With the regular use of online entries much of the checking of entries that used to be the onerous job of show secretaries has been much reduced – for example the online systems stop you entering an adult in puppy. But sadly they cannot know the whole show history of your dogs – and they do not check the registration details, so remember the responsibility to enter your dog correctly is yours and yours alone, just because the online entry system offers you a list of possible classes doesn’t mean your dog is actually eligible for them, Fosse Data/Higham Press cannot know if you have won out of novice or post grad for example. It is one of the downsides of online entries and people seem to no longer read the schedules and one important part of a schedule is the definition of classes – and it is important that you understand these, as if you enter a dog incorrectly you can be disqualified.
(Explanatory notes/comment in italics after the official class definition)
Note: You are advised to read the show schedules before entering in all cases (schedules are available online)
General points to note: In the following definitions,
- A Challenge Certificate includes any Show award that counts towards the title of Champion under the Rules of any governing body recognised by the Kennel Club. So if a dog has won a green star or CAC or CACIB this has to be counted as a CC.
- Wins at Championship Shows in breed classes where Challenge Certificates are not on offer shall be counted as wins at Open Shows.
- In estimating the number of awards won, all wins up to and including the seventh day before the date of closing of postal entries shall be counted when entering for any class i.e. (date) – so if you tend to enter shows early you need to advise a secretary that you are ineligible for the class before the show – should you win a qualifying class/CC/award etc in the intervening period. On other hand if you win a qualifying award after the seven days grace period as defined on the schedule then the entry is still valid.
- Wins in Variety classes do not count for entry in Breed classes but when entering in Variety classes, wins in both Breed and Variety classes must be counted.
- A first prize does not include a Special Prize of whatever value (ie if the class is prefixed with word special it does not count for qualifications listed below)
MINOR PUPPY For dogs of six and not exceeding nine calendar months of age on the first day of the Show. (the key here is the date of the first day of a show, so a puppy that has its 9th month birthday on day one of a show can still be entered in MP, even though it is actually already 9 months old – as the key words are “not exceeding” – in fact same puppy can still be entered on last day of the show even for a 4 day show when by then it will be over 9 months – as it’s the first day of the show that is the important date. Of course the pup must be 6 calendar months old to be entered based on day 1 of the show. Note: there are no limits on what wins the dog has had, ie CC winners may enter)
PUPPY For dogs of six and not exceeding twelve calendar months of age on the first day of the Show. (As above the key here is the date of the first day of a show, so a puppy that has its 1st birthday on day one of a show can still be entered in Puppy, even though it is actually already 12 months old – as the key words are “not exceeding” – in fact same puppy can still be entered on last day of the show even for a 4 day show when by then it will be over 1 year by three days – as it’s the first day of the show that is the important date. Of course the pup must be 6 calendar months old to be entered based on day 1 of the show. Note: there are no limits on what wins the dog has had, ie CC winners may enter)
JUNIOR For dogs of six and not exceeding eighteen calendar months of age on the first day of the Show. (Same logic as for MP/P the only date to be referenced is the 1st day of the show and being 18 months old on the first day of the show means the dog is still eligible. Note: there are no limits on what wins the dog has had, ie CC winners may enter and in fact champions would be eligible if meet age criteria)
YEARLING For dogs of twelve and not exceeding twenty-four calendar months of age on the first day of the Show. (Same logic as for MP/P/J the only date to be referenced is the 1st day of the show and being 24 months old on the first day of the show means the dog is still eligible, note unlike MP/P the dog must be at least 12 months old on first day of the show – so technically a puppy who is 12 months old on day 1 of a show would be eligible for puppy, junior and yearling. Note historically a class was often scheduled called special yearling and this could be for any period and was often from 6 months to 24 months – but without the world special the class can only be 12-24 months. Note: there are no limits on what wins the dog has had, ie CC winners may enter and in fact champions would be eligible if meet age criteria)
BEGINNERS For owner, handler or exhibit not having won a first prize at a Championship or Open Show. (Rarely scheduled – but all the more reason to know the eligibility if entering, note: the KC are suggesting a new stakes class at championship shows and this is prefixed “Special” as in Special Beginners and this has the adapted classification of “For owner, handler or exhibit not having won a Challenge Certificate or Reserve Challenge Certificate, or for those breeds not allocated Championship Status, Best of Sex or Reserve Best of Sex at a Championship Show.” Ie the exclusion is for owner/or part of a co ownership/handler or dog – so if any one of these has won CC/Res CC then they are ineligible for the special stakes, otherwise for normal beginners classes it relates to any first prize.
MAIDEN For dogs which have not won a Challenge Certificate (CC) 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). (Not a common class except maybe at breed club shows – here any puppy wins are excluded so you can win hundreds of any type of puppy class and still be eligible for maiden, but any win that isn’t a puppy class means you cannot then enter a maiden class, nor if you have won a CC – even if won from puppy classes)
NOVICE For dogs which have not won a Challenge Certificate (CC) 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). (Not a common class except maybe at breed club shows – here any puppy wins are excluded so you can win hundreds of any type of puppy class and still be eligible for novice, but once you have won 3 classes out of puppy (open/ch show – with/without CCs) then you cannot then enter a novice class, nor if you have won a CC – even if won from puppy classes.)
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). (Same logic as novice – but threshold increased to 5 or more class wins out of puppy)
DEBUTANT For dogs which have not won a Challenge Certificate or a First Prize at a Championship Show where Challenge Certificates were offered for the breed (Minor Puppy, Special Minor Puppy, Puppy and Special Puppy classes excepted, whether restricted or not). (Not a common class – seen in more numerically strong breeds – here any puppy wins are excluded so you can win hundreds of any type of puppy class and still be eligible for debutant, but once you have won 1 class out of puppy at a Championship show where there were CCs for the breed, then you cannot then enter a debutant class, nor if you have won a CC – even if won from puppy classes. The crucial point here is it is only relevant if your win is at a show where there are CCs for YOUR breed).
UNDER GRADUATE For dogs which have not won a Challenge Certificate or three or more First Prizes at Championship Shows where Challenge Certificates were offered for the breed (Minor Puppy, Special Minor Puppy, Puppy and Special Puppy classes excepted, whether restricted or not). (The same logic as Debutant – but threshold increased to 3 or more class wins out of puppy, and noting that only count if CCs were on offer for your breed)
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 where Challenge Certificates were offered for the breed. (The wording is simpler now – and of course the CC win is still relevant – plus you need to count up your wins in the listed classes at shows where there were CCs for YOUR breed, if no CCs at the show for your breed then the wins do not count against this class)
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 where Challenge Certificates were offered for the breed. (The wording is simpler now – and of course the CC win is still relevant – plus you need to count up your wins in the listed classes at shows where there were CCs for YOUR breed, if no CCs at the show for your breed then the wins do not count against this class)
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 were offered for the breed. (A rare class, note the CC limit has increased to two – plus you need to count up your wins in the listed classes at shows where there were CCs for YOUR breed, if no CCs at the show for your breed then the wins do not count against this class)
MID LIMIT For dogs which have not become show Champions under Kennel Club Regulations or under the rules of any governing body recognised by the Kennel Club or won five or more First Prizes in all at Championship Shows in Mid Limit, Limit or Open Classes confined to the breed, whether restricted or not, at shows where Challenge Certificates were offered for the breed. (Note the CC limit has increased to two – plus you need to count up your wins in the listed classes at shows where there were CCs for YOUR breed, if no CCs at the show for your breed then the wins do not count against this class)
LIMIT For dogs which have not become show Champions under the Kennel Club Regulations or under the rules of any governing body recognised by the Kennel Club or won 7 or more First Prizes in all at Championship Shows in Limit or Open Classes confined to the Breed, whether restricted or not at Shows where Challenge Certificates were offered for the breed. (So any champion no matter from which country cannot enter limit, or count up wins from limit of open in the breed where CCs were available and once you have won 7 then you cannot enter limit)
OPEN For all dogs of the breeds for which the class is provided and eligible for entry at the Show. (so no limits on this class, but interestingly this is the one that often catches out new exhibitors as confused by all the qualification statements they often enter puppies in this class – of course by its nature and fact that top winning dogs/champions etc can only enter age limited classes or pen its likely to have a number of high quality dogs and older dogs – so not ideal for pups etc as will be unlikely to be a level playing field, but in saying that any dog can enter open as long as it is more than 6 months old)
VETERAN For dogs of not less than seven years of age on the first day of the Show. (Here we are simply back to an age limit the dog must have achieve at least 7 years of age on the first day of the show, no wins are taken into account. Some “Special veteran” or special vintage classes are scheduled and these usually have a slight variation on the age limits – so worth checking)
CHAMPION For dogs which have been confirmed a Champion, show Champion or Field Trial Champion. Champion classes may not be scheduled for individual breeds or varieties of breeds. (Simple – only champions are eligible bit that include champions from any country/kennel cub recognised by the UK KC)
STUD DOG For stud dogs and at least two progeny of which only the progeny must be entered and exhibited in a breed class at the Show. (Fairly self-explanatory, whilst the dog does not have to be entered in a class he needs to be present in this class)
BROOD BITCH For Brood Bitches and at least two progeny of which only the progeny must be entered and exhibited in a breed class at the Show. (Fairly self-explanatory, whilst the bitch does not have to be entered in a class she needs to be present in this class)
PROGENY For a dog or bitch, accompanied by at least three of its registered progeny. The dog or bitch not necessarily entered in another class however, all progeny having been entered and exhibited in another class. The dog or bitch and the progeny need not be registered in the same ownership. (Fairly self-explanatory, whilst the dog/bitch does not have to be entered in a class he/she needs to be present in this class)
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. (The key point here is both dogs forming the brace must be in exactly same ownership as registered at the KC – so a co-owned dog cannot be paired up with a dog of single ownership, and breeder is irrelevant)
TEAM For three or more 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. (As with brace the key point here is all dogs forming the team must be in exactly same ownership as registered at the KC – so a co-owned dog cannot be paired up with a dog of single ownership, and breeder is irrelevant)
BREEDERS For dogs bred by the exhibitor. (Here ownership of individual dogs is irrelevant – it is simply that they must have all been bred by the same breeder, again if one breeder breeds a litter in their single name and another litter as a co breeder – the litters cannot be mixed, it is for one breeder entity)
ANY VARIETY NOT SEPARATELY CLASSIFIED For breeds of dog for which no separate breed classes are scheduled. (If the breed does not have ANY class scheduled then you can enter this class, if you have a puppy and the only class available is open you cannot enter AVNSC)
YKC STAKES For Any Variety dog or bitch exhibited and handled by a fully paid up member of the Young Kennel Club. The dog should be registered either:- a. Solely or jointly in the member’s name, or b. In the name of a member of the family and under these circumstances the dog must be resident at the YKC member’s address. (Self-explanatory – note this is a class for breed conformation not a handling class)
GOOD CITIZEN DOG SCHEME CLASS For dogs that have achieved their GCDS Bronze Award Certificate or above. (You may be required to prove the award at the show or subsequently, there are no limitations otherwise for this class either for age or wins)