ESAA News: May AKC News

American Kennel Club - The Dog's Champion - American Kennel Club

A report on AKC activities and initiatives

Noteworthy News for May 2017

The AKC has been very busy advancing the sport and our mission to protect and promote purebred dogs. It is our pleasure to share some of these developments with you.

Breeder of Merit Levels of Recognition
Breeders are the cornerstone of our sport. Their time, dedication and commitment to breeding healthy dogs is cherished by our organization. In an effort to recognize those who are advancing successful breeding programs and producing champion dogs, we have enhanced the Breeder of Merit program to include four levels: Breeder of Merit Bronze, Breeder of Merit Silver, Breeder of Merit Gold, and Breeder of Merit Platinum. Each of these levels requires a breeder to have bred a certain number of dogs that are actively earning titles.

Our sport and its champions come from responsible breeders whose passion for dogs and the sport are unmatched. We are proud to have developed another way to honor your contributions.

Puppy of Achievement Program
Puppies are the future champions of our sport. Our clubs offer Puppy classes and encourage owners to participate in them. The Puppy Pilot Achievement Program is a new certificate to encourage exhibitors to compete by providing a realistic goal for puppies while they gain ring experience. The program requires that a puppy earn 10 POA points from the 4-6 Month Beginner Puppy Competition and/or regular Puppy classes.

This program is an excellent way to get your dog started in Conformation and a first step toward becoming an AKC Champion. We encourage you to learn more about the program and participate.

New AKC Sport
The AKC has launched a new sport that allows our canine companions to shine even brighter while enhancing the canine-human bond.

Starting this month, exhibitors can participate in AKC Scent Work competitions. Scent Work is a sport that mimics the task of working Detection Dogs to find a specific scent and communicate to the handler that the scent has been found. It is a positive, challenging activity that afford dogs the opportunity to use their strongest natural sense in a way that is fun and engaging while building and strengthening trust between the handler and the dog. There are four difficulty levels for each element—Novice, Advanced, Excellent, and Master—and factors such as the size of the search area, the number of hides, whether the number of hides is known or unknown to the handler, and the maximum height of the hides will change with the difficulty level. The most accomplished dogs will also be eligible for The Detective Class, which contains many hides in a variety of environments.

We look forward to seeing some of the top canines excel in this new sport.

This is a brief overview of some of the happenings at the AKC and ways in which we are carrying out our mission. We are proud to share our commitment to purebred dogs with you. Look for more updates soon.

Sincerely,