This weekend, the 2013 AKC Agility Invitational will take place in beautiful Orlando, Florida. The top 5 dogs in each breed are invited to compete, making the Invitational a wonderful celebration that showcases the amazing diversity of dog breeds that compete in AKC agility. This competition has grown in popularity since it’s inception in 2006, especially with handlers who enjoy working with rare agility breeds. As competitors have set their sights on this national level event, the amount of showing required to be a top 5 dog has increased, making it harder to finish in the top 5 even for atypical breeds. However, there are still many breeds that don’t fill their 5 spots; if your agility dog is one of the following breeds, set your sights for next year’s invitational!
| Breed | # Dogs Invited 2013 AKC Agility Invitational |
|---|---|
| Affenpinscher | 3 |
| Afghan Hound | 4 |
| Akita | 4 |
| American Foxhound | 1 |
| American Hairless Terrier | 4 |
| American Water Spaniel | 1 |
| Beauceron | 2 |
| Belgian Laekenois | 2 |
| Berger Picard | 2 |
| Black and Tan Coonhound | 2 |
| Black Russian Terrier | 2 |
| Bluetick Coonhound | 1 |
| Bulldog | 1 |
| Canaan Dog | 2 |
| Cane Corso | 1 |
| Catahoula Leopard Dog | 3 |
| Cesky Terrier | 1 |
| Danish-Swedish Farmdog | 2 |
| Dogue de Bordeaux | 2 |
| Dutch Shepherd | 2 |
| Harrier | 3 |
| Ibizan Hound | 1 |
| Irish Wolfhound | 1 |
| Japanese Chin | 1 |
| Kooikerhondje | 2 |
| Kuvasz | 1 |
| Lakeland Terrier | 2 |
| Leonberger | 3 |
| Mastiff | 3 |
| Miniature Bull Terrier | 2 |
| Norrbottenspets | 2 |
| Norwegian Buhund | 4 |
| Otterhound | 1 |
| Pharaoh Hound | 1 |
| Polish Lowland Sheepdog | 2 |
| Russian Toy | 1 |
| Schapendoes | 2 |
| Sealyham Terrier | 4 |
| Skye Terrier | 1 |
| Spinone Italiano | 3 |
| St. Bernard | 3 |
| Tibetan Spaniel | 3 |
| Wirehaired Pointing Griffon | 1 |
Special congratulations to the rare breed dogs that made it into the finals!!! I know there was a Polish Sheepdog, American hairless terrier, Blue tick and Entlebucher at least in the finals! And a St Bernard almost made it – they may be rare but they are really, really good at agility!
I run a Lagotto Romagnolo- Italian water dog. None of those yet!
They need some Chinese Cresteds……. Need to work on this ; )
More St. Bernards than Australian Cattle Dogs… MIND BLOWING. I really need to teach my ACD!
Now you have a goal to motivate your training!
Oh, I read this wrong. There may be ACDs, this is the list of the rarest, not ALL breeds. That will teach me to read blogs at work!