February 2013 News from AKC President, Dennis Sprung:  We’re expecting more than 1,500 obedient and agile dogs who worked hard to qualify to attend the three events. New AKC Rally® Competition: The inaugural AKC Rally® National Competition on March 15th is open to 100 dogs in each of four classes – Novice, Advanced, Excellent and Rally Advanced Excellent. Entries remain open until February 15th at 4 pm EST. Dogs will compete multiple times and cumulative scores and times will be used to determine placements in each of the four classes. Learn more about the event and the qualifying standards here. We look forward to making this new event a success for many years to come. The AKC National Obedience and Agility Championships demonstrate the highest level of training and teamwork between dog and handler and are the culmination of thousands of trials held throughout the year. Dogs have to qualify at the highest levels of competition in order to compete. The top obedience dogs in the country based on OTCH points and placements at AKC Obedience Regional Events will show off their skills at scent discrimination, retrieving, heeling and more to compete for the prestigious National Obedience Champion (NOC) title. And after thousands of agility runs and multiple rounds of competition, we’ll crown 11 new AKC National Agility Champions (6 height classes) and AKC Preferred National Champions (5 height classes). After 2013, the combined “Extravaganza” will rotate to different locations around the country. We’re thrilled that we’ll be able to showcase the best competitors in the country, and demonstrate to the public the fun and excitement of AKC companion events. If you won’t be able to make it to Tulsa, bookmark Facebook and akc.org, where we’ll post results, photos and updates throughout the weekend. Sincerely,  Dennis B. Sprung President and CEO For information about upcoming Delegates’ meetings, read the Secretary Pages in the AKC Gazette. | |
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