The 2025 National Parent Club Canine Health Conference will take place in Durham, N.C., Aug. 7–9, 2025, organizers confirmed, marking the 15th biennial meeting of the parent-club community and the 30th anniversary of the AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF).

Planned as a three-day program under the theme “Science for Healthy, Vibrant Dogs,” the conference is billed as a showcase for research funded by the CHF and a forum for translating scientific findings into practical improvements for breeders, veterinarians and dog owners. Registration is scheduled to open in January 2025, with organizers saying details about speakers, session topics and registration rates will be released ahead of that date.

Organizers describe the event as an opportunity to examine outcomes from CHF-funded projects and to discuss next steps for applying that research. The foundation notes that the conference will highlight its three-decade record of supporting canine research and will frame sessions around the impact of CHF grants on disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

Established as the AKC Canine Health Foundation’s signature biennial gathering of parent clubs, the conference brings together breed club leaders, researchers, practicing veterinarians and other stakeholders. Sessions are expected to concentrate on translational research—work intended to move discoveries from the laboratory into clinical practice and breeding programs—so attendees can evaluate how new evidence might change testing, screening or management strategies for dogs.

The CHF’s national influence is a central theme: the foundation has funded more than 970 research grants and supported over 1,000 scientific publications, organizers say, a body of work they contend improves prevention, diagnosis and treatment of major canine diseases affecting purebreds and mixed-breed dogs nationwide. That record will be woven into anniversary programming, which the foundation says will highlight milestone achievements and ongoing priorities in canine health research.

While the event agenda will emphasize CHF-funded science, preliminary materials and media coverage indicate the immediate public-facing information available focuses mainly on conference logistics, attendance and research funding rather than on specific actionable steps dog owners should implement at home. Organizers have framed the conference as a forum for presenting evidence and facilitating discussion among professionals who can then translate findings into practice.

Speakers and session titles have not yet been announced. The foundation has encouraged interested parties to monitor its press materials and coverage from trade outlets for updates; two sources listed by organizers are the Canine Chronicle and an AKC Canine Health Foundation press release, which will carry further details as they become available.

Attendees can expect programming that revisits key advancements in canine health over the past 30 years. CHF materials and related reporting point to notable developments such as targeted cancer therapies—Palladia (toceranib phosphate) for canine mast cell tumors and Tanovea (rabacfosadine) for canine lymphoma—and the emergence of advanced diagnostic panels that enable earlier detection and more precise classification of disease. Organizers say the conference will highlight how those and other breakthroughs were supported by the kind of peer‑reviewed research the CHF funds. The conference will explore key advancements in canine health research that have emerged over the past 30 years.

As the 15th biennial meeting, the conference also serves as a convening point for the parent-club community to set priorities and to identify research areas where additional funding and collaboration are needed. The CHF has emphasized that the event aims to foster connections among researchers, clinicians and breed organizations so that evidence-based practices can be more widely adopted.

Registration opening in January 2025 will allow prospective attendees to secure places and review the finalized program before the August meeting. The foundation has said anniversary programming and presentations of CHF-funded research will be cornerstones of the agenda, underscoring three decades of investment in canine health science.

Source

Original reporting: view the original article. More information will be posted by the AKC Canine Health Foundation and covered in trade outlets such as the Canine Chronicle.