Wow Rebates

There are hundreds of licensed dog shows held throughout the country each year, so you should have no difficulty in finding one close enough to you in which to compete. These shows are licensed by the American Kennel Club and are permitted to give championship points in the Conformation Classes and legs toward an Obedience title in the Obedience Classes. It is possible in one day at an all-breed show that holds classes both in Obedience and in Breed to gain points toward a Breed championship and a qualifying score toward an Obedience title.

Dog shows are put on for the individual dog clubs by licensed superintendents. A list of coming shows is published in the dog magazines. The American Kennel Club compiles this list and publishes it in the Events Calendar, a supplement to the AKC Gazette magazine. You will find the date of the show, the judges, the name of the club, the superintendent, and one of the officers and his address.

Occasionally a dog club puts on its own show, and in this case you should write to its secretary for the premium list. If you write to the superintendents listed in the Events Calendar and ask them to put your name on their mailing list, they will send you premium lists for the coming shows. The premium lists will give you all the pertinent information about shows such as the location, date, judges, prizes, closing date, classes, and so on.

You then fill out the form included in the premium list that asks for your dog’s name, breed, registration number, birthday, sire, dam, breeder, class, and your name and address, and send it back to the show superintendent with the stipulated fee. Most shows also accept faxed entries with a credit card number, and many now take entries online. The premium list will give you all the pertinent information.

The fee varies from show to show, but is generally about twenty dollars for each class. The closing date is three weeks prior to the show, so you must plan to mail your entry a few days earlier to get there in time. A week before the show you will receive an entry slip which is your admission ticket. A schedule will also be included that will tell you at what time the various Conformation and Obedience classes will be judged, your dog’s number, and the number of entries in each class. If the show is benched, your entry slip will give your bench number. (Shows licensed by the American Kennel Club are for purebred dogs of breeds recognized by the AKC only; dogs must be eligible for registration or an I.L.P. number.)

Point shows are held indoors and outdoors and are benched or unbenched. When they
are benched it is necessary to keep your dog in a stall except when he is being shown or exercised. Dogs of the same breed are benched together in adjoining stalls which are separated by partitions. Take a rug four feet by twenty-six inches for your dog to lie on; he will be more comfortable. You will find a metal ring in the back of the stall and you may secure your dog to it by means of a bench chain. These chains are sold at all benched shows and come in different lengths. Dogs must be kept on leash except when being shown.

Match shows are put on by the individual clubs and can be entered the same day as the show. There are no championship points or Obedience credits given, as these shows are for practice purposes only. They are always unbenched, and you may leave when you wish.

Novice handlers should try competing in Match shows before going into Point shows. The experience gained at Matches will be of great value to them later. If you want to know when and where there will be a Match show, ask someone who is participating in dog shows. They will be able to supply this information.

Show bulletin is sent out each month that gives the Matches for the next two months. In the Breed Classes a dog is judged against the standard of his particular breed, and the judge determines which of the dogs present is the best representative of his breed in type and temperament. The judge examines the dogs for soundness while they are gaiting and posing.

There are five regular classes in Breed: Puppy, Novice, American-Bred, Bred-by-Exhibitor, and Open, and the dogs and the female dogs are judged separately. If your dog wins his class he will then compete against the winners of the other classes for Winners Dog.

It is the winner of this class that will win points toward his breed championship. The female dog classes are then judged and the Winners female dog is chosen. If there is a special entered (a dog that already has won enough points to gain his or her championship), he or she will now compete against the Winners Dog and Winners Bitch for Best of Breed and Best of Opposite Sex. When this is decided the Winners Dog and Winners Bitch will compete against each other for Best of Winners. If the Winners Bitch has earned more points than the Winners Dog, he automatically gains the same number of points by defeating her.

If he wins Best of Breed he is now eligible to compete in his Variety Group. There are
seven Variety Groups and a miscellaneous classification for rare breeds. For instance, if you were the owner of a German Shepherd, he would be in the Herding Group. If by some good fortune you were to win this group, you could then show him with the winners of the other groups for the top honor, namely Best in Show.

During this competition if your dog were to win over another dog that had picked up more points that day, this would entitle your dog to the same number of points. The largest number of points that can be acquired at one show is five, and if you have a popular breed of dog this means that a large number of dogs will be competing against one another. A dog needs to gain fifteen points in order to become a Champion, but he must have won two major shows worth three points apiece under two different judges.

The Conformation Classes have nothing whatever to do with Obedience, and a dog can become a Champion without displaying any signs of intelligence. The Obedience Classes have a definite purpose because each exercise clearly shows the dog’s ability to work and obey under difficult conditions. If you have a purebred dog, it does not matter if he has a foul that would disqualify him in the Conformation Classes; in Obedience it is the dog’s working ability that counts. Spayed or castrated dogs can be shown in Obedience. It is a pleasure to live with an obedience-trained dog when his good behavior is a way of life.

Obedience Trials are held in conjunction with most all-breed shows. There are also Obedience Trials held separately and sponsored by training clubs. The latter cater to the Obedience exhibitors and feature such niceties as large rings, close-cropped grass at outdoor shows, efficient stewarding, and an impressive trophy list.

There are three regular classes at an Obedience Trial: Novice, Open, and Utility. The degrees that correspond with these classes are CD (Companion Dog), CDX (Companion Dog Excellent), and UD (Utility Dog). A perfect score in each of these classes is 200 points, and in order to gain a qualifying score your dog must earn 170 or more points and more than 50% of each exercise.

When you have received three qualifying scores in the Novice Class under three different judges, the American Kennel Club will send you a Companion Dog Certificate with the name of your dog and the title CD after his name. This makes it official, and you may now compete in the Open Class whenever you are ready. (A dog may continue to compete in Novice B until he receives a qualifying score in an Open class or until he has won one High in Trial.) You need the same number of qualifying scores to earn a Companion Dog Excellent and a Utility Dog certificate.

Once you have the CDX title you may compete in the Open B Class as often as you wish, and you may go ahead and try your dog in the Utility Class. Later when he has his UD title you may wish to compete in both the Open B and Utility classes just for the fun of it. You can earn the title UDX (Utility Dog Excellent) by competing and qualifying in both Open B and Utility B, in ten trials.

Use the titles CD, CDX, and UD after your dog’s name as soon as he earns them. They
represent a great deal of work and are a badge of distinction. A very small percentage of the dogs in this country have earned the right to use them. Once a dog has earned his Utility title, he may continue to compete in Open B and Utility B (if divided) to earn points toward his Obedience Trial Championship. He must accumulate 100 points by winning First or Second Place in these classes, and a total of three Firsts under three different judges, including a Utility First, an Open B First, and another First.

In order to accumulate these points, a dog must compete against other dogs who have already acquired their OT Championships and who are making a career of competing for points. This is unfortunate as it gives them an unfair advantage, and it discourages
competition.

Recommended Reading
One excellent resource for dog training is SitStayFetch: the ultimate training and knowledge database for dog owners. With a focus on preventing and dealing with problem behaviors, as well as obedience work and ‘tricks’, SitStayFetch covers a vast variety of topics in minute detail - all round, an invaluable manual for dog owners everywhere.