Doug Ljungren, the new director of the AKC’s Performance Division, with Sure Shot’s Roxanne.

In March of 2007, there was a changing of the guard in the American Kennel Club’s Performance Division. Douglas Ljungren was named director of this division, replacing William Speck, who retired after more than 20 years in that position. Ljungren is responsible for all facets of AKC Field Trials and Hunting Tests for retrievers, spaniels, beagles and pointing breeds, as well as herding, lure coursing, earthdog events and the AKC’s newest program, titled Working Dog Sport.

Ljungren came to his job with the AKC from the Port of Tacoma in Washington. During the time he worked for the port, it grew from a local port to the sixth largest container port in North America. It was, he said, a very interesting time.

Ljungren grew up in Duluth, Minnesota, where he spent much of his youth being outwitted by ruffed grouse. While he was a student at Iowa State University, from which he holds a master’s degree in economics, he spent as much time as possible each fall away from the classroom and studies chasing Iowa ringnecks. While he was in Washington, chukar and quail were his quarry on fall afternoons.

He took over his position at a time when the American Kennel Club is faced with a number of issues, many of which are of great concern to hunters. He recently agreed to address some of these issues with Gun Dog.

Gun Dog: What qualified you to be selected as the new Director of Performance Events? In other words, what’s your “pedigree”?

Doug Ljungren: I have owned, bred, trained and hunted German wirehaired pointers for over 30 years. During the off-season I participated in field trials and hunting tests and occasionally showed the dogs in conformation and obedience events. I very much enjoy working with the dogs and do all my own training and handling. I was fortunate enough to have finished 11 dogs in the field of which five were dual champions.

Judging at both the local and national level has helped to broaden my perspective. This is one of those evolutions that some dog people experience--a hobby turned into a lifetime passion. The job requires a mixture of dog and business knowledge.

My 30-plus years of corporate business experience has been a huge benefit in being prepared for this position. There is much more activity and a much wider range of issues to deal with than I think most people realize. I know I was surprised. Thank goodness the Performance Events Department has such a knowledgeable staff.

GD: Do you have any plans for long- or short-range changes to the hunt test program?

DL: The AKC administers three hunting test programs--one each for retrievers, pointing breeds and spaniels. The programs are over 20 years old. Hunting tests are non-competitive as each dog is judged against a standard of performance. The hunting test program is very popular with over 900 events and 50,000 entries per year.

The events have wide appeal for owners who want to provide an opportunity for their dog to participate in the activity for which it was bred. Many hunters participate in order to keep their dogs trained and in condition between hunting seasons. One of the keys to the success of this program is quality judging and uniformity in the performance standards across the country. AKC field representatives conduct seminars for participants to review the regulations and discuss how to judge a dog’s performance.