Breeders and handlers are a study in contrasts. Breeders are big-picture and behind-the-scenes, planning and studying for the future. Handlers, meanwhile,  are front and center, focused on the competition at hand and those split-second moments that can make or break a win. And of course, we all know what dog owners do. Sometimes, those three […]

National Champion is First Toy Group Winner in the History of the Show GCH CH Pequest Wasabi, a Pekingese known as “Wasabi” triumphed over more than 5,200 competitors to earn a $50,000 cash prize and the title of Best in Show at the AKC National Championship Presented by Royal Canin, held December 14-15, 2019 in […]

Does your dog only listen at home or training class and ignore you everywhere else? Maybe you suspect your dog is stubborn and only obeys when they feel like it. Well, getting your dog to come when called or to sit and stay is easy in a quiet house. Doing so while out and about in a […]

Start the new year by deepening your relationship with your dog. Try these three New Year's training resolutions and reap the rewards.

There seems to be no shortage of fun-filled adjectives to characterize the Barbet, one of two dog breeds earning full American Kennel Club recognition on January 1, 2020. For starters, try playful, quirky, goofy, clownish, and loving. According to the biggest Barbet boosters – longtime Barbet Club of America (BCA) officers – "loyal" and "smart" should […]

Let’s get this straight right from the outset: If you’re thinking Dogo Argentino (Dogo), you must be a leader and an experienced dog owner. In other words, firm, confident, and consistent. That’s the clear message from Amy Collins, a Dogo Argentino owner since 2000 and secretary of the parent club, the Dogo Argentino Club of […]

A young family I know recently made a commitment to quality time by banning cell phones at the dinner table. It started as more of a dare than a serious lifestyle change. The husband is a marketing maven, the wife a high-powered lawyer, and the two kids own every electronic device on the market. One […]

Owners who say their dogs can feel what they're feeling aren't imagining it. The proof may be in a yawn. A body of research shows that dogs are more likely to yawn when their owners do. It's a phenomenon called contagious yawning, and you've probably even done it yourself. You see someone yawn, so you […]

Working members are every club’s greatest asset. Yet most clubs haven’t changed their style of recruiting new members in decades. That’s a problem when longtime members are getting older and many newbies in the sport mistakenly think they can learn all they need to know by chatting on Facebook. Thankfully, we have smart dog people […]

American English Coonhounds are sweet, mellow, and too friendly to perform as a guard dog. Bred to hunt raccoons, the breed descends from English Foxhounds brought to America in the early 1800s. American English Coonhounds sound a distinctive howl when locating their quarry. On a rugged hiking trail, a young couple turns around and realizes […]