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| Showing You Dalmatian There are several types of shows, all of which if you go in with an open mind are great fun and fantastic for your darling Dals social life Types Of Shows
Limit Shows: Unlike other dog shows a Limit Show has certain entry requirements and restrictions. You must belong to the breed club or show society that is organising the dog show. Like all other dog shows in the United Kingdom it will be licensed with the Kennel Club by a registered dog show society. Single Breed Shows: As the name suggests, Single Breed Shows have classes for just one breed of dog and are organised by a Breed Club. These are a great place to speak to people who have been in the breed for a long time, take the opportunity to learn and ask for tips. Companion Dog Shows: These are fundraising events held throughout the year, and are mostly organised in conjunction with fetes, charity open days or similar events to raise money for charitable causes. The shows are very relaxed fun dog shows with classes such as "waggiest tail", "biggest smile" and "the dog most likely to go home with the judge". Open Shows: Open Shows schedule classes for many different breeds of dog in different Groups. The Best of Breed and Best Puppy in Breed go through to the Best of Group, and if you are lucky enough to win this you then go through to the Best in Show. The winner of the Best in Show will qualify for Crufts. Be aware that there are also Open shows that are not run on the group system (your schedule will tell you if it is a group show or not) where all not beaten Best of Breeds and Best of Breed Puppies go through to the Best in Show awards (if you win Best of Breed then enter another class, for example the Stakes class and get a second and not the first place you cannot enter the Best in Show awards as you are now classed as a "beaten dog", my advice is if you win Best of Breed in a non-group show pull out of the other classes you have entered, but let the Show Secretary you are doing so, the same goes for a group show if you are lucky enough to win the group pull out of any other classes you are entered for so you can enter the Best in Show awards) Championship Shows: Unlike Open Shows there a lot more classes, and can go over several days. Dogs are shown first in each breed followed by Bitches - This is different in breed specific Championship Shows where Bitches can be shown at the same time as Dogs in a seperate ring. If this is the case it will say so in the Show Schedule. | |
| Tips Attend Ringcraft, if you can find a Ringcraft course near you even better however you might need to travel. Ringcraft is very important at learning the basics of what to do before going in to the show ring. A good Ringcraft teacher will give you time learn, and will teach you how to run, how to fill in a show schedule, how to dress and how to present yourself in the ring. There are Ringcraft classes where all you do is sit around, drink tea and chat. If you are lucky you may get to run up and down a mat once or twice, if you are very very lucky might get to chat to some of the other people at the class but not actually learn anything. Choose your Ringcraft class with care, speak to other people and ask for guidance / references regarding a good class. Remember to order a catalogue of the show when you fill in your schedule. This will allow you on the show day to know who else is in your class, and if an Open Show what order the classes are being judged in. Ordering your catalogue in advance is cheaper than buying on the day. If Dalmatian are a class in the schedule you cannot enter NSC or AVNSC you must enter Dalmatian, even if you have a puppy and there is no Dalmatian Puppy, only Dalmatian Open or Dalmatian Graduate. If there is not Dalmatian class you can enter NSC or AV NSC, for example if you have a 8 month old puppy you could enter NSC Puppy and NSC Open only if there are no Dalamatian classes. Always photocopy your shedule: it is not unknown for schedules to go "missing" in the post. If you have a photocopy you can hand it to the show secretary. If the show is important get a "proof of postage" from the post office when you post your schedule, or if that is not possible put a self addressed and stamped post card in with your entry, the show secretary will post this back to you confirming your entry has arrived. A proof of postage is free and not to be confused with Recorded post. Most Championship Shows can be entered on-line via Dog Biz aka Higham Press or Fosse Data these sites do charge an extra £1 on top of your entry etc, but on the plus side you know your entry has arrived in time. Your entry tickets will either be posted to you or emailed to you before the show. If you are entering a Championship Show be aware of what you are wearing as you need to complement your Dal, for example all white might make your Dal look slightly grubby against the white of your clothes. Tracksuits might be comfortable for home but not appropriate wear for the Championship ring. Grey tends to show white hair less than black. If wearing trousers make sure they are waist high as builders bum on a woman from behind (excuse the pun) is awful, not so bad with "proper" knickers but with a thong? On the subject of undies ladies need to ensure they are well supported with a good sports bra if they do not want bruising, or comments from your darling partner who is watching from outside the ring. Be aware of your footware: heels are not meant to be run in and not appropriate for the show ring, which could have slippery floors. Trainers can look tatty. If possible a nice, and more importantly comfortable, pair of flat shoes are ideal, the type you slip on rather than those with laces, afterall you do not want to trip over your own laces in the show ring. If you are lucky enough to win a Best of Breed at an Open Show, and place in the first four places in the Group note the names of the judges and keep this informatian somewhere safe as you can claim titles based on your wins. Also record how many dogs were in the classes as you can also claim JW points if there were more than three Dalmatians in the class - see showing for more information. Not all shows, such as Limit shows, run on the Group system, if you win a Best of Breed and do not get beaten in any other class you need to wait until the end of the day for the Best in Show. Best in Show only has four awards: Best in Show and Reserve Best in Show, Best Puppy in Show and Reserve Best Puppy in Show. Some will tell you to enter only one class, sorry but it is up to you how many classes you enter; if you win your first class and Best of Breed you can always drop out of the other classes you have entered; for example we recently entered 3 classes at a show, we won Best of Breed in the first class, we risked entering the second class, which we won, however we pulled out of the third class so we could still enter the Best in Show with an "unbeaten dog". Remember all judging is subjective not objective: There are breed standards but it is up the the judge how they use those breed standards, for example one judge might like small Dalmatians with next to no spots, another might like larger Dalmatians that are balanced in size, and then you might get another that likes Dalmatians with nice tight feet and loads of spots. All is subjective. You can have a great show on week and win everything going, the next show you do not get placed. There is nothing you can do, screaming and shouting will not get you anywhere, it is the luck of the day. If you win a class wait at the end of the mat with your dog for the judge to write their critique, which will appear in either Dog World or Our Dogs approximatley one month later - sorry you cannot ask the judge for a copy on the day. Enjoy the crack, enjoy the company and learn as much as you can from fellow handlers / owners. Remember no matter what you think of the result always congratulate the other handlers who placed with you, and always thank the judge and steward as you leave the ring: you may not get remebered for your good manners but you will be remembered if you show bad manners: I will not name the person but I do remember someone refusing to take a 2nd place rosette as they did not like the result, the poor steward had to follow them out of the ring to give them their rosette, which they promply threw on the floor before stomping off. If you receive Chapionship tickets in the post you will have a ticket marked "Removal Order from Show", keep this safe, it is what my husband refers to as his "get out of jail free card", and is needed to leave the show with your dog as your proof as owner. Cost This is a pet hate of mine: An Open show is nice and clear about costs to enter, how many people are allowed to enter the show for free with a dog, and if there are two owners if the second owner has to pay an extra entry - common at County Shows as you are also given entry to the County Show. However this is not the case with some Championship shows, a well know Champ show cost us recently £38 for 3 classes and our pre-paid catalogue. On arrival at the show we were charged to park our car and then charged for having two owners not one! Yep we had to pay extra if we both wanted to enter the show ground, this was not in the schedule and as far as I am concerned a con as the entry without petrol ended up costing about £50 not the £38 we thought we had to pay.
Rosettes at Championship Shows are another con in that if you get placed in a class, which is hard enough, you then have to buy your own rosettes! Yep that was right you have to buy your own rosettes at about £4.50 each, so you have just paid about £50 entry with the extra to park your car and get in to the show you then have to pay another £10 if you win a couple of rosettes! Sadly more and more Open shows are only giving a rosette for the first place, and cards for the other places. Some shows will sell rosettes but many do not, on the plus side Open Show rosettes are only around 60p each, a big difference to those at Champ shows.
When we travel a long distance to a show we will often stay in a very nice 4* hotel for about £35 per night including breakfast – shop around there are loads of offers around. Many stay in tents, caravans or motor homes that they own, be warned this can be an expensive hobby as show sites can charge up to £40 per night! . Do you get a feeling that they have seen you coming?  Mike Smith with Abbi (Tamilanda Pretty in Pink) at the Scottish Kennel Club Championship Show(Qualifying, again, for Crufts 2010 - Congrats to Jo who handled Abbie at Darlington 2009 for winning the Bitch CC & Best of Breed) Mike was miles away and totally unaware that he had just won! | | Definitions of Classes 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. Special Yearling. For dogs of Twelve and not exceeding Twenty Four calendar months on the first day of the show. Novice. For dogs which have not won a Challenge Certificate or Three or more First prizes at Open and Championship Shows (Minor Puppy, Special Puppy, Puppy, Special Puppy classes excepted, whether restricted or not.) Undergraduate. 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, 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 or 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 and Open classes, whether restricted or not. Minor Limit. For dogs which have not won two Challenge Certificates or Three or more first prizes in all at Championship Shows in Minor Limit, Mid Limit, Limit and Open classes, confined to the breed, whether restricted or not, at shows where Challenge Certificates where offered for the breed. 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 where offered for the breed. Open. For all dogs of the breeds 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. Imported Register. When an Interim Breed Standard has been approved by the Kennel Club, breeds whose registration is confined to the Imported Register may be exhibited in this class only and are ineligible for any other competition whatsoever. Any Variety Not Separately Classified (AVNSC). For breeds of dog for which no separate breed classes are scheduled. Not Separately Classified (NSC). For breeds of dog for which no separate breed classes are scheduled. KCJO Stakes. For Any Variety Dog or Bitch exhibited and handled by a fully paid up member of the Kennel Club Junior Organisation. The dog should be registered either:- (a) solely or jointly in the members name or (b) in the name of a member of the family and under these circumstances the dog must be resident at the KCJO members address. Not For Competition. Societies may at their discretion, accept Not for Competition entries. Societies may accept such entries from breeds of dog not included within the title of the Society and at shows held over more than one day, such entries may be accepted on any day from any breed. Brace. For two exhibits (either sex or mixed) of one breed belonging to the same exhibitor, each exhibit having been entered in some class other than Brace or Team. In the following definitions a Challenge Certificate includes any show award that counts towards the title of Champion under the rules of any govering body recognised by the Kennel Club. Show awards issued by the Irish Kennel which count towards the title of Champion shall be five Green Stars or more. Wins at Championship Shows in breed classes where Challenge Certificates are not on offer will be counted as wins at Open Shows. In the case of a dog owned in partnership and entered in Members' classes or competing for Members' Specials each partner must at the time of entry be a member of the society. In estimating the number of awards won, all wins up to and including the seventh day before the date of closing of entries shall be counted when entering for any classes. Wins in Variety Classes do not count for entry in Breed classes but when entering for Variety classes, wins in both Breed and Variety classes must be counted. A first prize does not include a Special Prize of whatever value. If an exhibitor reports before the judging of a class or classes that a dog has been entered which is ineligible, the exhibitor may choose one of the following options:- Withdrawal. The dog may be withdrawn from competition subject to the conditions of Regulations 9(j) and 20. Transfer. (a) If a dog is ineligible for a class or classes as regards its colour, sex, weight or height the Show Secretary shall transfer it to the equivalent class or classes for the correct colour, sex, weight or height and in the event of there being no equivalent class, Minor Puppy and Puppy excepted,to the Open Class for the correct colour, sex, weight or height. (b) For an exhibit entered incorrectly in a Minor Puppy class or a Puppy class which is over age but under twelve calendar months or eighteen calendar months of age respectively, the Show Secretary shall transfer the exhibits to the Puppy class or the Junior class respectively for the correct breed, colour, sex, weight or height, and in the event of there being no puppy or junior class respectively to the Open Class for the correct breed, colour, sex, weight or height. (c) For any reason other than the above, the Show Secretary shall transfer it to the Open Class for the correct breed. colour, sex, weight or height. If an exhibitor arrives late and misses a class, even if it is the only class in which the dog is entered, the dog may not be transferred to any other class. Dog Fouling and Grooming Waste. Any owner, exhibitor, handler or other person in charge of a dog is required to remove immediately any fouling caused by there dog(s) and grooming waste at any Kennel Club Licensed Show within the Licensed venue and within the environs of the event, including caravan parks and approaches. Any organisation holding a Kennel Club Licensed event is required to provide an adequate number of receptacles for the disposal of such fouling. The committee of the show can accept no responsibility for products advertised or sold by stand holders at the show, and remind exhibitors that grooming products on sale may not meet the requirements of the Regulation for the Preparation of Dogs for Exhibition.  August 2009: Lisa Barrett with Chelsea (Marricdale The Gold Digger of Dalamanti) at the Scottish Kennel Club Championship Show (Qualifying for Crufts 2010)  All I can say about the above picture is "the usual suspects" as Lisa, Hazel, Steve and Christine must be the biggest supporters of North East of England Open Shows - this picture was taken in an old school hall in Jarrow, Tyne and Wear - a venue that sadly can no longer be used due to owners no cleaning up after their dogs at assorted shows, despite there being a KC ruling on dog fouling (yep I have been known to hand owners doggy bags as they ignore their dogs doing their business). | | ` General Terms Used Challenge Certificate (CC) Only Championship Shows offer "Challenge Certificates" - these can also be referred to as "tickets", yes very confusing I know. Not all Championship Shows offer "Challenge Certificates" for all breeds. It will say in the schedule if your class has a CC on offer, the cost of entering a CC class is often higher than those classes without CC's. The best Dog and the best Bitch in their respective breed are awarded "CC's" at Championship Shows where "CC's" are on offer. Three "CC's" must be won under three different judges for a dog or bitch to hold the title of Champion or Show Champion. Best of Breed (BOB) Best of Breed is awarded at Championship Shows to the dog or bitch which the judge deems to be the best representative of the breed. At Open or Limit Shows where dogs and bitches are entered in the same class, the Best of Breed is selected from all class winners. At Open or Limit Shows where dogs and bitches are judged separately, a best dog and a best bitch is awarded and Best of Breed chosen from these two. Best in Show (BIS) At shows judged on the Group system, all Best of Breed winners in their respective groups are judged and the winner from each Group goes forward to Best in Show. The Best in Show is then selected from the seven Group winners. At shows not judged on the Group system all Best of Breeds go forward to enter for Best in Show.
Junior Warrant (JW) A Junior Warrant will be awarded to a dog that has obtained 25 points at shows whilst between the ages of 6 and 18 months. A minimum of 3 points must be won at Championship Shows where Challenge Certificates for the breed are on offer, and a minimum of 3 points won at Open Shows or Championship Shows where Challenge Certificates are not offered for the breed. Scale of points:- (1) Three points for each First Prize awarded in a Breed Class at a Championship Show where Challenge Certificates where on offer. (2) One point for each First Prize awarded in a Breed class at a Championship Show where Challenge Certificates where not offered for the breed, or at an Open Show. (3) One point for the award of Best of Breed at an Open Show. Only to be claimed if no Junior Warrant Points where gained by that dog by winning a Breed Class or Classes. (4) Junior Warrant Points cannot be claimed from classes or for awards with less than three dogs of the breed present: - In assessing the number of dogs present in each class, exhibitors may count a dog as having been present in a class provided it was entered in that class and was present in its first class for the breed at that Show.
(5) Junior Warrant holders will awarded a Stud Book Number. (6) The title "JW" may be used after the name of the dog on Show entries and in Catalogues. Any Variety Not Separately Classified (AVNSC) / Not Separately Classified (NSC) These extra classes are for breeds within the same group which do not have separate classes for example a Dalmatian can compete against a Poodle if neither have a class of their own. However they cannot score any points. Any Variety (AV) These are extra classes and are usually classified as "AV Gundog" or "AV Working" etc. where different breeds within the same group compete against each other.
Stud Book Numbers To make things even more difficult at Championship shows you can gain a Stud Book Number by winning a 1st, 2nd or 3rd in Open or a 1st in Limit (if a CC is on offer, which for Dalmatians there nearly always is). A Stud Book number is automatic if you win a Challenge Certificate, Reserve Challenge Certificate or gain a Junior Warrant. If you are lucky enough to gain a Stud Book Number you do not need to apply for it as it will be automatically sent to you by the Kennel Club, and it gives you entry for Crufts for that dog for life - worth winning for that reason only. You can only get one Stud Book number per dog, which will be listed in the Kennel Clubs Stud Book for that year with all the Championship results for that year. If you intend breeding a Stud Book is a good start for looking for a mate as you know you are getting a good Dalmatian that conforms to the breed standards. THE SHOW CERTIFICATE OF MERIT The show certificate of Merit [ShCM] was introduced by the Kennel Club as part of its campaign to encourage exhibitors to enter at Open shows.
Various methods had been tried to remedy the falling entries at general open shows, such as changing the junior warrant points system and enabling top winners to qualify for Crufts.
A Kennel Club Show Certificate of Merit (ShCM) will be issued on receipt of an application from the registered owner at the time of qualification, in respect of a dog that has obtained 25 points at General and Group Open Shows.
A minimum of five points must be won in Group Competition (Translated this means you must be placed at least twice in the Group after winning a Best of Breed, for example a 2nd place in the group would give you 3 points and a 3rd in the group will give you 2 points = 5 points, or 4th place five times will give you 5 points - clear as mud).
The scale of points is as follows:
1 Five points for Best in Show
2 Four points for Single Group Best in Show
3 Three points for Reserve Best in Show at a General Open Show or Group Open Show not judged on the Group System effective date 1st February 2006
4 Group placings will obtain the following points (Multi Group Shows only): 1st - four points, 2nd - three points, 3rd - two points and 4th - one point (Puppy Group placings do not gain points)
5 One point for Best Any Variety Not Separately Classified (AVNSC Hound, Gundog etc. winner of overall Best AVNSC)
6 One point for Best of Breed (Best of Breed Puppy do not count)
7 Only points won on after the 1st January 2003 may be counted towards this award
The title "ShCM" may be used after the name of the dog on show entries and in catalogues. The registered owners need to apply to the KC for their award with show results. Application Form
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