Why the Show Community Has to Speak Out

We have to speak out if we want the sport of dogs to survive. And we have to stop our own mouths from denigrating this sport we love while we’re at it.

We have to speak out if we want the sport of dogs to survive. And we have to stop our own mouths from denigrating this sport we love while we’re at it.

he 2019 AKC National Championship presented by Royal Canin will take place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida from Dec. 14-15, 2019. The event will showcase more than 5,000 of the top national and international dogs…

It all started with a $300 puppy. In the 1980s, Douglas Johnson was growing up in the rural Virginia town of Waynesboro — “Walton’s Mountain” country. Since junior high school, he’d worked for a local veterinarian, cleaning kennels and walking dogs out front. The job paid $1 per hour, which Johnson’s parents matched. He’d saved his earnings, and knew just how to spend them.

So what’s the all-time top fantasy of dog breeders? Winning the national specialty? Going BIS from the classes? An all champion litter? Few of us ever experience any of those glorious highs, but Salgray Boxers turned them into a routine.

By Amy Fernandez Hate to admit it, but I’ve become somewhat cynical regarding AKC’s latest big thing. They try, and repeatedly miss the mark; we won’t discuss the website. But this time I think they might be tapping reality. Their newest pitch into that universe, the AKC B.A.R.K (Be A Reading Kid) Program might actually strike a chord […]

Recently at a show owner/handler exhibitors were not called back into the ring and Owner Handled Best of Breed was not awarded for that breed.

The Handlers of the 2019 Westminster Group Winners Tell Their Story. The seven group winners at the 143rd Westminster Kennel Club show contained some crowd favorites (the Longhaired Dachshund and the Sussex Spaniel), as well as a win that was a bit of a surprise, as the Schipperke made Westminster history by winning the Non-Sporting Group.

2019 Westminster Group and BIS and Junior Showmanship Judges Comment on Their Placements. The 143rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on February 12 and 13 had an entry of more than 2,800 dogs in 203 breeds and varieties.

How wonderful to have two ne plus ultra events in AKC conformation – The AKC National Championship and Westminster. Both inspire hopes and dreams in nearly every person to ever set foot in a show ring, and both showcase the best of the best of the best by the time the judges have winnowed things down to Best In Show competition.

This article is a tribute to Owner/Handlers everywhere! The following article was written about an Owner/Handler’s experiences at his very first Westminster show. His story struck a chord with both Mike, the judge of his breed, and myself. I remember winning RWD with my Saluki, back in the old days, under the formidable Mr. James Edward Clark and watching Mike, with our BBE Afghan bitch also being awarded Reserve (when the entry of over 100 Afghan Hounds was typical) under Mr. Arthur Zane.