From The Publisher

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10 – November/December, 2024

By Tom Grabe

Fifteen years ago, in 2009, a major change was made to the format of the AKC National Championship. This change, in my opinion, is one of the main reasons this show has become the premier dog show cluster in all of the Americas and one of the most important dog shows in the world.

What was this change you ask? It was the decision to allow class dogs to enter this show. You see, from 2001 to 2008, the AKC National Championship was a champions-only show. There was one class–Best Of Breed. I don’t know the reasoning for that format, but my guess is those in charge of the event in the beginning wanted to walk before they ran. Ron Menaker spearheaded the concept for this show and shepherded it through its early years, but I digress.

So, in 2009 class dogs were allowed to enter the AKC National Championship. Understandably, the numbers increased over the years, but didn’t explode to the enormous show it is now until more recently. The show found a permanent home in Orlando after bouncing back and forth between Orlando, Long Beach and Tampa from 2001-2005. Some argued that a permanent location in Orlando would hinder its growth due to its distance from much of the rest of the United States, but as we all know now, that wasn’t the case.

Click here to read the complete article
10 – November/December, 2024

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Posted by AnthonyA on Nov 8 2024. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.