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Conformation is best known to most as "Dog Shows".
Your dog must be registered on the MAIN REGISTER with the Canine Council
in its state of birth to be eligible to participate in a conformation
show. Once you have registered your dog and have become a member of your state's Canine Council you will receive a monthly Journal which will have a copy of the latest show schedule you can enter a show. On the show schedule you will see the type of show,
classes, location, entry fees, date of show, judge and typically the
host clubs secretary contact details. You will need to complete an
official entry form (obtainable from your State Controlling Body) and
send to the secretary along with the show entry fees and a stamped self
addressed envelop. You must ensure that the entry form is completed in
full before sending it off the secretary. Click here for a sample
of an entry form for NSW. Forms may differ slightly from state to
state. Championship show: a show where dogs of all breeds are competing for challenge certificates within their groups. There are seven groups recognised in Australia. They are: Group 1 - Toys, Group 2 - Terriers, Group 3 - Gundogs, Group 4 - Hounds, Group 5 - Working Dogs (Border Collies belong to this group), Group 6 - Utility, Group 7 - Non-Sporting. A challenge certificate verifies the number of points a dog has won at the particular show. The minimum available points are six (6). You would be awarded this if you are the only eligible dog for the challenge and had no other competition. The maximum available points per show is (25). These points go towards the dogs Australian Champion title. You dog must accumulate 100 challenge points to be awarded the title of Australian Champion. The only other show title available is that of Grand Champion and that can only be obtained when the dog has accumulated 1,000 challenge points (10 times that of a champion). Both the best dog and bitch of a breed are awarded with a challenge certificate. Champions and non-champion dogs are eligible to compete. Only qualified judges officiate. Your dog must be an "entire" (not de-sexed) example of the breed to be eligible to participate in a conformation show and gain challenge points. Some shows do cater for neutered dogs. The classes are listed below. A dog must also be over the age of six months to be eligible for challenge points. The shows are divided into various classes, the following are offered at the majority of shows held:
There are other classes they may be included in some shows but are not included in all shows. These are:
Judging:
Dogs are shown first then the bitches are shown in order of class (1,2,3
etc.). So the baby puppies dogs are up first followed by minor puppy
dogs, puppy dogs and so on. The winner of each class competes against
each other for the challenge certificate. The bitches are then judged in
the same manner. The best dog and best bitch then compete
for best in breed and the runner up dog or bitch is required back in the
ring in order to select the runner up best of breed. Once this is done
it is followed by the respective "run-offs" between the class winners in
dogs and bitches for Best Baby Puppy of Breed, Best Minor Puppy of
Breed, Best Puppy of Breed etc. Open show: is run the same way as a championship show, the only difference being that there are no challenge certificates on offer here. Both champions and non-champions can compete. Trainee judges often officiate. These shows are a good starting point for the novice handler as there is no pressure to try and gain valuable challenge points. To gain a better understanding of how a Dog Show operates, it is my suggestion that you attend a number of shows as an observer. It takes a while to work out what is going on, but once you have, it becomes second nature to you!!! Above all else, have fun with your dog!!
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