American Kennel Club Announces Launch of AKC Canine College

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The American Kennel Club (AKC), the world’s largest purebred registry and advocate for dogs, announced the launch of its online learning platform, the AKC Canine College. The Canine College is an initiative that will allow the AKC to extend learning and certification opportunities to individuals without limitations of geography and time.  Dog breeders, judges, groomers, trainers, and others interested in learning more about the dog world will find a growing catalog of online courses, certification opportunities and additional resources.

The initial launch features a course on the Lagotto Romagnolo; online exams for conformation judges seeking approval to judge dogs in the Sporting, Terrier and Toy Groups; and educational material for all breeders, including required education for Bred with H.E.A.R.T. members. The organization said that content will continue to be developed and added to the catalog of courses, including training for Canine Good Citizen Evaluators and Groomers, additional breed courses and exams, tests for performance events judges and more.

“The Canine College is a tool that can be used effectively and efficiently as a supplement to what has been available for years,” said Dr. Charles Garvin, AKC Board Member. “It is designed to be flexible, scalable and continually improved.”

The AKC Canine College utilizes the Bridge Learning Management System, winner of three Silver Awards in the 2015 Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards in Technology.

To see what the AKC Canine College has to offer, visit www.caninecollege.akc.org. Enhanced customer service and technical support will be available for those needing additional help.

In a statement, the AKC acknowledged the great assistance provided by volunteers, parent clubs, breeders and their dogs, preliminary testers, and those who have offered suggestions and feedback, in the initial launch and continued improvement of the program.

“The American Kennel Club is proud to launch the AKC Canine College and looks forward to continuing to develop quality online learning opportunities for the canine world,” said Leslie Fetzer, education project manager.