AKC Humane Fund ACE Award Winner – Search and Rescue Dog: Pocket Interview with the Handler: Jennifer Jordan Hall 1. How did you and Pocket get your start in Search and Rescue? In Human Remains Detection? Jennifer Jordan Hall: Pocket is a 10-year-old Parson Russell Terrier (PRT). She began training to be a Search Dog when she was a tiny puppy. She is nationally certified in trailing (scent-specific live person) and finding human remains on land, water, and in forensic cases. Pocket had her first live find when she was just two years old. About four years ago, a forensic anthropologist whom Poc ..read more

AKC Humane Fund ACE Award Winner – Therapy Dog: Tuffie Interview with the Handler Amy McCharty 1. How did you and Tuffie become involved with Alliance of Therapy Dogs? Amy McCarthy: When my Dad was in a nursing home, he truly enjoyed when my Mom and I brought their dog Hannah up to visit him. And the other residents seemed to enjoy the visits also. At that point, I decided I wanted to become involved with Therapy Dog work if my dogs seemed so inclined. Tuffie is actually the fourth Saint Bernard I have had registered with Alliance of Therapy Dogs. ATD is based out of Cheyenne, Wyoming, but reg ..read more

Photos and candids from the Erie Kennel Club All-Breed Dog Shows and Obedience Trials & Rally Trials, which were held on January 27–28, 2024, at Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, Pennsylvania.   Erie Kennel Club 2024 All-Breed Dog Shows and Obedience Trials & Rally Trials PRESENTED BY: Erie Kennel Club DATE OF SHOW: 01/27/2024 – 01/28/2024 LOCATION: Bayfront Convention Center, Erie, Pennsylvania SHOW CHAIR: Jeanne Stiner SUPERINTENDENT: MB-F Inc. RESULTS: Saturday 01/27/24 RESULTS: Sunday 01/28/24   Photos by club member Mary Moodey The post Erie Kennel ..read more

Festivities continue with family and friends as we continue to fill our agendas for 2024. Wondrous emotions fill our hearts and minds as we reflect on old and new traditions. Doug Ljungren, AKC VP of Sports and Events, has outdone himself again, teaming up with the Westminster Kennel Club to host a new sporting event at his Oak Hill Farm in Oxford, North Carolina. Pointing Breed Hunting Tests Seek Excellence It has been 38 years since the AKC Pointing Breed Hunting Test program was launched. There have been clarifications and refinements, but the test has essentially remained unchanged. That w ..read more

  The Performance Akita The Akita Breed Standard states, “Large, powerful, alert, with much substance and heavy bone.” As a judge, handler, or exhibitor at a dog show, you have many times watched the Akitas in the ring; the powerful male or beautiful bitch making their way around the ring or creating a breathtaking stance for their handler. Now I would like for you to meet another side of this breed: the Performance Akita. Yes, I said “Performance.” This breed can be seen in Rally, Obedience, and even Agility rings. Akitas are also competing in Barn Hunt, Scentwork, and Fast CAT. Many are ..read more

  Well Done, Old Sport! Somewhere along the line, I got nominated by the Garden State All Terrier Club to receive the AKC’s Outstanding Sportsmanship award. This came as a bit of a surprise since no one mentioned it beforehand, and I’ve never thought of myself as a particularly good sport. To be honest, I always thought of a “good sport” to be a gracious loser, and while I lose as much as anyone, I’ve never been particularly gracious about it. If I can, I’ll pat the winner on the back or perhaps mutter a “Well done,” but I never get warm and fuzzy as perhaps I should. After all, it’s the ..read more

  Play Ball… Safely Cody strained at his leash as he entered my examination room. A brown and white pitbull mix with soft eyes, large neck and shoulder muscles, and a beautiful sheen to his coat, he rubbed the side of his big body against my legs then flipped over onto his back, begging for a belly rub. His tongue lolled to one side and he sported a silly grin. On the inside of his left knee, I could see a prominent scar from recent surgery. Cody had ruptured his cranial cruciate ligament (CCL), a structure that supports the knee joint, about four months previously. He had endured a lengt ..read more

  Training the Performance Shih Tzu Dog – Challenging but Rewarding   Shih Tzu are very much a thinking breed and will come up with different things to do if they are bored or don’t understand their job—as the center photo of “Dori” demonstrates. You must keep your sense of humor, but don’t think you can’t train a Shih Tzu like any other dog. I have trained mine (I’m on my fourth Agility/Obedience/Rally Shih Tzu) as I would any other dog. I know that this seems taboo, but training a dog is training a dog. They are ALL different, even within the same breed, and you have to figure out ..read more

  A Best-Kept Secret – Herding with Pumik I am often asked about our journey of becoming artisan farmers in upstate New York. To be frank, it has not been a straight shot like one would naturally take from point “A” to point “B.” We Hungarians somehow always select a path that appears shorter, even though it leads through the proverbial forest. When deciphering the trajectory of my voyage, it might be confusing to know that I was born, raised, and for 24 years, lived in the very center of Budapest, across from the iconic “gare de l’ouest” or Western railway station, built by the Eiffel co ..read more

Scent Work Trial photos from the Bristle Nose Scent Work Club of Utah, which was held on September 22–24, 2023, in Salt Lake City, Utah.       2023 Bristle Nose Scent Work Club of Utah All Breed Show DATE OF SHOW: 09/22/2023 – 09/24/2023 LOCATION: Salt Lake City, Utah SUPERINTENDENT: Cynthia Heyman   Scent Work Trial Photos Photos by April Bruce Critter’s Photography   The post Bristle Nose Scent Work Club of Utah | Salt Lake City, UT appeared first on Showsight ..read more