Showing can be a very addictive, very expensive and time consuming hobby. It is a great feeling winning your first place rosette. Unfortunately showing is like a bit like a roller coaster one week you may take home Best of Breed and the next nothing (except the best dogs in the world!). Do not forget that not all judges think the same, the dogs are judged on the way that the judge on the day will see his or her ideal boxer and what they think fits closest to the standard, also the performance on the day (dogs can have off days too!). You have to be a good loser to be in the dog show world, we have seen many exhibitors storm out of the ring saying that the dog should never have won because this is wrong and that is wrong. You are entering a show under a judge for his/her opinion and you should respect that. Try and keep your opinions to yourself you will be much more respected around the show ring. NO dog is perfect, every dog has it’s faults, if there was the perfect dog then there would be no fun in showing.

In the UK there are four types of dog show, Companion, Limit, Open and Championship Show;

Companion Shows

These are usually charity run events or fund raisers. They are open to pedigree and non-pedigree dogs, registered and non-registered. They are excellent for socialising your puppy if you are interested in showing at some stage. You can usually enter on the day and are ideal for the beginner, in fact most of us started off by attending shows like these and it is a good place to start.

Limit Shows

These are run by individual dog clubs, and restricted to members of that club. You will meet a lot of other exhibitors, newcomers and seasoned alike therefore this is the best place to start your showing career with your boxer as you will be given a lot of help and advice without the pressures of the larger, more competitive shows. The classes are normally small making it an ideal place to start.

Open Shows

These shows have a broader range of classes and ten to be more competitive. In some classes you may be up against dogs of other breeds. Open shows can also be purely for one breed. The top prize is Best in Show, which is judged from the Best of Breed. The Best of Breed is the best dog and bitch of that one breed. You can also gain a Show Certificate of Merit award issued by the Kennel Club for open show wins, to gain this award you must have 25 points in total, you can win 1 point for Best of Breed, Group Placing of 5 or more points ( 4 points for 1st in the group, 3 for 2nd, 2 for 3rd and 1 point for a 4th placing) you can also win 5 points for a Best In Show win. This is not an easy task but if you are lucky enough to achieve it then the dog can have the initials SHCM at the end of his/her show name.

Championship Shows

These shows can be breed specific, group specific, for example toy group and the working group. For all the breeds these shows offer the widest range of classes and winning at these can gain the ultimate award of qualifying for Crufts, the most prestigious dog show in Britain. The dogs that win each class compete for Challenge Certificates (C.C.’s), dogs and bitches separately. Once you have three C.C.’s from three separate judges your dog is made up to a Champion. After the C.C.’s have been awarded the Best of Breed winners from each group (gundogs, working. hounds etc) are judged to find Best in Group. These are then judged for Best in Show. The dog declared Best in Show has competed and is unbeaten by any other dog exhibited at that show.

© 2007 Lynshanes Boxers