American Kennel Club Announces 2021 AKC Trick Dog National Competition

Trick Dog National Competition

AKC Trick Dog National Competition Announcement : New York, NY – The American Kennel Club (AKC®), the world’s largest dog registry and leading industry authority and advocate for dogs, is pleased to announce the 2021 AKC Trick Dog National Competition. The event will once again be virtual allowing trick dogs everywhere to enter. New to this years’ competition is a juniors division!

Juniors Division Added To This Years’ Competition 

“We are so happy to bring this event back this year,” said Mary Burch, Ph.D., AKC Family Dog Director. “It’s such an enjoyable competition. The talent we see from these dogs and handlers is truly amazing, and we’re thrilled to open it up to juniors. We look forward to all of the submissions.”

The event is open to all trick dogs that have earned the Elite Performer title by the deadline of October 1, 2021, 5pm EST. The winner of the 2021 AKC Trick Dog Competition will receive a cash prize of $500 and two semi-finalists will each receive $250. The winners will be featured in AKC media, their videos will be on the AKC Trick Dog web page, and they will receive a commemorative trophy.

The new Juniors division is open to handlers age 17 and younger and will be broken into age groups of 9 years and under, 10 to 13 years old, and 14 to 17 years old. Dogs handled by Juniors do not have to have an Elite Performer title – they can compete with the highest level of Tricks title that the dog has earned (Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Performer, and Elite Performer). Winners in each age group of the 2021 Juniors AKC Trick Dog Competition will receive a trophy. The winners will be featured in AKC media, and their videos will be on the AKC Trick Dog web page.

The deadline to submit videos is October 1, 2021. Winners will be announced in January 2022.

For more information about the event and competition rules, visit https://www.akc.org/sports/trick-dog/announce-virtual-trick-dog-competition/.

More details and rules for the Juniors division of the competition can be found at https://www.akc.org/sports/trick-dog/entry-junior-trick-competition/.