More Than 4,100 Dogs To Compete For Top Honors at 14th Annual AKC/Eukanuba National Championship

Dogs from All 50 States and Over a Dozen Countries

 Will Vie for Best in Show

In a record entry, 4,177 dogs will compete for the title of National Champion at the 14^th annual AKC/Eukanuba National Championship on December 13 and 14, 2014 in Orlando, Florida. The show is held in conjunction with the AKC Agility Invitational and the AKC Obedience Classic (entries of 598 and 202 respectively) making for a combined entry of nearly 5,000 dogs competing in the three events.

“The AKC/Eukanuba National Championship week is a one-of-a-kind experience for any dog lover,” said Dennis B. Sprung, AKC President and Show Chairman. “With thousands of dogs competing, nearly 160 AKC Meet the Breeds^® booths, seminars and Judges Institutes, and new events like our Veterans Competition and the NADD/AKC Diving Dog Championship, there is nothing that can compare to this complete canine extravaganza.”

Other events in the one million square feet of canine-centric event space during the week of December 9-14, 2014 include the:

• AKC Junior Showmanship Finals
• AKC National Owner-Handled Series Finals
• AKC Junior Agility Competition
• AKC Juniors Obedience & Rally Classic
• Specialty Shows, Group Shows and the FSS Open Shows
• Orlando cluster, consisting of the Space Coast Kennel Club of Palm Bay, the Brevard Kennel Club, the Central Florida Kennel Club and Orlando Dog Training Club

2014              Highlights:

Judges: Judge Mr. Ronald Menaker of Jupiter, Florida will select the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship Best in Show (BIS) winner. The owner(s) of the BIS winner will receive more than $50,000. Ms. Patricia W. Laurans of Newtown, Connecticut will select Best Bred-By Exhibitor in Show from among 1,031 dogs (25% of the total entry) entered in the Bred-by-Exhibitor (dogs being shown by their owner/breeder) competition. Best Bred-By Exhibitor in Show will receive $15,000. Over $51,000 in prize money will be awarded to Bred-By Exhibitor owners.

Veterans Competition: The Veterans Class will be open to all dogs and bitches seven years of age and older and a Best of Breed Veteran will be selected in each breed or variety. Veteran group judging will coincide with the Bred-By Exhibitor group judging on Saturday and Sunday afternoon with the Best Veteran in Show selected on Sunday evening by Mr. Roger Hartinger. The Veterans entry totals 220 dogs.

AKC National Owner-Handled Series Finals: This year, the AKC NOHS Finals Best in Show competition moves to the main ring on Saturday evening, judged by Mrs. Charlotte P. Patterson. Breed and group judging takes place on Friday, December 12. This invitation-only competition is open to the top ten ranked dogs in the AKC National Owner-Handled Series in each breed/variety from the 2014 qualifying year and drew an entry of 608 dogs representing 171 breeds.

AKC Juniors Classic: Junior handlers will now have the opportunity to compete in AKC Rally^® as part of the new AKC Juniors Classic, which offers multiple levels of both obedience and AKC Rally^® competition for juniors.

Streaming video: For those who can’t be in Orlando in person, extensive event coverage will once again be offered free of charge via streaming video at www.akc.org. The evening events in the arena will be streamed live beginning at 6:00 pm each night. The Bred-By Exhibitor groups, Veteran groups, agility and obedience will be taped and available on demand at www.akc.org and live.eukanuba.com.

AKC/EUKANUBA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BY THE NUMBERS

• 179 AKC recognized breeds are entered to compete.
• 4,177 entries in the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship
• The largest entries include:
  • 126 Dachshunds (all varieties)
  • 117 Golden Retrievers
  • 93 Labrador Retrievers
  • 79 French Bulldogs
  • 79 Chihuahuas (both varieties)
  • 76 Australian Shepherds
  • 67 Shiba Inu
  • 63 Rottweilers
  • 59 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
• By group, entry totals are: Sporting – 708; Hound – 572; Working – 610; Terrier – 496; Toy – 622; Non-Sporting – 542, Herding – 532 and Miscellaneous – 95
• 608 dogs representing 171 breeds are entered in the AKC National Owner-Handled Series (NOHS) Finals.
• 30 Specialty Shows, 2 Group Shows and 2 FSS Open Shows will take place on Friday, December 12.
• 124 children and teens, ages 9-17, who have met high academic standards and qualification criteria based on year-round competition, will compete in Junior Showmanship.

AGILITY INVITATIONAL AND OBEDIENCE CLASSIC BY THE NUMBERS

• 598 entries in the AKC Agility Invitational – 163 breeds from 41 states and five countries. Eukanuba and J & J Dog Supplies are proud sponsors of the AKC Agility Invitational.
• 202 entries in the two-day AKC Obedience Classic, including 44 breeds from 31 states. Eukanuba and J & J Dog Supplies are proud sponsors of the AKC Obedience Classic.
• 59 Juniors competing at the AKC Junior Agility Competition on Friday, Dec. 12^th, proudly sponsored by MAD Agility and J&J Dog Supplies.
• 65 entries from 38 Juniors in Obedience and AKC Rally^® at the AKC Juniors Classic on Saturday, Dec. 13^th (Obedience) and Sunday, Dec. 14^th (Rally). Juniors from 11 states will be competing with 15 different breeds. Eukanuba and J&J Dog Supplies are proud sponsors of this event.

To purchase tickets or get more information about the show, visit us at http://www.akc.org/nationalchampionship/2014/ or on Facebook and Twitter.

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Posted by chesliepickett on Nov 19 2014. Filed under Breaking News, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.