AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB WELCOMES LANCASHIRE HEELER TO RANKS
Iin New York
t’s small in stature, big on activity and known for a “smile,” and it’s ready to compete with 200 other dog breeds.
Say hello to the Lancashire heeler, the latest breed recognized by the American Kennel Club. The organization announced Wednesday that the rare herding breed is now eligible for thousands of U. S. dog shows, including the prominent Westminster Kennel Club show.
With long bodies and short coats that are often black an tan, the solidly built dogs are shaped a bit like a downsized corgi, standing around 30 centimetres at the shoulder and weighing up to about 7.7 kilograms. Historically, they were farm helpers that could both drive cattle and rout rats, and today they participate in an array of canine sports and pursuits.
“They’re gritty little dogs, and they’re very intelligent little dogs,” says Patricia Blankenship of Flora, Miss., who has bred them for over a decade. “It’s an enjoyable little breed to be around.”
Their official description — or breed standard, in dog- world parlance — calls for them to be “courageous, happy, affectionate to owner,” and owners say contented heelers sometimes pull back their lips in a “smile.”
Lancashire heelers go back centuries in the U. K., where they’re now deemed a “vulnerable native breed” at risk of dying out in their homeland. Britain’s Kennel Club has added an average of just 121 Lancashire heelers annually to its registry in recent years, and the American Kennel Club says only about 5,000 exist worldwide.
Founded in 1884, the AKC is the United States’ oldest purebred dog registry and functions like a league for many canine competitions, including sports open to mixed-breeds and purebreds. But only the 201 recognized breeds vie for the traditional “best in show” trophies at Westminster and elsewhere.