James Dearinger Memorial Collection
The obedience regulations have gone through a number of editions since the first ones were printed as part of the board minutes in March, 1936. They first appeared in booklet form in November of that year. Over the decades since the AKC established their obedience program there have been many changes, some significant, some minor. It is often instructive to look back at the way obedience was and to see when changes were made.
Front & Finish® is pleased to make a complete archive of all the editions of the Obedience Regulations available for those interested in researching the history of the sport. We thank the American Kennel Club for granting permission to publish these documents on the web.
In the early days one, two, or even three years might have elapsed before a new edition was issued. Changes were accumulated until next edition. While most editions have an effective month - either on the cover or on the inside front cover - four editions did not. Those four are identified only by the year in which they were issued. The longest interval between editions occurred during the war years.
Starting in the last years of the twentieth century, the AKC started issuing "change sheets" on an interim basis and not reprinting the Regulations until the current supply was exhausted. In the copies in this collection, the change sheets are at the end of the file for the edition which was being amended. The original change sheets were nearly always printed on colored paper and those colors have been retained. In some instances, there is no effective date on the change sheets, but they will appear in the chronological order that they were issued.
James Dearinger (June, 1932 - December, 2006)
This collection is dedicated to James Dearinger. For nearly a quarter century, he worked at the AKC. Except for an eight year period in which he was secretary, he was Director of Obedience until 1993. At that time, he was elected as the first Vice President of Obedience, a post he held until his retirement in 1997. While Director of Obedience and Vice President, he would frequently be found at obedience trials across the country. He always welcomed input from those involved in the sport.
During his tenure, Jim established the first Obedience Judging Seminars and developed the Obedience and Tracking Field staff, both of which improved and helped standardize the quality of judging at obedience trials. He saw the addition of the Obedience Trial Championship, Utility Dog Excellent, Advanced Tracking, and Variable Surface Tracking titles. In 1995, he produced the first National Obedience Invitational tournament.
His proudest achievement was the development of the Canine Good Citizen Program.
Regulations
(The files are in pdf format and require Adobe Reader to be able to read them)
* Excludes Obedience Judges Guidelines, The Steward in Obedience
† Includes Obedience Regulations, Obedience Judges Guidelines, The Steward in Obedience, Rally Regulations, Rally Judges Guidelines, The Steward in Rally
‡ To be added at a later date.
