History of the American Kennel Club

The history of the American Kennel Club grows and evolves over many years. It's first "meeting call" was held in Philadelphia, 34 years in New York, to its present day headquarters in Raleigh N.C. They are now housed in an entire building that was renamed The American Kennel Club Building.

It all began with a meeting that was attended by several men, at the request of J.M. Taylor and Elliot Smith. Each person that was invited to this meeting was involved in some manner at various other "dog clubs" that had bench trials or field trials. The idea was in fact to meld into or build one large club that would be called "The American Kennel Club."

The first meeting was held on September 17, 1884. By their next meeting on October 22, 1884, the group had begun mapping a Constitution and set of By-Laws. James M. Taylor became the first President of the group, holding meetings in various cities because they had no chosen building or offices.

Many of the standards for the AKC regulations mimicked those set and used in England. Throughout the early 1900's the AKC underwent many changes, thus adding new point systems and championship requirements. New classes that recognized multi - breed competitions were set into the competitions.

Dr. N. Rowe had already produced three volumes of books on The National American Kennel Club Studs, starting in 1878, back before the AKC actually was even formed. The club adopted his fourth volume as their stud standard and began conforming to it in 1887. Subsequently, the club also started producing a gazette. This publication began in January of 1889 and continues through today.

The gazette claims to be an uninterrupted publication for nearly a century, and claims the title of being the oldest dog publication in existence. What an accomplishment in just that claim, much less all of the other wonderful things the AKC have done for dog owners.

Each year since it's inception, the AKC has underwent changes and incorporated new rules of conduct and new class formations to make it what it is today. Many breeds that were not allowed to compete in an AKC sanctioned event now have that opportunity as the AKC continues to recognize and add new breeds to their list of "conforming" dog breeds.

By 1998, the AKC had grown to a registration of nearly 1.2 million dogs and had registered 555,000 litters. DNA was being widely accepted by this point too. Members were assured that breeding would be held to a high standard by tracking the DNA of lineages that were being registered with the AKC.

Pedigrees of breed lines have been tracked for generations, and are readily available for those who purchase a new puppy from a breeder that claims the dog has a champion lineage. The AKC helps track and keep records for breeders. The AKC also offers many competitions, both in show, and field and agility classes.

The history of the AKC has built up many reputable organizations and dog advocacy groups as well. The AKC helps fight unfair practices in the way dog breeds are viewed. They help to educate the public in different dog breeds and standards.

Their Gazette and their web site is a host of information for animal lovers everywhere, and they have an extensive staff that can be reached by either phone or email that will help with all animal advocacy issues. If you would like more in depth information on the history of the AKC, or on all of the different classes of breeds, they host, log on to their web site at www. AKC. Org and explore all that they have to offer the caring dog owner.

Even if you are just looking to enter the world of registered pedigreed dogs, start at the AKC web site to learn all that you need to know about American Kennel Club registration and about the benefits of registering your pedigree dog with their service.