• AKC:

  Working

Burt Yamada started in dogs with the purchase of a Standard Schnauzer for his children in 1967. He had the top producing Standard Schnauzer bitch with 20 champion offspring, a record that stood for many years. With a very limited breeding program, Burt and his wife Ellen have owned or bred 75 champions, most of them owner-handled. Many of them were the top dogs in the breed, and National Specialty and All-Breed Best In Show winners. But the Yamadas are most proud of their 15 leading producers in the history of the Standard Schnauzer Club of America, with five of them reaching Hall of Fame status. Professionally, Burt is the Director of Western Operations and Missile Systems for Northrup Grumman Mission Systems, heading a division that works on defence-related projects involving ICBM missiles for space and defence. Burt first started judging in 1989 and has been doing the Working Group since 1995, and has judged all over the world, including in Japan, Taiwan and Costa Rica. In 2003, he judged the Working Group at Westminster and in 2004 he judged Best In Show. In his 35 years in dogs, Burt has been active in breed and all-breed clubs and has served as President and Director for many of them, including the Standard Schnauzer Club of America and the Standard Schnauzer Club of Southern California. He is currently president of the Orange Empire Dog Club and has served as Show Chairman for over 20 years.