You’ve searched for the right adult dog to become a member of your family. After careful thought and planning, the day has come. It’s important to recognize that, although you had a chance to think this through, your new dog has no idea that an unknown family, strange household, […]