Nation’s Top Agility, Obedience & Rally Dogs To Compete For National Championship Titles in Tulsa, OK

More than 1,600 talented purebred and mixed-breed canines will jump, heel and retrieve their way to Tulsa, Oklahoma March 18-20, 2016 for a series of Championship events hosted by the American Kennel Club® (AKC®). Over the three days, these top dogs will compete in the AKC National Agility Championship, AKC National Obedience Championship and the AKC Rally® National Championship – events representing the pinnacle of canine sports.

“All three of these Championship events exemplify the bond and teamwork that develops between a dog and handler during training and trialing in AKC Companion Events,” said Doug Ljungren, AKC VP of Sports and Events. “It is impressive to see the large number of dogs that have successfully participated in other sports, indicating the versatility of these dogs.  We’re proud to showcase the nation’s most accomplished canine competitors in Tulsa this month.”

Free Admission – Open to the Public

WHERE: Tulsa Expo Square, 4145 East 21st, Tulsa, OK 74114

WHEN: 

Friday: Agility and AKC Rally® – 8:00 am to 5:00 pm

Saturday: Agility and Obedience – 8:00 am to 5:00 pm

Sunday: Agility and Obedience – 7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Results and Event Updates

The latest event updates and results will be posted on www.akc.org.

EVENTS BY THE NUMBERS

AKC National Agility Championship: 1,241 dogs, representing 97 breeds from 46 states and Canada, will compete for the title of National Agility Champion and Preferred National Agility Champion. In agility, AKC’s fastest growing sport, dog and handlers must negotiate a timed obstacle course, striving for a perfect score of 100.

The Championship consists of five rounds that begin on Friday and run through Sunday. After round five, the top dog in each jump height – 8”, 12”, 16”, 20”, 24” and 26” for the Regular classes and 4”, 8”, 12”, 16” and 20” for the Preferred classes – will win the titles of National Agility Champion and Preferred National Agility Champion of 2016. Learn more about the event here.

2016 AKC National Agility Championship by the Numbers:

1,127 – MACH (Master Agility Champion) or PACH (Preferred Agility Champion) dogs competing, including one MACH29.

22 –Past National Agility Champions or Preferred National Agility Champions entered, including two dogs that have won the NAC twice

6 – Rings of competition

10 – Juniors Handlers, under the age of 18

Highest Breed Totals:

• 292 Border Collies
• 192 Shetland Sheepdogs
• 87 Golden Retrievers
• 69 Papillons
• 64 Australian Shepherds
• 52 mixed-breed All-American Dogs
• 49 Poodles
• 43 Labrador Retrievers

Largest Numbers of Competitors By State:

• Texas: 170
• California: 125
• Illinois: 83
• Ohio: 73
• Michigan: 58
• Minnesota: 58
• Colorado: 56

Dogs Titled in Other Arenas:

• 95 Breed Champions, including 22 Grand Champions
• 1 Field Champion
• 5 Obedience Champions
• 2 Herding Champions
• 4 Champion Trackers

AKC National Obedience Championship: 134 dogs, representing 44 breeds from 32 states, will compete for the prestigious National Obedience Champion (NOC) title. The top obedience dogs in the country will work with their handlers to  show off their skills at finding a single-scented item from a pile of like items, retrieving objects, heeling off-leash, performing commands from hand signals only and more. The Championship consists of eight rounds that begin on Saturday. The top 50 handler/dog teams will move on to compete on Sunday and the competition will narrow to the top 20 for the final round. Ultimately one handler/dog team will be named the 2016 National Obedience Champion. Learn more about the event here.

2016 AKC National Obedience Championship by the Numbers:

88 – OTCH dogs competing
2 – Past National Obedience Champions entered
1 – Past National Agility Champion entered
8 – Rings of Competition

Highest Breed Totals:

• 40 Golden Retrievers
• 19 Border Collies
• 8 Labrador Retrievers
• 6 Shetland Sheepdogs

Largest Numbers of Competitors By State:

• Texas: 12
• Minnesota: 12
• California: 11
• Michigan: 11
• Illinois: 10
• Missouri: 10

Dogs Titled in Other Arenas:

• 18 Breed Champions, 7 Grand Champions
• 2 Triple Champions
• 1 Tracking Champion
• 18 Agility Champions
• 1 Field Champion
• 1 Herding Champion

AKC Rally® National Championship: 325 dogs, representing 70 breeds from 37 states and Canada, will compete in the AKC Rally National Championship in four different class levels – Novice (80 dogs), Advanced (66 dogs), Excellent (57 dogs) and Rally Advanced Excellent (RAE) (122 dogs). The dogs in the RAE class will compete for the prestigious Rally National Champion (RNC) title.

Rally is a sport in which the dog and handler complete a timed course of exercise stations, each containing a sign with instructions regarding a skill to be performed. At the Championship level,each team will run four unique rally courses that have been designed by the judge and cumulative scores and times will be used to determine placements in each of the four classes. Learn more about the event here.

2016 AKC Rally® National Championship by the Numbers:

7 – Rings of competition

Highest Breed Totals:

• 39 Golden Retrievers
• 28 mixed-breed All-American Dogs
• 27 Border Collies
• 25 Labrador Retrievers
• 19 Shetland Sheepdogs
• 14 Poodles
• 12 German Shepherd Dogs

Largest Numbers of Competitors By State:

• Texas: 55
• Oklahoma: 25
• Missouri: 21
• Minnesota: 15
• California: 14
• Ohio: 14
• Alabama: 13
• Michigan: 11
• Massachusetts: 11

Dogs Titled in Other Arenas:

• 53 Breed Champions, 17 Grand Champions
• 1 Triple Champion
• 1 Dual Champion
• 5 Obedience Champions
• 38 Agility Champions

Short URL: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=100084

Posted by chesliepickett on Mar 15 2016. 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.