The American Kennel Club Coonhound Youth Program is part of the Coonhound Events Department and the AKC Junior Organization, providing coonhound fanciers like you the opportunity to compete in Bench Shows, Nite Hunts, Field Trials, and Water Races in an environment that is fun, fair, and feasible. These events allow you to show off your coonhound's potential and have fun in the process! No firearms are permitted, nor is any game taken in the course of the events. Coonhound event rules provide a scoring system that evaluates the dog's performance in competition with other dogs, making competition exciting for you and your dog.

As the largest and most respected purebred dog registry in the world, the American Kennel Club has a lot to offer. The AKC Coonhound Youth Program is here to help you get the most out of your experience with your coonhound, whether you are just starting or have been competing since you could say "strike." We provide you with opportunities to compete against other youth and be recognized on local and national levels.

When you sign up for the AKC Coonhound Youth Program, you become part of the AKC Junior Organization, which gives you an identification number to make sure you get recognition for all of your wins. Not only can you use this number to get credit for coonhound event competition, but you can also use it for recognition in any of the other AKC performance and companion events, such as obedience, agility, tracking, hunting tests, field trials and more.

Want to get started? Here are a few general rules:

• You must be 17 years old or younger.
• You must either be enrolled in school or have completed all graduation requirements.
• Your dog must be eligible for entry in AKC Coonhound Events. (What does this mean?)