Written by CDO Member, Gene of Dune Collies

So you have a show dog
and now it’s time to show. Which Kennel Club are you registered with? The American Kennel Club is the registry that most of us know. You see them advertised on Animal Planet, you probably got your new puppy from a Breeder who has dogs registered with the AKC. But did you know that the AKC is an off shoot
of The United Kennel Club? The UKC is one of the oldest registries in the Nation. Rather than give you a History lesson, let’s discuss the differences between showing in the American Kennel Club and the United Kennel Club.

THE AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB (AKC)

To show in the AKC your dog has to be a recognized breed and registered with the AKC. Their shows are Pre-Entry only. This means that you have to send your dogs entry before a stated date and time to be eligible to show in a specific show. On any given weekend (2 days) there will be only 2 shows, one on each day. They sell Catalogs that tell you who the dogs are, their armband number, who owns them, who bred them and who their Sire and Dam were. You will also have a specific ring number to show in and a specific time in which your dog will be shown. The Judges are a cross between very political (they look only at people faces) or
very interested in Judging just the dogs presented to them. If you have a breed that is mainly handled by Professional Handlers it makes it tough to win, but it can be done.

The points system in the AKC goes like this:

The country is divided up into regions and each region is assigned a schedule of points. For example: In Division 3 (which I live in) Smooth Collies have to have 2 dogs, 2 bitches entered for 1 point. The points go up to 5, with three, four and five making what is called a Major (very important). According to the AKC you have to reach 15 points with 2 Majors under 3 different Judges in order to attain your Championship. Now let me confuse you even more. Only Winners Dog and Winners Bitch can attain those points, but they can add points by going Best of Opposite Sex (if there are Champions of that sex entered and they beat them) or Best of Breed/Variety (if there are Champions of that sex entered and they beat them). Confused yet….well let me add another twist to this already confusing thing. If you go Best of Breed/Variety (from the classes) and go to
the Group and win a Group One, if any of the other Groups had a higher major than you did you get those points. Let’s say you won a 3 point major and you beat an Australian Shepherd who had a 4 point major in the classes. Then you would get that 4 point major, not 7 points. Ok, I have confused you completely now. Let’s move on to the Clothes Issue. In AKC the proper attire for men is a suit and tie. The proper attire for women is either a pant suit or a ladies suit. A lot of women will wear separates to feel more comfortable.

I’m not saying that the AKC is very rigid in their way of doing things, but let’s look at The United Kennel Club.

THE UNITED KENNEL CLUB

To show in a United Kennel Club (UKC) show your dog must be registered with the UKC. Unlike the AKC, you can register a mixed breed dog, but can only show in the Performance events (Obedience, Agility, Weight Pull, etc.). But here we are only talking purebred dogs for Conformation Showing. With the UKC you can
Pre-Enter a show much like the AKC, or you can enter the show the day it is held. Unlike the AKC on any given weekend (2 days) there are a total of 3 shows held. Usually there are two shows on Saturday and one show on Sunday. Occasionally there are two shows on Sunday.

Because you can enter the day of the show, there are no catalogs to tell you who is who, or what dogs you will be competing against. Small drawback, but not that important. The UKC shows usually only have 3 or 4 rings set up, with a panel of 3 or 4 Judges doing the entire show. These shows are a lot smaller than AKC shows, but the atmosphere is not quite so tense for those showing multiple breeds.

Another thing that you won’t find at a UKC show is Professional Handlers, unless they are showing their own dogs. Professional handlers are not allowed to show anything but their own, so most of your competition will come from either those folks who have bought a puppy/dog to show or Breeders.

The point system in UKC is also very different from the AKC. With the UKC you need a total of 100 points with 3 Competition wins for your Championship. That may seem like a lot, but it’s not. Here’s the breakdown on how the points go for breeds that don’t have a Variety (like Shelties):

Class win – 10 pts;

Best Male/Female – 15;

Best of Winners – 10 pts….this totals to 35 points.

For breeds that have Varieties (like Collies) the points go like this:

Class win – 5 pts;

Best Male/Female of Variety – 8 pts.;

Best Male/Female (the Varieties compete against each other) – 10 pts.;

Best of Winners – 12 pts…..this totals to 35 points. It is possible, in ONE weekend to finish a dog’s Championship.

Now, a Competition win is exactly that, you have to beat another dog, but it is entirely possible to gain a Competition win by winning a Group win or Best in Show. If you have no other dogs of your breed entered the points you would get would Total 25, but you would have no competition win. If you won a place in the Group and beat other dogs (win a Group 4 with 6 breeds showing) then you would get your competition win. Another great thing about this point system is…it doesn’t change from region to region. You can show anywhere in the United States and earn the same number of points. No having to research each Division to see how the points are earned.

The Clothes Issue is non existent in UKC shows. You will see people showing in jeans and t-shirt to the normal clothing that is worn at AKC shows. The atmosphere is friendly, sometimes chaotic, but always enjoyable. The Breeders are approachable, the Judges will joke with you in the ring and speak to you outside of the ring.

Now, I show both AKC and UKC and have finished dogs in both. If I were just starting out and wanted to see what showing was all about I would go the UKC route. Why you ask? Because you will find less stress on you and the dog, friendlier people and a ton of information there for the asking. The UKC is a great place to start puppies for the same reason. I find that I have more time to socialize with friends (grooming is kept to a
minimum), make new friends, learn about other peoples breeds and find out about Judges.

So there you have it.

There is no AKC vs. UKC, they are separate entities with their share of good and bad things. Whichever arena you decide to show in, there is no right or wrong one. It is a choice that is made.

 Gene Williams
Dune Collies

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