"Going to the dogs" has a whole new meaning for Karen Scheiner, who practiced law for three decades but fell in love with dog sports along the way.

  Welcome to the AKC . We have put together definitions for dog words that you may not be familiar with. If you have additional questions regarding the glossary, please contact our Special Services Department. A Abdomen The belly or under surface between the chest and the hindquarters. Acetabulum The concave lateral portion of the […]

To earn an AKC Therapy Dog™ title, you and your dog must meet the following criteria: Certified/registered by an AKC recognized therapy dog organization. Perform the required number of visits for the title for which you are applying. For your convenience in helping you track your visits, you can use the Therapy Dog Record of Visits […]

 Pointing Breed Hunting tests are non-competitive pass/fail tests which assess each dog independently based attributes such as display of desire, boldness, independence, speed with a useful pattern of running across difficult or confusing scent patterns to pinpoint the location of birds. Other categories judges will score are; bird finding ability, pointing, trainability and in […]

The AKC Lifetime Achievement Awards were created to recognize those individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of purebred dogs on a national level. The recipients were selected by votes cast by AKC Member Clubs for nominees in each of the following categories: Conformation, Companion Events and Performance Events. The American Kennel Club […]

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 […]

Some dogs can catch a frisbee. But it takes a truly special dog to handle catching one thrown out of the hands of the monstrous, green Phillie Phanatic without running the other way. But Phame, an 8-year-old Labrador Retriever, is up for the challenge, performing Disc Dog routines at halftime shows across the country.   […]

We have some big news to report about All-Americans succeeding at earning the top titles and honors in Agility, Coursing Ability, Fast CAT, Rally, Obedience, Scent Work, Tracking, and Trick Dog. Many dogs are also having success in AKC’s Virtual Titling programs! Agility Congratulations to these dogs who have added more MACH titles to their […]

The AKC works with non-AKC service and sports organizations to recognize the titles that AKC-registered dogs earn in their programs. This includes the AKC Therapy Dog program and the AKC Search & Rescue program. AKC also recognizes titles of the Barn Hunt Association (BHA); North American Diving Dogs (NADD); the North American Flyball Association (NAFA); […]