World’s Top Dogs Headed to AKC/Eukanuba National Championship

Thousands of top show, agility and obedience dogs from around the world are on their way to Long Beach, Calif., for the 10th Annual AKC/Eukanuba National Championship this weekend.

Among the more than 3,000 dogs competing December 4-5 for $225,000 in cash prizes will be PM2 Dog Agility Team members Bogey and Beau, who will be participating in the AKC Agility Invitational with their handlers, i Love Dogs Ambassadors Deborah Davidson Harpur and Mei Matsuo.

Members of the PM2 team will also be on hand (on paw?) in the i Love Dogs booth in the Long Beach Convention Center, so be sure to stop by and say hi or woof!

In addition to the AKC Agility Invitational, show dogs will be competing for the prestigious title of AKC/Eukanuba National Champion, and well-trained pooches will compete in the AKC National Obedience Invitational.

Agility is the fastest-growing dog sport in the U.S. and the fastest-growing AKC event. In the invitational this weekend, pawsome agility pooches will race through long tunnels, soar over jumps, and expertly make their way through weave poles. According to a Daily Breeze article about Harpur and agility dogs, the course includes tricky “traps,” which are twists and turns that make the dogs move in directions counter-intuitive to them. What’s especially challenging is that the dogs will be running the course for the first time when they compete.

As for the show dogs, six newly recognized AKC breeds will compete this year: the Bluetick Coonhound, Boykin Spaniel, Cane Corso, Icelandic Sheepdog, Leonberger and Redbone Coonhound.

The AKC promises the event, as always, will be very family friendly. Meet the Breeds will have puppies and adults from more than 140 AKC-registered breeds on display. People can share pats and kisses with the purebred pooches, and learn more about them from their breeders. An AKC ring will feature fun and educational demonstrations such as herding with live ducks, agility, obedience and seeing-eye dogs.

Ticket information is available on the AKC website. The AKC will post show updates and results over the weekend on Twitter and Facebook. The championship will be broadcast on ABC on January 23, 2011.

PHOTO: pm2dogagility.com