What does a finished dog mean?
A “Finished Dog” should be doing advanced work. By “Basics” I mean complete with force (FF, Pile, TT, Swim-by). “Advanced” doing multiple marking concepts, technical blind retrieves and blinds incorporated with marks.
Do you win money for dog shows?
The American Kennel Club National Championship rewards $50,000 to the dogs that take home Best in Show there.
What does heel mean? The command or skill “heel” simply means that the dog must walk directly next to you instead of behind or in front of you. The dog is required to keep pace with you, only stopping when you stop and walking when you walk.
Final Awards in a Dog Show
For the group competition, a judge will award four placements for each category.
The First Place Winner will be awarded a blue ribbon or a rosette. The Second Place will be given a red ribbon, while the Third placer will get a yellow, and the Fourth will receive a white.
Then the first placer for each group will advance to compete in the All-Breed Show.
From those seven group winners, the judge will select Reserve in Best Show (1st Place) and Best in Show (Champion).
Top dogs all over the country can have more than 50,000 points in a given year, but to get the highest title, one canine must be judged first as the best of many dog shows. The Best in Show is traditionally awarded a white, red, and blue ribbon. But the host club can also choose a combination of colors.
If it seems easy enough, but the sport of showing dogs encompasses lots of activities where a few of them have nothing to do with “showing” per se. That’s why we’ll give you a glimpse of what a dog fancier’s life is like.
To give you a visual of how dog show ribbons look, take a look at this video:
How Do I Get Started Showing Dogs? | Intro to AKC Dog Sports
My friend has super fast dogs, and they compete in agility. I always imagined that the magnets on the back of her vehicle indicated just how fast they could run: MACH speeds! And C-ATCH: Catch me if you can! Obviously my Border Collie, Duncan, and I didn’t get far enough in our brief agility career to earn any titles (he preferred to make up his own courses). But when my curiosity got the better of me and I looked into what, exactly, those letters on my friend’s car actually meant, I quickly learned that there are countless titles and certifications that can be bestowed upon our canine companions.
Just like the acronyms associated with veterinary professionals (see “How to Decipher Veterinary Code,” WDJ October 2013), the titles bestowed upon dogs indicate that they have reached certain goals and standards and have thus earned acknowledgement and certification as set forth by the requirements of the granting organization. As these organizations all have different titles and requirements, there’s no way to cover them all here. Below are some of the more common ones you may come across.
There are two very large organizations with the words “kennel club” in their names. Most dog owners have at least heard of the American Kennel Club (AKC), the largest registry of purebred dogs in the United States. The AKC also promotes and sanctions events for purebred dogs, and more recently, the AKC has added a number of events and titling opportunities for mixed-breed dogs, too.
The AKC offers titles in activity-based competitions: agility, obedience, rally, tracking, and field events (such as hunting, earthdog, herding, lure coursing, and retrieving). Dogs who earn titles (by earning enough points, which are awarded for wins) in competition in these events get letters added to the end of their names – at least, until they’ve earned a championship or grand championship. Then they get letters at the front of their names!
Then there is the other kennel club: the United Kennel Club (UKC), which calls itself the largest all-breed performance-dog registry in the world, registering dogs from all 50 states and 25 foreign countries. More than 60 percent of its nearly 16,000 annually licensed events are tests of hunting ability, training, and instinct.
Conformation is the formal name for what most people think of as “dog shows.” Judges assess the dogs for how closely they conform to their breed’s “standard” – the word picture of what the breed should look and act like – including the size, coat, outline, and body proportions. Dogs are examined while standing and moving, with their gait and even temperament judged against the ideal for their breed.
Dogs who win the required 15 points under the minimum number of judges and point configurations (points earned at a show depend on geography and the number of dogs in competition) earn the title of Champion and the designation “CH” now precedes the dog’s registered name. After more wins in the show ring, a dog may earn the title of Grand Champion (in the AKC, “GCH”; in the UKC, “GRCH”).
Compared to AKC shows, UKC conformation shows are much more casual affairs, with a relaxed dress code in the ring and no professional handlers permitted.
The first obedience trial grew out of the efforts of trainers to popularize the profession and to demonstrate the usefulness of dogs in areas other than the conformation ring and the field. Today’s obedience competitions begin with exercises that attest to the dog’s good manners. At a trial, the dog and handler will perform various predefined obedience exercises, which will be evaluated and scored by a judge.
The AKC version of the sport is one of its oldest events and is now promoted and practiced by hundreds of obedience clubs, kennel clubs, and specialty clubs throughout the U.S.
All dogs who receive a passing or qualifying score earn a “leg” toward an obedience title. When a dog has accumulated the requisite number of legs for a given title, the governing organization issues a certificate recognizing the achievement. Testing exercises include variations of heeling, stays, retrieves, and jumps; utility titles (highest level of competition) add more advanced exercises including cueing via hand signals only and scent discrimination.
Rally obedience (also known as rally or rally-O) is a dog sport based on obedience. Competitors proceed through a course of 10-20 stations that instruct the dog and handler team to perform a behavior. The major difference between rally and conventional obedience competitions is that in rally, handlers are allowed to encourage their dogs during the course.
There are several organizations in the U.S. that offer rally competitions including the AKC, UKC, the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), C-Wags, and Canines and Humans United (CHU). The exercises vary slightly from organization to organization, but generally follow similar guidelines.
AKC rally is open to AKC breeds and mixed breed dogs registered in the AKC Canine Partners program. After qualifying three times under at least two different judges, the dog earns a title, which appears after the dog’s registered name.
There are three levels in AKC rally: Novice (beginner’s class), successful completion results in the title RN (Rally Novice); Advanced (when completed, dogs receive the title RA); and the highest class, Excellent (RE). Additional titles are available: Rally Advanced Excellent (RAE), in which the team has to qualify in both Advanced and Excellent in 10 trials; and Rally National Champion (RNC).
UKC rally follows an approach similar to the AKC program; it is open to any dog and handler team. There are three levels of competition, three legs are required for a title, and there is an extended championship title.