--18 FSS Breeds Eligible for Competition as of January 1--

New York, NY – The American Kennel Club announced that Foundation Stock Service (FSS) breeds meeting certain criteria are eligible to compete in AKC all-breed Companion Events including Obedience, Agility and Tracking, effective January 1, 2004. Inclusion in Performance events will be considered on a case-by-case basis after written requests from individual breed Parent clubs are made to the AKC.

FSS is a service provided by the AKC to allow these purebred breeds to continue to develop while allowing them the security of a reliable and reputable avenue to maintain their records. This record keeping service allows rare breed fanciers to ensure the integrity of their pedigrees and ownership records, and ultimately, become fully recognized by the AKC. Currently, 48 unique purebreds are included in FSS.

“AKC Companion Events are among the most popular of the AKC sports for registered purebred dogs. They offer a unique bonding experience between owner and dog,“ said Patricia Krause, AVP of Companion Events. “We are pleased to welcome these dogs into competition as they bring diversity to the sport and enable the public the chance to become educated about lesser-known breeds.”

In order to be eligible for competition in Companion Events, the FSS breed must meet the following minimum requirements as set by the AKC Board of Directors: a minimum of 150 dogs with three generation pedigrees recorded in FSS; a national breed club with members in at least 20 states; and a breed standard that meets AKC criteria.

The 18 breeds currently eligible are:
¨ (FSS) Black and Tan Coonhound
¨ American English Coonhound
¨ Bluetick Coonhound
¨ Cesky Terrier
¨ Chinook
¨ Coton de Tulear
¨ Dogue de Bordeaux
¨ Finnish Lapphund
¨ Irish Red and White Setter
¨ Norwegian Buhund
¨ Norwegian Lundehund
¨ Perro de Presa Canario
¨ Peruvian Inca Orchid
¨ Pyrenean Shepherd
¨ Sloughi
¨ Swedish Vallhund
¨ Tibetan Mastiff
¨ Treeing Walker Coonhound

In addition, the Cesky Terrier was approved for competition in Earthdog Tests, also effective January 1, 2004. The breed was developed in Czechoslovakia to hunt small vermin and to go to ground.

Visit http://www.akc.org/registration/fss/index.cfm to learn more about the AKC’s Foundation Stock Service.