AKC is pleased to announce that more than one hundred legislators from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are sharing their commitment to responsible dog ownership this month by serving as honorary chairs for the Meet the Breeds™ event hosted by the American Kennel Club and Westminster Kennel Club. The Meet the Breeds event celebrates […]

Originally published in the AKC Gazette Almost all the spaniels and setters were developed in the British Isles—but of the AKC pointing breeds, only the Pointer has its roots in England. The rest come from all over Europe. European breeds are less specialized than those of the British Isles. None of the retrievers—developed as the […]

Each of the AKC registered breeds are assigned to one of seven groups representing characteristics and functions the breeds were originally bred for. Current as of June 1, 2023 [accordion] [accordion_panel title="Herding Group"] HERDING GROUP The Herding Group, created in 1983, is the newest AKC classification; its members were formerly members of the Working Group. […]

The Berger Picard and Miniature American Shepherd join the Herding Group, and the Lagotto Romagnolo joins the Sporting Group. All three are athletic and energetic (read: need lots of exercise), full of affection for their families, and are flat-out beautiful. Check out the Berger Picard in action: The Berger Picard’s elegant name means “shepherd” and the […]

Good dog names are hard to come by. In the popular television series “Columbo,” the detective played by Peter Falk was sometimes accompanied by his droopy-faced basset hound. His dog’s name: Dog. Most dog owners are a bit more imaginative when it comes to naming their pets. The list of the most popular dog names generally doesn’t […]

There was a time not long ago that nearly every advertisement featuring a child with a dog seemed to include a Lab or a Golden Retriever, consistently among the most popular dog breeds in America. Today, there’s a bit more variety in the breeds being photographed with children for commercial advertising. Perhaps the public perception […]

“Most Popular Dog Names” is a common search term, with lists going out almost as regularly as your dog does. But we don’t usually come across ones that connect popular names to their specific breeds. Based on 2015 data sourced from members who included pet information in their profile settings on a social network called […]

Finding your first family dog is a daunting process—one that's up there with dating and house-hunting. And like parenting, when it comes to raising a dog to be perfectly well-behaved, successful, and sociable, well, let's just say practice makes perfect. But, these breeds, while they appeal to different interests, are easily trained and friendly (especially with children), […]

The country’s top breed of the 1990s, the Labrador Retriever, continues in its popularity to this day. The Rottweiler, accepted by the AKC in 1931, makes its first appearance in the decade’s top ten as the number-two breed, the highest ranking of any first-timer on the list (since the Boston Terrier in the 1900s). The […]

The number-one breed of the 1940s, the Cocker Spaniel, enjoyed a renaissance in the 1980s, climbing to the number-one position. The breed was the most popular dog in the nation from 1983 to 1990, giving it the distinction of holding the number-one spot for more years than any other breed to that point (23). After […]