The official newsletter of the AKC Junior Organization | January 2016

A Message from Mari-Beth O'Neill

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a good holiday and that you are now planning your schedule for participation in AKC Events with your dog. I was privileged to judge the Junior Showmanship Finals at the AKC Eukanuba National in December. When I used to give the presentation to judges on judging Junior Showmanship I would tell them this will consistently be the hardest thing you ever judge, as the quality of the handlers is always excellent, which proved to be true at Eukanuba this year. I wish to congratulate everyone who was eligible to compete this year, an honor unto itself.

I am pleased to announce that the AKC Board of Directors approved the awarding of $25,000 for Junior Scholarships for the 2016-2017 academic year. The application is available on the Junior Section of the AKC Web Site.

Stay Tuned for a new ranking system for the Juniors competing in multiple events!

Good luck to everyone in their efforts in training and competing with their dogs in 2016!

4 Paws 4H Dog Club

The 4 Paws 4 H Dog Club of Columbia, Missouri decided that the goal for the year was to attend the AKC Eukanuba National Championship in Orlando, Florida. The group worked hard all year working at all breed shows, agility trials and doing a myriad of fund raising events to meet their goal! We were thrilled to meet the group in Orlando and know that they enjoyed getting to see all the different events.

By Jackie Wooden

There are many fun events offered by the AKC in which juniors may compete. Most often juniors choose to compete in just Breed and Junior Showmanship classes. There are, however, companion events that are often held in conjunction with the breed shows that rarely have any juniors competing. These companion events are Rally and Obedience. Yes, it is easier to just train your dog for the Breed and Showmanship rings, but Obedience and Rally are just as fun and very rewarding to both handler and dog. It takes time and effort to get your dog to learn the difference between the Breed/Showmanship collar and the flat collar for the Rally and Obedience rings, but is well worth it!

AKC/Eukanuba National Championship

AKC Juniors Classic

AKC Junior Agility Competition

Cambridge, MN Juniors Clinic