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WeRateDogs and I’ve Pet That Dog team up for AKC National Championship

By Wesley Coburn

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - MARCH 08: An owner sits with her Newfoundland dog during a competition round at the Crufts dog show at the NEC Arena on March 8, 2018 in Birmingham, England. The annual four-day event sees around 22,000 pedigree dogs visit the centre, before the "Best in Show" is awarded on the final day. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - MARCH 08: An owner sits with her Newfoundland dog during a competition round at the Crufts dog show at the NEC Arena on March 8, 2018 in Birmingham, England. The annual four-day event sees around 22,000 pedigree dogs visit the centre, before the "Best in Show" is awarded on the final day. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) /
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What’s better than the AKC National Championship? How about a team-up between two of the best accounts on Twitter?

The 2018 American Kennel Club AKC National Championship presented by Royal Canin was held over the weekend of December 15-16 in Orlando, Florida, at the Orange County Convention Center.

Covering all the action of the most important dog show of the year, along with highly prestigious contests in agility, obedience and dog diving, were Matt Nelson of WeRateDogs and Gabriel of I’ve Pet That Dog.

Matt Nelson started WeRateDogs after taking a picture of a friend’s dog one night in Applebee’s, and it has grown into a full-time job for three people, including merchandise sales. (Sadly, brand mascot Pippin passed away recently.)

Gabriel started I’ve Pet That Dog in September 2016 as a blog, and added Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages as his project to pet all the dogs continued.

In late November or early December, someone on Twitter wished aloud that they could team up, jokingly fearing that if such a thing actually occurred, the internet might explode from all the happiness. Soon enough, that wish became a reality.

There were a ton of great dogs out and about, and they both saw a lot of them.

Some of the dogs were enormous, like Mascara the Bordeaux.

Some of the dogs were pretty small, like Frankie the Chinese Crested Dog. (Romeo from Hotel for Dogs is part of this breed.)

Some of the dogs running agility were moving way too quickly to pet.

With all 192 AKC-recognized breeds represented over the weekend, some incredibly rare dogs, including Ruby, who honestly does look like she’s part balloon animal, but is in reality an Afghan puppy.

Tara the black Lab only has three paws, but didn’t let that stop her from an impressive jump in the diving competition.

Next. Canine events of 2019 we're looking forward to. dark

You can catch the 2018 AKC National Championship presented by Royal Canin right now (January 1) on Animal Planet, or check out the stream on AKC.TV.

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