Welcome to the World of Dog Shows.

There are many, many people out there that know just about everything there is to know about showing dogs (and probably many know far more than I do!), however as a Secretary for a Breed Club I frequently come across new enthusiasts who don‘t know where to start

This guide will hopefully give a brief outline to newcomers to head in the right direction and for everyone else to give details of how http://www.haveadogday.co.uk can help with the administration side of showing your dogs. (Dog show schedules.)

Dog showing can be a minefield of dilemmas when you first start, which class can I enter, should I go in more than one, what time do I arrive, what do I do …. Well here is just a brief outline of things to look out for when starting to show your dog(s)

Let’s start with SHOW TYPES in general

There are three types of Shows; Championship Shows these are the main Shows where most breeds will offer Challenge Certificates for the overall Best Dog and Best Bitch which ultimately goes towards the title of Champion (when 3 CCs have been awarded by 3 separate Judges).  Open Shows are Open to all with KC registered dogs and Limit Shows are Limited to Members of the particular Club/Society

Now we move onto the CLASSES

The Kennel Club define definitions for each class held at ALL licensed Dog Shows.  These can vary from the type of Show it is i.e. Championship, Limit and Open.  The best advice here is to READ carefully the class definitions in EACH schedule received.

Below are definitions from The Kennel Club (correct at time of printing May 2007) for Championship dog Show Classes – please note that the classes shown are just an example as there can be more classes available

MINOR PUPPY
For dogs of six and not exceeding nine calendar months of age on the first day of the Show

PUPPY
For dogs of six and not exceeding twelve calendar months of age on the first day of the Show

JUNIOR
For dogs of six and not exceeding eighteen calendar months of age on the first day of the Show

YEARLING
For dogs of twelve and not exceeding twenty four calendar months of age on the first day of the Show

MAIDEN
For dogs which have not won a Challenge Certificate or a First Prize at an Open or Championship show (Minor Puppy, Special Minor Puppy, Puppy and Special Puppy classes excepted, whether restricted or not)

NOVICE
For dogs which have not won a Challenge Certificate or three or more First Prizes at Open and Championship Shows (Minor Puppy, Special Minor Puppy, Puppy and Special Puppy classes excepted, whether restricted or not)

DEBUTANT
For dogs which have not won a Challenge Certificate or a First Prize at a Championship Show (Minor Puppy, Special Minor Puppy, Puppy and Special Puppy classes excepted, whether restricted or not)

GRADUATE                 
For dogs which have not won a Challenge Certificate or four or more First Prizes at Championship Shows in Graduate, Post Graduate, Minor Limit, Mid Limit, Limit and Open classes, whether restricted or not.

POST GRADUATE       
For dogs which have not won a Challenge Certificate or five or more First Prizes at Championship Shows in Post Graduate, Minor Limit, Mid Limit, Limit and Open classes, whether restricted or not.

LIMIT       
For dogs which have not won three Challenge Certificates under three different judges or seven or more First Prizes in all, at Championship Shows in Limit and Open classes, confined to the breed, whether restricted or not, at Shows where Challenge Certificates were offered for the breed.

OPEN       
For all dogs of the breed for which the class is provided and eligible for entry at the Show.

VETERAN
For dogs of not less than seven years of age on the first day of the Show.

It is always advisable to enter into the appropriate age class in the first instance i.e. although ‘Open’ classes are Open to all it would not be appropriate to enter a 6 month old puppy in the class.  Just watch out at the Championship Shows that you have not out qualified Novice, Maiden etc by entering and winning at an Open Show in for example, Junior

Open dog Show

Below are definitions from The Kennel Club (correct at time of printing May 2007) for Open Show Classes – please note that the classes shown are just an example as there can be more classes available.  Age classes are the same whatever the type of Show with the exception of where ‘Special’ precedes the name of class i.e. Special Puppy, Special Yearling etc.

MAIDEN                      
For dogs which have not won a Challenge Certificate or a First Prize at an Open or Championship show (Minor Puppy, Special Minor Puppy, Puppy and Special Puppy classes excepted, whether restricted or not).

NOVICE
For dogs which have not won a Challenge Certificate or three or more First Prizes at Open and Championship Shows (Minor Puppy, Special Minor Puppy, Puppy and Special Puppy classes excepted, whether restricted or not).

TYRO
For dogs which have not won a Challenge Certificate or five or more First Prizes at Open and Championship Shows (Minor Puppy, Special Minor Puppy, Puppy and Special Puppy classes excepted, whether restricted or not).

DEBUTANT
For dogs which have not won a Challenge Certificate or a First Prize at a Championship Show (Minor Puppy, Special Minor Puppy, Puppy and Special Puppy classes excepted, whether restricted or not).

UNDER-GRADUATE
For dogs which have not won a Challenge Certificate or three or more First Prizes at Championship Shows (Minor Puppy, Special Minor Puppy, Puppy and Special Puppy classes excepted, whether restricted or not).

GRADUATE
For dogs which have not won a Challenge Certificate or four or more First Prizes at Championship Shows in Graduate, Post Graduate, Minor Limit, Mid Limit, Limit and Open classes, whether restricted or not.

POST GRADUATE
For dogs which have not won a Challenge Certificate or five or more First Prizes at Championship Shows in Post Graduate, Minor Limit, Mid Limit, Limit and Open classes, whether restricted or not.

LIMIT
For dogs which have not won three Challenge Certificates under three different judges or seven or more First Prizes in all, at Championship Shows in Limit and Open classes, confined to the breed, whether restricted or not, at Shows where Challenge Certificates were offered for the breed.

OPEN
For all dogs of the breed for which the class is provided and eligible for entry at the Show.

Limit dog Show

Below are definitions from The Kennel Club (correct at time of printing May 2007) for Limit Show Classes – please note that the classes shown are just an example as there can be more classes available

Age classes as described under Open Shows

It should be noted that Limit Shows are limited to Members of the society running the Show, therefore an annual membership fee will be payable in addition to the entry fees.  Challenge Certificate winning dogs are not eligible to enter at a Limit Show

MAIDEN
For dogs which have not won a First Prize at any Show (Minor Puppy, Special Minor Puppy, Puppy and Special Puppy classes excepted, whether restricted or not).

NOVICE
For dogs which have not won three or more First Prizes at any Show (Minor Puppy, Special Minor Puppy, Puppy and Special Puppy classes excepted, whether restricted or not).

TYRO
For dogs which have not won five or more First Prizes at any Show (Minor Puppy, Special Minor Puppy, Puppy and Special Puppy classes excepted, whether restricted or not).

DEBUTANT
For dogs which have not won a First Prize at an Open or Championship Show (Minor Puppy, Special Minor Puppy, Puppy and Special Puppy classes excepted, whether restricted or not).

UNDER-GRADUATE
For dogs which have not won three or more First Prizes at Open or Championship Shows (Minor Puppy, Special Minor Puppy, Puppy and Special Puppy classes excepted, whether restricted or not).

GRADUATE
For dogs which have not won four or more First Prizes at Open or Championship Shows in Graduate, Post Graduate, Minor Limit, Mid Limit, Limit and Open classes, whether restricted or not.

POST GRADUATE
For dogs which have not won five or more First Prizes at Championship and Open Shows in Post Graduate, Minor Limit, Mid Limit, Limit and Open classes, whether restricted or not.

LIMIT
For dogs which have not won seven or more First Prizes in all, at Open and Championship Shows in Limit and Open classes, confined to the breed, whether restricted or not.

OPEN                          
For all dogs of the breeds for which the class is provided and eligible for entry at the Show.

So now you have read your class definitions in your schedule and have decided which class(s) you fall into – so how many do you enter?  This really is down to individuals however what I can say is at a Championship Show it is better to enter just one Breed Class until you are fully aware of what is involved. I have seen on numerous occasions an absolute beginner come to a Championship Show, looking forward to it, and be entered in 3 plus classes.  If the particular judge on the day doesn’t feel the dog is worthy of a place it can be very disheartening for a newcomer to go away from the Show with nothing after trying so many times.  After all the dog show world needs new people otherwise eventually it would all disappear!

This can be different at Open or Limit shows as you may want to support the Club/Society by entering more classes – but don’t forget if you do enter more than one and you win the first one you CAN NOT withdraw your dog from competition in any of your other Breed classes entered.

It’s always a good idea to keep a record of all your show wins then you know exactly which class are still applicable to enter outside of your age classes.  Within each schedule there is always a statement that says “Wins up to (date) included” – this is one reason why you shouldn’t enter too early.  If you have a ‘Show entering day’ and some shows don’t actually close their entries for 4 weeks you could end up out qualifying the prerequisites of the class and then you have a problem.

Moving on – now you have to complete your ENTRY FORM with all the information requested – some entries can be done on-line others can only accept postal copies.  To save time http://www.haveadogday.co.uk can help.  Here you can purchase entry form labels which can just be ‘stuck’ onto the entry form – example shown below

You can also purchase address labels detailing if you wish your address to be printed in the catalogue or not – example shown below – see haveadogday.co.uk addresslabels.

Then sign the declaration, complete the monetary section, write the cheque and post to the appropriate Secretary.

For all General Championship Shows you will receive passes into the Show, removal orders to leave the Show and confirmation of the class(s) entered – usually a couple of weeks before the Show date.  You don’t usually receive confirmation from other types of shows; however you can always contact the Secretary at some point to confirm your entry has been received or indeed send a SAE with the details on the back asking for the Secretary to sign and return.

Everything you need to know should be either on your schedule or on the confirmation information received, i.e. start time of judging, show opening times, show leaving times etc.  Once you have been to one or two you will soon see how the ‘regular’ exhibitors work

AWARDS

There are various awards that can be achieved outside of your class placings the most popular are Junior Warrant and Show Certificate of Merit.  These are based on points accumulated at various Shows and are obtainable by applying to The Kennel Club once the appropriate points have been won.

Information on these awards can be found at www.thekennelclub.org.uk then click on
Activities and Events
Exhibiting (showing)
Awards/Entries/Schedules
Claim for a Junior Warrant or Claim for a Show Certificate of Merit

Individual Breeds may also hold other awards throughout the year which information would be obtainable from any relevant Breed Club Secretary or the Breed Council Secretary.

Now what to take with you to the different types of Shows.

Firstly the type of Show is on the front of the Schedule i.e. Benched or Un-benched.  If it is a Benched Show you will need a benching chain, blanket and your show bag which will probably contain show lead, poo bags, bowl, water/milk, bait, number clip, brush/comb and any other item your type of breed requires to prepare for entering the ring.

Some people do not like benches and prefer their dog to be free on the bench but still secure, Pro-Choice have designed Bench Fronts which are perfect for this see haveadogday.co.uk-benchfronts. or some people buy a standard cage and erect this on the bench see haveadogday.co.uk-cages. for all sizes available.

If the Show is un-benched then you may need to take your own cage/crate with you, especially if it is a very hot day and you don’t want to leave your dog in the car.  Remember that dogs not actually entered in the class that is currently taking place shouldn’t be sat at the ringside.  You can purchase the Pro-Choice Metal cages as above or a Portable Pet Crate (available in varying sizes) as follows haveadogday.co.uk-crates..  The Portable Pet Crates are excellent for carrying as they are lightweight and very easy to assemble and disassemble

I can only hope this gives you a very brief outline to entering the Show World – just go along, have fun with your dog(s) and don’t forget Have A Dog Day!