Posts tagged "american kennel club"

Roxie, Coco, Carley, Mocha, Skeem, Moby and Pearl are all pit bull terrier rescues and crucial members of the Pit Crew, an all-pit-bull therapy group associated with Love-A-Bull, a non-profit pit-bull-advocacy group based in Austin, Texas. These spunky dogs belong to a breed believed by many to be misunderstood and misrepresented, a breed with as many detractors as defenders.

Love-A-Bull was formed as a spin-off from the Austin American Pit Bull Terrier Meet-Up Group that started in 2003. Lydia Zaidman, an attorney and pit-bull rescuer in Austin, began Love-A-Bull to educate the public about the breed, dispel rumors about pit bulls, advocate against Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), and support spaying and neutering for all dogs. Zaidman wasn't surprised when after extensive research, she learned that pit bulls were the second most common dogs used in therapy work.

Zaidman fought an uphill battle as she tried to introduce the idea of a therapy group made up of pit bulls and pit-bull mixes. Zaidman had her work cut out for her when she first approached local owners about bringing in therapy trained pit bulls into their establishments. "We keep trying to find ways to do good things like celebrate Pit Bull Awareness Day."

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has more than 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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Q: How can I get my recently adopted 1-year-old Maltipoo and my 14-year-old Maltese to be friends?

A: When dogs get much older, sometimes owners bring in a younger dog in order to keep the older dog company. This can work well when a young dog brings some spark and new life to the household. Sometimes, the only reason for adding the younger dog is to anticipate that the older dog may not be around long and this is an attempt to reduce the owner's pain when the loss occurs. (This only works if the owner is fully prepared to meet the needs of the new dog.)

Because there is a wide developmental gap between a 1-year-old dog and a 14-year-old there are different issues that can come up and it can be hard to anticipate which way it will go. The new addition could work out well, or the 14-year-old may be totally annoyed by the new 1-year-old pipsqueak who is jumping around and causing a ruckus.

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has more than 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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Q. I am a college student and I have a 1-year-old dachshund, Tippy, that I got from a rescue group. I like taking Tippy for a walk, but she pulls on the leash the whole time. Why does Tippy insist on pulling on the leash even when it is choking the life right out of her?

A. It sounds as though both literally and figuratively, taking Tippy for a walk is a drag. Tippy is pulling to get to where she thinks she wants to go, whether it be to a new scent or down the street to see what's coming next. Depending on the dog and type of collar or harness, even though the owner's arm is out of the socket, pulling may not be bothersome at all.

There are several methods that are effective when it comes to teaching a pulling dog to walk beside you on a leash.

Technique A: If the dog pulls, you stop.
1. When the dog starts to pull, stop.
2. Stand still. Don't move forward with the dog.
3. Wait. The dog will pull, but eventually she'll stop.
4. When she stops pulling, you can praise her and move forward. Uh-oh, she is so excited that you're moving forward, she's pulling again. Now what?
5. Repeat the procedure. It won't take long until she figures out you aren't going anywhere as long as she pulls.

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has more than 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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Q. I am writing about my dog Gunner. He is a German shorthaired pointer, and we adopted him as a young dog two years ago from a rescue group to be a companion to our older dog, Bear. Bear passed away last month. Gunner had never exhibited separation anxiety, but he sure does now. We can't leave him for more than an hour without him getting worked up. We recently needed to go out of town for a relative's funeral and we dropped Gunner off at the kennel where he had stayed with Bear. We were driving down the road and the kennel called and said we needed to come get him immediately. Gunner was throwing himself against the fencing, and biting and pulling at the fence so hard his mouth was bleeding. It was awful. We want to help Gunner with these issues. Do you have any advice?

A. My heart goes out to Gunner (and you). It is clear that Gunner is grieving the loss of his friend and companion. For separation issues, there is a protocol that involves teaching the dog to be OK for one second, then a few seconds, then a few minutes and so on, until he can stay by himself for several hours.But, in Gunner's case, I think the best and most therapeutic solution might be another friend.

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has more than 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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Q: Why do my two dogs stand face to face and just bark at each other? It's like these two little ones are having a bark off. What are they thinking?

A: If you can hear me over the barking, I'd say that to speak and understand dog language, you need to listen to the barks and pay close attention to the body language of the dogs.

- Dogs bark when they are excited or want to play. If you watch the body language of your two barkers, do they eventually break away, run and play, do a play bow, or stir up a game? Barking related to play will usually be accompanied with a relaxed body posture and sometimes a wagging tail.

- Barks that are short, insistent yips can mean, "Stop that!"

- If you see a stiff body along with a low-pitched growl, the barking can be a warning sign as in, "Get out of my space!"

- Some dogs have a "look at me!" bark and some barks have the function of getting attention.

In general, canine barking is all about communicating. Listen to the bark and look at the body and behavior of what happens during and right after the barking and you'll soon be speaking fluent dogspeak.

The American Kennel Club asked the public to vote for the most popular canine movie of the year, and the results are in -- "Marmaduke" ran away with 49 percent of the vote!

Other animals in the running for this dog version of the Oscars were the French bulldog from "Due Date" and the German shepherd and beagle from "Cats & Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore."

The AKC also collected votes on dog movies deserving a Lifetime Achievement Award, with top honors going to "Lassie Come Home" with 31 percent of vote, followed by "Benji." Others in consideration were "Lady and the Tramp," "Man From Hell's River" and "The Wizard of Oz."

Did your favorite dog-centric movie make the cut? If not, be sure to let us know what you would cast your vote for in the comments!

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has more than 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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Dear Mary,
Recently we adopted a 5-year-old male Yorkie from a local animal rescue foundation. He was a stud dog at a puppy mill and was not socialized at all. We adopted him to be my daughter's dog (she is 9), with the understanding that she will be in charge of the majority of his care (school and bedtimes permitting).

When we got Yoshie, he was very shy. Thanks to wacky schedules, initially I ended up spending more time with him than my daughter, and as a result, he is infatuated with me. However, he has no interest in anyone else in the house, including my daughter. When she tries to hold him, he scrambles to get away and has even growled at her. She's trying so hard to be patient, but this is breaking her heart. We would love suggestions for getting Yoshie more acclimated and bonded to my daughter. Right now she's in charge of feeding him both of his meals, she takes him out for almost all walks, she rewards him with tiny treats when he lets her pet him or approaches her, and she sits next to me when he is on my lap and pets him quietly and calmly. Do you have any other advice for us?

Thank you so much for reaching out to us on behalf of Yoshie. It's clear that you care about him and your daughter very much, but you do have a lot of work on your hands. A 5-year-old unsocialized former stud dog is a handful for experienced adult dog owners, not to mention a child. I don't advise families with children to take on a dog with serious behavioral issues, as the challenges and risks can be great, but I understand that you have a big heart and want to give Yoshi a loving home.

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has more than 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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I have two dogs. Hollie is 1.5 years and Rudi is 3.5 yrs. Although Hollie is generally self-assured, when we try to leave the house with just Rudi, Hollie barks and cries. She's not destructive, but she's clearly distressed to be left behind, despite the fact that she has her favorite toys and a Kong filled with peanut butter, which she loves.

Even when Hollie is left behind with a person, she's still unhappy. When we're on walks, if I fall behind with Rudi and my husband tries to go ahead with Hollie, she'll hang back. Hollie is a mixed breed, likely with some hound and shepherd in her, so I wonder if she has some sort of herding tendency or if it's just a sad display of dependence. What can I do to make her more comfortable when she's the only dog at home?

Hollie's situation is so fascinating because usually when we hear about separation issues, the dog has problems when the people leave the home. In Hollie's case, her separation distress is a result of Rudi, the other dog, leaving, which most often happens when the dogs are littermates.

I would suggest following the same protocol that is used for separation anxiety when the dog has a negative reaction to people leaving. You'll need to set up some times for training sessions apart from times when you really need to leave the house.

Hickory lapped up the limelight after winning Best in Show at the 2011 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Tuesday night in New York City.

The 5-year-old female Scottish deerhound -- full name Gch. Foxcliffe Hickory Wind -- has been the No. 1 Scottish deerhound for the last three years. But this was her first Best in Show appearance at Westminster.

After entering the ring at Madison Square Garden under a spotlight to rapturous applause, handler Angela Lloyd -- a junior handler winner at Westminster in 1998 -- led her to a swift and popular victory.

Judge Paolo Dondina, who paid tribute to all the seven finalists as "the best he could remember," did not take long to select Hickory as his choice for Best in Show. He watched their initial entrance lap and took a closer look at each dog before quickly deciding on Hickory.

"I think she was beautiful," he told reporters after the award. "This one feels perfect -- very well balanced and beautiful. She did a marvelous job."

The victorious dog and handler drew the adulation of a large crowd as she basked in the victory. Some attendees paid as much as $155 to attend Best in Show, which was also broadcast live on the USA Network.

Lloyd, who has been living with Hickory at her home in Virginia, heaped praise on the deerhound. "She went in there tonight and showed like she's never shown before," said the 31-year-old handler. "She was solid and steady despite all the flashbulbs and cameras. She came right through it."

The Competition
The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is considered the most prestigious in the nation, with more than 2,500 dogs each year vying for the top title of Best in Show. It is the second-oldest continuous sporting event in the country, trailing the Kentucky Derby by a year.

The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show welcomed six new breeds in 2011, and none was more popular on the opening Monday than the redbone coonhound.

Crowds flocked to ring five at 11 a.m. ET to see the finest examples of the breed -- known for its agility and muscular build -- grace the green carpet at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

And top prize for the newest breed on the block went to Rufus, a beautiful and playful 14-month-old redbone coonhound from Kentucky.

The American Kennel Club has welcomed three breeds into the AKC family -- the Entlebucher Mountain Dog, Norwegian Lundehund and the Xoloitzcuintli will join the AKC's list of registered breeds, bringing the total number of registered breeds to 170. Here is what the AKC has to say about them:

The Xoloitzcuintli (pronounced show-low-etz-queent-lee) is one of the world's rarest breeds and is still considered a "healer" in remote Mexican and Central American Villages today. The breed comes in three sizes: toy, miniature and standard; and two varieties: hairless and coated, which makes the Xolo ideal for those looking for a dog with more variety. They serve as an excellent companion for families due to their attentive and calm nature and require moderate exercise and grooming. For more info go to: www.xoloitzcuintliclubofamerica.org.

Think you know which breed is top dog? Well, the numbers are in and all the fat puppies have been counted. And after tallying up all of its nationwide registrations, the American Kennel Club has released its much-anticipated list of the 10 most popular breeds for 2010.

The Labrador(able) is Still Top Dog: Though there were a couple of shake-ups in the top 10, no breed was able to unseat the perennial top dog. For the 20th consecutive year, the much-beloved Labrador retriever leads the pack when it comes to registrations.

Surprising Upsets: The beagle charged its way past the golden retriever to claim the coveted No. 4 spot. In another top 10 shake-up, the ever-popular boxer got bull-rushed by the lovable, short-snouted bulldog, which rose to sixth place on this year's list.

French Bulldogs Surge Ahead: Outside of the top 10, the AKC spotted a few other trends emerging from the past decade of breed statistics. For example, the French bulldog has undergone a renaissance in the last 10 years, jumping 50 spots -- from 71st to 21st! Likewise, the diminutive Havanese jumped from 86th to 31st place. Go to the AKC website for the full list.

Gigantic is Better: The AKC also reported a trend favoring a few of the supersize breeds. Gentle giants like the Great Dane, Newfoundland, Bernese mountain dog, mastiff and Greater Swiss mountain dog all saw meaningful jumps in registrations.

The AKC's Most Popular Dogs in 2010

1. Labrador retriever
2. German shepherd
3. Yorkshire terrier
4. Beagle
5. Golden retriever
6. Bulldog
7. Boxer
8. Dachshund
9. Poodle
10. Shih Tzu

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has more than 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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After my dog Mike does "his business," he always kicks and digs into the ground hard with his back legs, sometimes just digging up the ground and sometimes he sends his poop flying. He also does this on sidewalks as well. No matter what I do, I can't seem to stop this and it is kind of destroying my yard. Do you know why dogs do this? What could I try to get him to stop?

There are differences of opinion about the function of scratching the ground after a dog urinates or defecates. One theory is the dog does this to cover up the mess he's made. But your description of what Mike is doing certainly doesn't sound like an attempt at a polite coverup.

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior.

Dr. Burch has more than 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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At the Meet the Breeds event in New York City, Mary Burch put dogs through their paces as part of the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) program. Here, we asked her to explain it to us.

What is the CGC program and what are its goals? Why would someone want to participate?
Started in 1989, the Canine Good Citizen Program is designed to reward dogs who have good manners at home and in the community. The tagline for the CGC program is "Responsible Owners, Well-Mannered Dogs," and this summarizes the goal of one of AKC's most rapidly growing programs.

This dog is a force to be, well, reckoned with. CH Propwash Reckon, a 2-year-old Australian Shepherd known affectionately as "Reckon," beat out nearly 2,500 canine competitors for the coveted title of Best in Show at the 10th annual AKC/Eukanuba National Championship at the Long Beach Convention Center last night.

"We are proud to have Reckon join the family of Best in Show winners at the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship," said Show Chairman Ron Menaker. "We had a record-breaking entry this year of highly competitive canine athletes in conformation, agility, obedience and the Eukanuba World Challenge. Congratulations to all the winners!"

Reckon won not only bragging rights at the championship but also the Eukanuba Celebration of Champions Trophy (which is designed to look like its winner), a check for $50,000 and a year's supply of Eukanuba dog food. Reckon is owned by Leslie Frank and Judy Harrington of Kensington, N.H. Last year's winner was Sadie, a Scottish Terrier.

The AKC/Eukanuba National Championship is regarded as one of the most prestigious dog shows in the world, as it includes a range of canine sporting events all under one roof, including the AKC Agility Invitational and AKC National Obedience Invitational. This year, these events featured 3,233 dogs vying to be "top dog" and earn more than $225,000 in prize money.

The event also included the Junior Showmanship competition, which allows handlers 9 to 18 years old to compete. This year, Katie Mazurowski and her English Setter Lamont were awarded the coveted title of Best Junior Handler along with a $2,000 scholarship.

The AKC/Eukanuba National Championship will be telecast on ABC Network Television on Sun., Jan. 23, 2011. Check your local listings for times. You won't want to miss the canine fun!