This training tip is supplied by dog trainer Julie Norman Jenkins, training director at Paws4Ever in Mebane, N.C., and captain of top-winning flyball team, Fur Fun. In addition to flyball, Jenkins is an accomplished competitor in agility, freestyle, and disc dog. “Go to place” is an extremely useful behavior for the family dog to learn.  […]

Since Maggie entered into the phase of life known as senior, thoughts that I never dreamed I’d have keep floating through my mind, thoughts like: * I love my sponge mop, so, so much. * The world is a better place because of the existence of seven-foot-long, washable, waterproof hospital pads. * Whoever it was […]

When we lose one of our beloved companions, sometimes a person will say, “Hey, it’s just a dog.” Those of us who have had dogs in our lives look at that person as if they’ve lost their mind. How can you say this is just a dog? He was a part of my life, and […]

This training tip addresses foundation training for the 2-on-2-off position for agility contact obstacles and is brought to us by Erin Rakosky, who is part of the AKC GoodDog! Helpline training team. The Good Dog Helpline is a telephone training service that provides support to dog owners with questions about basic training and behavior. Erin […]

Hula Lula CAX  owned by Susan Lewis of Wildomar, CA Hula Lula is a mixed-breed that was adopted from a local shelter when she was about 3 months old. She was born at the shelter and came from a very large litter. “She is a very sweet girl but shy,” Susan said. “I try to […]

Ally spends her days like a typical suburban canine. She watches for the squirrels and birds that wander into her yard. She plays with her favorite toy – a squeaky football. Occasionally she breaks into a run and makes speedy loops around her house, just to show those pesky squirrels that she could catch them […]

Merrick, a 4-year-old black Labrador Retriever, works as guide dog for a blind man. But his career as a savior started when he was just a tiny pup. Lorraine Trapani, the volunteer puppy raiser who took 11-week-old Merrick under her wing in 2011, says that this tiny bundle of black hair, high spirits, and energy […]

This article is brought to you by Christie Canfield of the AKC GoodDog! Helpline training team. The helpline is a seven-day-a-week telephone support line staffed by experienced dog trainers. It can be bewildering. Enter a pet supply shop to buy your dog a present and face aisle after aisle of different toys. Which one and […]

Our Sweet Waally Waally Wabbitt CD BN PCD RAE owned by James & Barbara Roberts of Lakeland, FL Wabbitt wondered up to Jim and Bobbi while they were working out in their yard. His eyes were so infected that he could not see, and he was running into bushes and trees. “He was so very […]

Celebrating the breed’s 40th-anniversary national specialty was something I never dreamed possible when I sat on the bench with my entry at the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of America’s first national specialty on March 13, 1976, at the Harrisburg Kennel Club’s benched show at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Building. The catalog cover boasted the event […]