The regular classes in shows are as follows, divided by sex:

• The Puppy Class is for dogs that are six months of age and over, but under twelve months, that are not champions. The age of a dog shall be calculated up to and inclusive of the first day of a show. For example, a dog whelped on January 1st is eligible to compete in a puppy class at a show the first day of which is July 1st of the same year and may continue to compete in puppy classes at shows up to and including a show the first day of which is the 31st day of December of the same year, but is not eligible to compete in a puppy class at a show the first day of which is January 1st of the following year. The first day of a show is considered to be the first day on which there is regular conformation judging. For example, this means that if your dog turns nine months old the day the classes start at the Nationals and the sweepstakes are held the day before, the dog should be entered in the 9-12 month old class in the sweepstakes even though he is eight months old at the time the sweepstakes take place the show starts and the age is measured as of the day regular classes are held. Puppy classes may be divided into two separate classes (6-9 months and 9-12 months) at the option of the club holding the show. This is usually done at Specialty shows.

• The Twelve-to-Eighteen Month Class is for dogs that are twelve months of age and over, but under eighteen months, that are not champions. The age of a dog shall be calculated up to and inclusive of the first day of a show. For example, a dog whelped on January 1st is eligible to compete in the class at a show the first day of which is January 1st of the following year and may continue to compete in this class at shows up to and including a show the first day of which is the 30th day of June of that year, but is not eligible to compete in this class at a show the first day of which is July 1st of that year.

• The Novice Class is for dogs six months of age and over, which have not, prior to the date of closing of entries, won three first prizes in the Novice Class, a first prize in Bred-by-Exhibitor, American-bred or Open Classes, nor one or more points toward their championships.

• The Bred-by-Exhibitor Class is for dogs whelped in the United States of America, or, if individually registered in The American Kennel Club 'Stud Book', for dogs whelped outside of the United States that are six months of age and over, that are not champions, and that are owned wholly or in part by the person or by the spouse of the person who was the breeder or one of the breeders of record. Dogs entered in this class must be handled in the class by the breeder or one of the breeders of record or by a member of the immediate family of the breeder or one of the breeders of record. For purposes of this section, the members of an immediate family are: husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister.

• The American-Bred Class is for all dogs (except champions) six months of age and over, whelped in the United States of America, by reason of a mating which took place in the United States of America.

• The The Open Class is for any dog six months of age or over except in a member specialty club show held only for American-bred dogs, in which case the Open Class shall be only for American-bred dogs.

• The Winners Class is divided by sex and each division shall be open only to undefeated dogs of the same sex which have won first prizes in either the Puppy, Twelve-to-Eighteen Month, Novice, Bred-by-Exhibitor, American-bred or Open Classes. There shall be no entry fee for competition in the Winners Class. After the Winners prize has been awarded in one of the sex divisions, the second prize winning dog, if undefeated except by the dog awarded Winners, shall compete with the other eligible dogs for Reserve Winners. No eligible dog may be withheld from competition. Winners Class shall be allowed only at shows where American-bred and Open Classes shall be given.

A Club that provides Winners Classes shall also provide Competition for Best of Breed or for Best of Variety in those breeds for which varieties are provided in this chapter. The awards in this competition shall be Best of Breed or Best of Variety of Breed. The following categories of dogs may be entered in this competition:

Dogs that are Champions of Record

Dogs which according to their owners' records have completed the requirements for a championship but whose championships are unconfirmed. The showing of dogs whose championships are unconfirmed is limited to a period of 90 days from the date of show where a dog completed the requirements for a championship according to the owners' records.

In addition, the Winners Dog and Winners Bitch together with any undefeated dogs that have competed at the show only in additional non-regular classes shall compete for Best of Breed or Best of Variety of Breed.

In order to earn points towards a championship, a dog or bitch must be awarded Winners in their respective sex. Points are scaled according to the number of dogs of the same sex competing, with from zero to 5 points awarded for a win. A total of 15 points must be earned under three different judges to become a champion and at least two of the shows at which points are earned must be worth three or more points and must have been under different judges. The AKC annually revises the point count (usually effective in mid-May) to reflect the prior years' experience in awarding points - the more Bulldogs exhibited in the previous three years, the greater will be then number required to earn the same number of points the following year. Similarly, the smaller the number of dogs shown, the fewer dogs will be needed subsequently to earn the same number of points. The point count varies by breed and by AKC division within the U.S. To confuse matters more the AKC Divisions and the BCA Divisions are not contiguous.

The point count went down in AKC Division 1 in the 1997-1998 year: 9 dogs and 10 bitches are needed in competition for a major. It also went down in AKC Division 2: 14 dogs and 15 bitches are needed for a major. Each show catalogue prints the relevant rules in the front of the catalogue; the schedule of points for all breeds in the division in which the show is held are printed either in the front of the catalogue or under the class entries. Even so, figuring out the points is an area which many, especially novices, find confusing.

Winners Dog (WD) and Winners Bitch (WB) are awarded points based on the actual number of dogs/bitches competing in the classes, not the number entered. Each competitor of the same sex in the classes counts towards points earned according to the listed schedule. Dogs which are absent, disqualified, excused, etc.. do not count towards points earned. In 1996-7, the required number of dogs/bitches actually competing in the classes to earn points at each level in Division 1 (NY and the New England states) are:

• 1 point requires 2 dogs or 2 bitches
• 2 points require 5 dogs or 6 bitches
• 3 points require 9 dogs or 10 bitches
• 4 points require 12 dogs or 15 bitches
• 5 points require 18 dogs or 24 bitches

In Division 2 (NJ,PA,DE,OH) the number needed is generally slightly higher:

• 1 point requires 2 dogs or 2 bitches
• 2 points require 8 dogs or 8 bitches
• 3 points require 14 dogs or 15 bitches
• 4 points require 21 dogs or 23 bitches
• 5 points require 33 dogs or 38 bitches

Most of the confusion occurs when a class dog goes on to another major award. The AKC specifies that points are further computed as follows:

If WD or WB also wins Best of Breed(BOB),you add to the number of class dogs of the same sex competing, all Specials of either sex entered in BOB who were defeated. Dogs competing in BOB because they were entered in non regular classes (e.g., Veteran) and the other Winner are not counted in determining points since they were not entered in BOB.

If WD or WB wins Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Breed (BOS, in addition to the class dogs of the same sex competing, only the dogs of its own sex which were entered in BOB and were defeated are added to determine points.

After applying the rules above, the dog awarded Best of Winners gets the larger the number of points awarded as computed above or the points awarded to WD or WB.

Thus, in NY, in a competition of 4 class dogs, 22 class bitches, 2 special dogs, 5 special bitches and a veteran dog, Winners Dog would have 4 dogs in competition(the 4 class dogs{including WD}) and get one point, while Winners Bitch would have 22 bitches in competition and get 4 points.

If WD went BOB, he gets three points for Breed since he would have been in competition with 4 class dogs plus 7 specials (the Veterans and class bitches don't count). If the same class dog went BOS instead, there would be 6 dogs (4 clasdogsgs and 2 special dogs) in competition and it would be worth 2 points as BOS.

As BOB from the classes he is automatically BOW, since he is the best animal in the show in that breed. As BOS, he may or may not get BOW, since the bitch may be a better example of the breed than the dog. If he takes Best of Winners, he earns 4 points as BOW since that is what the bitch points are worth with 22 in competition. If WB went BOS over the 5 special bitches, she would earn the fifth point, having had 27 bitches in competition; therefore the BOB class dog would also get the 5 points awarded to WB. Under this scenario, if the bitch gets BOW she does not earn any extra points, since she gets more points as WB than WD.

Finally, if the class dog goes on to a Group 1, it earns the highest number of points earned by any class dog in that group and if it goes on to best in Show from the classes, it gets the maximum of five points automatically.

Copyright 1997---Julian Prager