Karen Moureaux, of Contact Point Border Collies in Fillmore, CA, is the first and only AKC Breeder of Merit- Platinum in Border Collies and was named the AKC Breeder of the Year for Agility in 2014. She is a Southern California native who started in dog sports in 1989 with her first Border Collie, Dallas. After competing […]

Hadley George of Utica, Ohio took third place junior handler at last year's Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. As a third-generation dog person Hadley...

From the day she was born almost seven years ago, Pieces has served up a mix master of surprises. First, it was blindness—which wasn’t ascertained immediately—then a propensity for Scent Work, and lastly, a perfect psychological pathway. The result? A sightless Belgian Malinois puppy with a keen sense of smell and uncanny ability to find […]

Salishan Tibetan Terriers, in Tolland, Connecticut, was founded by Gary and Susan Carr. They began exhibiting Tibetan Terriers in 1975 and breeding them in 1979. The Carrs became AKC Platinum Breeders of Merit, and their kennel has produced some of the top show dogs in the country. Their dogs have earned more than 300 AKC Championships and Obedience titles. In […]

The AKC Breeder of Merit program was introduced in October 2010. Since that time, almost 16,000 breeders have been enrolled. The program was developed to recognize those breeders who are the foundation of our sport through their participation in various AKC events and dedication to selective breeding of healthy purpose-bred purebred dogs. The basic requirements are Minimum […]

 Traci Mitchell is an AKC Breeder of Merit Bronze, who breeds Black and Tan Coonhounds and an occasional Smooth Fox Terrier. The name Carlin is Irish Gaelic, meaning Little Champion in honor of her first Smooth Fox Terrier. She splits her time between southern California and southwest Iowa. She has lived in California all her […]

When college students decorate the walls of their dorm rooms, the subjects of the posters they choose may vary. But when Kevin Mason decided to hang an image in his room during his final year at Florida State University in Tallahassee, he chose a Bulldog. However, Mason didn’t own one — at least, not yet. […]

There are two kinds of pointers at dog shows. The first type is the Pointer, an elegant dog with a dished face, tail shaped like a bee stinger, and the hard-wired instinct to signal the location of camouflaged birds with the slow-motion lift of a front paw. The other pointers, by contrast, are found in […]

Remember “The Golden Girls” — that TV sitcom staple decades ago? Well, today’s version is fun-loving, too, but has gone to the dogs. And boy do they know their breed, Golden Retrievers. Nancy Lewine and Jenny Cochran are the brains and workhorses behind GoldenSoul Dogs, of Harleysville, Pennsylvania, and American Kennel Club Breeders of Merit. […]

Even if you don’t know Chris Flessner and her husband Bryan, chances are you’ve admired their handiwork: Their homebred “Trumpet” (GChB Flessner’s Toot My Own Horn) was the Westminster Kennel Club’s 2022 Best in Show winner, shown by professional handler Heather Buehner, who is also his co-breeder and co-owner. While this year marked the vaunted […]