They arrived on the AKC’s roster just in time for 2026: three dog breeds that the kennel club said are now eligible for many U.S. dog shows, a shift that AKC officials and breed enthusiasts expect to raise visibility among pet owners and competitors. The update came as the American Kennel Club continues its process for adding new breeds to its recognized list, which now totals 205.
The AKC’s package of newcomers includes the basset fauve de Bretagne, a compact, coarse-coated hound whose background is traced to French hunting circles. The kennel club also recognized the Teddy Roosevelt terrier, a small, energetic terrier whose naming reflects President Theodore Roosevelt’s reported fondness for dogs, including terriers. The third is the Russian tsvetnaya bolonka, a toy companion described as a sweet, clever lapdog developed in Soviet-era Leningrad after World War II.
For the basset fauve de Bretagne, the AKC described a body style and temperament aimed at working and companionship: it said the breed is hardy and sociable, can hunt all day, and requires both mental and physical activity. The AKC said the breed measures 12.5 to 15.5 inches at the base of the neck and 23 to 39 pounds, and it provided a pronunciation and translation of the breed name as “fawn-colored, low-set dog from Brittany.” The club also credited versions of these coarse-coated hounds to at least the 16th-century French aristocratic circles, and it said a U.S. presence advanced in recent years through Cindy Hartman, a South Carolina service dog trainer who brought a pair of fauve puppies back from France in 2001. Hartman said fauves are “wicked smart,” adding that they are “not for you” if someone wants a dog to “just lay around all day,” but that when “challenged mentally and physically,” they “curl up on the sofa for the evening,” according to the AKC report.
The Teddy Roosevelt terrier entry points to both history and purpose, according to the AKC description. The kennel club said the breed stands 8 to 14 inches at the base of the neck and weighs 8 to 25 pounds, and it described the dogs as solid and energetic, good for ridding barns of rodents and alerting people to strangers, as well as doing dog sports or simply entertaining owners. The AKC said the breed was originally viewed as a short-legged variant of the rat terrier, but it was deemed a breed of its own in 1999. It also said the terrier was named for President Theodore Roosevelt because of his fondness for dogs, including terriers.
For Cindy Rickey of Waynesville, North Carolina, the AKC’s description matched what the breed club has seen in training and competition. Rickey, identified as secretary of the American Teddy Roosevelt Terrier Club, said the dogs “know how to get you to laugh” and that while terriers can be independent-minded, “her Teddy competes in obedience,” adding that they have “this tremendous desire to please,” in remarks included in the AKC report.
The AKC’s Russian tsvetnaya bolonka is presented as a small companion shaped by where it was developed and who kept it. The kennel club said the breed can reach up to 10¼ inches at the base of the neck and typically weighs 7 to 9 pounds, describing it as a “sweet but clever” lapdog that wants playful interaction as well as snuggling. The AKC provided a pronunciation and said the translation is “Russian colored lapdog.” In its history, the kennel club said the breed was developed in Soviet-era Leningrad after World War II as a pet for apartment dwellers, and it said American fans have worked since the early 2000s to establish bolonki—the proper plural—in the U.S.
Denise Dang, identified as secretary of the Russian Tsvetnaya Bolonka Club of America, said owners should expect energy and play alongside couch time, likening owning a bolonka to “having a 3-year-old kid running around your house.” Dang said the dogs can “enjoy their time lying on the couch with you,” but owners should be “prepared to play with them and keep them entertained.” The AKC report also said the bolonka’s thick, wavy coat is low-shedding but can get matted, recommending careful grooming; it said even if the coat is cut fairly short, Dang advised baths every couple of weeks.
The AKC framed the broader pattern as incremental and structured rather than ad hoc. The kennel club recognized these three newcomers as part of a roster of 205 recognized breeds, and it said fanciers of other non-recognized breeds have been entering a pipeline that takes years of breeding, documentation and consensus-building. Spokesperson Brandi Hunter Munden said the AKC doesn’t limit the number of breeds it might eventually recognize, and she said it is not “adding dogs indiscriminately,” but instead providing “an established framework for growth, breed standards, competition and education in the U.S.”
Still, the breed-recognition process lands in a longstanding debate about dog breeding and kennel-club standards. The report said animal-rights activists have long criticized dog breeding and the AKC, and that criticism has intensified this year into a lawsuit over the health of French bulldogs, pugs, dachshunds and Chinese shar-peis. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the report said, has sought a court order to stop the AKC from continuing to promulgate current “standards,” or ideal characteristics, for those breeds.
PETA accused the kennel club of providing “blueprints for the breeding of deformed, unhealthy dogs,” and the AKC denied the allegations. The AKC asked a court to dismiss the case and called the suit frivolous, saying it “has been — and remains — firmly committed to the health, well-being and proper treatment of all dogs,” according to the report accompanying the roster update.