It was great to be “back home” at the dog shows in Ft. Wayne this past weekend! I was thrilled to see so many friends that I don’t see much anymore. With an entry of almost 1100 on the largest day–which also happened to be the largest entry in the country for the weekend–the Old [...]
Although dogs have been our companions for millennia, we have to guess at what prehistoric dogs looked like exactly. One thing we do know for sure, though, is the work they did. They followed the prey, drove the flocks and herds, guarded livestock and defended their owners’ property.
The AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF) announces another year of growth in grants awarded for canine health research. In 2019, CHF has awarded 46 new research grants totaling over $2.8 million to benefit canine health. CHF currently manages 135 active grants representing grants funding totaling more than $10.8 million, bringing total funding to $52.9 million for canine [...]
Having been in the dog show world for a number of years now, the biggest lesson I have learned is to be grateful. This sport, like most others, is dependent on good people of goodwill participating. With success should come an awareness of how much we owe other people. Here is a little overview, to give you some perspective, on the debt all show dog owners owe to their fellow competitors.
The Modified Continental (ModCon) – the trim is also known as the Historically Correct Continental, Hunting Class Clip, Heritage trim, and the HCC.
This trim has ALWAYS been accepted in the AKC breed standard for Poodles as long as the trim presents a smooth unbroken outline on the dog. The breed standard for Poodles does not mention how long the coat on the dog must be, just some modifying phrases such as “ear fringe should not be of excessive length.” Shaping of the coat to ensure balance is permissible in all trims per the standard.
AKC Reunite, the nation’s largest non-profit pet identification and recovery service provider, has announced that it will infuse $200,000 more in funds to complement money raised by AKC clubs throughout the country for the AKC Pet Disaster Relief program. AKC Pet Disaster Relief, a national program that is dedicated to keeping pets and their owners safe [...]
We have another great #ThrowbackThursday photo to share with our readers on this Thursday. Can you name the respected AKC Judge and Successful Breeder-Owner-Handler pictured in this week’s Throwback? Guess Who? Check back on Monday for the correct answer! The correct answer to this week’s Throwback is Lydia Hutchinson. Don’t forget! Do you have a [...]
This past week was a busy National Specialty week, indeed! In honor of all of the National Specialties, I’d like to share the reasons to attend a National, written by William H. Miller: • To visit with your peers • To measure the “state of the breed” • To compare your breeding stock to that [...]
In a country with more than 80 million dog owners, why is there still a shortage of dogs that are needed to protect the borders, airports, cities, schools, malls, entertainment events and nuclear plants. Most Americans are unaware of this shortage even though it is not new. The problem significantly increased following the events of 9/11, Brussels, Boston, Las Vegas, New York and London. As other terrorist events and natural disasters began to occur, most countries began to buy up the supply of working dogs for their own protection. According to the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, about 90 percent of the detection and patrol dogs in the US come from overseas breeders. The dependence on European breeders to supply a needed resource was not acceptable to the Federal Government, and during the past 50 years, four separate Federal breeding programs were established only to close each of them because of a budget cut or a lack of funding. The last closing in 2012 demonstrated that this problem needed the involvement of the private sector.
By Amy Fernandez The dog game is rife with controversy. These days it’s impossible to navigate any corner of this sport without slamming into it. So, in the interests of resetting the tone, let’s talk about a raging controversy that’s safely removed from dog shows. Perhaps not in the strictest sense…technically, it still involves putting [...]
