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.
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