There are several hundreds of purebred dogs that AKC does not recognize. At his current time there are ten breeds that are working on AKC recognition.

If you watch the Westminster Dog Show you will notice that they do accept new breeds and they do compete with other recognized breeds. The 2009 Westminster Dog Show introduced the Dogue de Bordeaux as a recognized breed. Most of us know this dog as “Hooch” from the movie “Turner and Hooch”. Although the Dogue de Bordeaux first came to the U.S. in the 1890’s, it was placed in the Miscellaneous Class in 2006. In July 2008, the breed was AKC recognized and finally eligible to compete in the Working Group.

The AKC has a list of requirements for development of a new breed. This includes an active parent club that is working to expand the breed over a geographic area. When all the criteria are met for the breed they are entered into the Miscellaneous Class. They may compete and earn titles in companion and performance events. The breed may also compete in Junior Showmanship. When the AKC Board of Directors feel that the breed is striving for healthy growth, it is then admitted into the Stud Book and may compete with other recognized breeds.

As of January 1, 2009, AKC has 161 recognized breeds. The breeds to gain recognition as of January 1, 2009 are the Irish Red & White Setter, Pyrenean Shepherd and the Norwegian Buhund.

The ten breeds that are currently in the Miscellaneous Class are Bluetick Coonhound, Boykin Spaniel, Cane Corso, Cesky Terrier, Entlebucher Mountain Dog, Icelandic Sheepdog, Leonberger, Norwegian Lundehund, Redbone Coonhound, and the Xoloitzcuintli. It will be interesting to see what breed will be recognized next!

Tags: 2009 Westminster Dog Show, AKC, AKC Board of Directors, AKC Junior Showmanship, AKC recognized breed, AKC Stud Book, Bluetick Coonhound, boykin spaniel, Cane Corso, Cesky Terrier, Dogue de Bordeaux dog, Entlebucher Mountain Dog, Icelandic Sheepdog, Irish Red & White Setter, Leonberger, Miscellaneous Class, Norwegian Buhund, Norwegian Lundehund, Pyrenean Shepherd, Redbone Coonhound, Working Group, Xoloitzcuintli

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 6:45 pm and is filed under Dog Tips, History Tails. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.