I hope everyone has been enjoying the summer, although it has been a particularly warm one for all parts of the country.

Eukanuba: The Juniors Competitions in Obedience and Agility in conjunction with the National Invitationals have both filled. We look forward to meeting the additional juniors competing in these events this year.

Those eligible for the Junior Showmanship Competition at the AKC Eukanuba must submit a transcript reflecting a 3.0 grade point average or equivalent by October 25th, 2011. Once your name has been added to the list on the AKC web site, you will be eligible to enter once the Premium list has been posted. All invitation will be sent via email.

As always I look forward to meeting the Juniors and their families in conjunction with the AKC Eukanuba event.

AKC is always looking for additional ways to introduce new families to AKC and all the events available for competition. If you are involved in a youth organization, 4H, FFA, Scouting or your school and would like to introduce information about AKC, Responsible Dog Ownership and eligibility to compete in a the various AKC Events, please contact me directly and we will supply you with some lesson plans and activity sheets.

Clubs are being encouraged to include information about Juniors and to ask Juniors to participate in the Responsible Dog Ownership Day Events going on through out the country in September. The intent is to let the public know of the opportunities for young people to participate in all of the different AKC Events with their dog. If you are participating in an upcoming RDOD event, please send in a brief write up with photos for a future issue.

We constantly refer to Juniors as the future of the sport, are you and your family currently a member of club? It may be a Specialty Club, All Breed Club, Dog Training or Agility club or Performance Event Club, if so I would like your feed back on what you currently do as a member and in what additional ways you would like to participate in the future. Please send your thoughts and comments to me directly, mbo@akc.org