In actuality a dog show is a canine beauty contest. Each breed has certain physical characteristics which distinguish it from other breeds. Within each breed there are the ideals for type and soundness. The dog show is designed to prove the quality, or lack of it, of each dog entered.

A dog show is also an elimination contest. The show may begin with thousands of dogs and gradually eliminate them until at the end one single dog is chosen as the best-in-show winner.

The primary purpose of a dog show is to enable dog owners to exhibit their dogs in competition with others of its kind. The ultimate objective is to improve the quality of all purebred dogs. This is achieved by an intelligent breeding program, using the dogs which have proven, through such competition to be the better representatives of their breeds.

A sanctioned or licensed dog show is only for purebred dogs which are registered or eligible for registration hi the American Kennel Club. The entry form must show the dog's individual registration number or the litter registration number.

An eligible dog that is only litter registered may be shown no more than three times unless it has been given an indefinite listing privilege by the A.K.C.

Dog Show Registration and Rules
Excerpts from the official American Kennel Club Rules applying to Dog Shows are being included in order to impress the individual planning to enter his dog in a show with the thoroughness and fairness used in running an A.K.C. licensed show.

If you wish to study the complete pamphlet, write to the American Kennel Club, 51 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10010 and request "Rules Applying to Registration and Dog Shows."

Dog Show Classifications
The following breeds and/or varieties of breeds, divided
by groups, shall be all the breeds and/or varieties of breeds
for which regular classes of The American Kennel Club may
be provided at any show held under American Kennel Club
rules. The Board of Directors may either add to, transfer
from one group to another, or delete from said list of breeds
and/or varieties of breeds, whenever in its opinion registra
tions of such breed and/or variety of breed in the Stud Book
justify such action.

• The Puppy Class shall be for dogs that are six months of
age and over, but under twelve months, that were whelped
in the United States of America or Canada, and that are not
champions. The age of the 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 Novice Class shall be for dogs six months of age and
over, whelped in the United States of America or Canada,
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 shall be for dogs whelped
in the United States of America, or, if individually registered
in The American Kennel Club Stud Book, for dogs whelped
in Canada, 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 an owner or by a member of the immediate family of an owner.
For purposes of this section, the members of an immediate family are: husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister.

• The American-bred Class shall be 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 Open Class shall be 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, at shows in which the American-bred
and Open Classes are divided by sex, also shall be 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, Novice, Bred-by-Exhibitor, American-bred or Open
Classes, excepting only in the event that where either the
Puppy, Novice or Bred-by-Exhibitor Class shall not have
been divided by sex, dogs of the same sex winning second or
third prizes but not having been defeated by a dog of the
same sex may compete in the Winners Class provided for
their sex. At shows where the American-bred and Open
Classes are not divided by sex there shall be but one Winners
Class which shall be open only to undefeated dogs of either
sex which have won first prizes in either the Puppy, Novice,
Bred-by-Exhibitor, American-bred or Open Classes. There
shall be no entry fee for competition in the Winners Class.

The Miscellaneous Class shall be for pure-bred dogs of such breeds as may be designated by the Board of Directors of The American Kennel Club. No dog shall be eligible for entry in the Miscellaneous Class unless the owner has been granted an Indefinite Listing Privilege, and unless the ILP number is given on the entry form. Application for an Indefinite Listing Privilege shall be made on a form provided by the AKC and when submitted must be accompanied by a fee set by the Board of Directors.

All Miscellaneous .Breeds shall be shown together in a. single class except that the class may be divided by sex if so specified in the premium list. There shall be no further competition for dogs entered in this class.

The ribbons for First, Second, Third and Fourth prizes in this class shall be Rose, Brown, Light Green, and Gray, respectively.

At present the Miscellaneous Class is open to the following breeds:
Australian Cattle Dogs
Australian Kelpies
Bearded Collies
Border Collies
Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
Ibizan Hounds
Italiani Spinone
Miniature Bull Terriers
Staffordshire Bull Terriers

Ribbons, Prizes And Trophies
• All clubs or associations holding dog shows under the rules of The American Kennel Club, except sanctioned matches, shall use the following colors for their prize ribbons or rosettes, in the regular classes of The American Kennel Club and the regular group classes.
First prize—Blue.
Second prize—Red.
Third prize—Yellow.
Fourth prize—White.
Winners—Purple.
Reserve Winners—Purple and White.
Best of Winners—Blue and White.
Special prize—Dark Green.
Best of Breed and Best of Variety of Breed—Purple and Gold.

Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Breed and Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Variety of Breed—Red and White. And shall use the following colors for their prize ribbons in all additional classes:
First prize—Rose.
Second prize—Brown.
Third prize—Light Green.
Fourth prize—Gray.

• The prize ribbon for Best Local Dog in Show shall be
Blue and Gold, and the prize ribbons in local classes and
local groups shall be:
First prize—Rose.
Second prize—Brown.
Third prize—Light Green.
Fourth prize—Gray.

• Each ribbon or rosette, except those used as sanctioned
matches, shall be at least 2 inches wide, and approximately
8 inches long; and bear on its face a facsimile of the seal of
The American Kennel Club, the name of the prize, and the
name of the show-giving club with numerals of year, date of
show, and name of city or town where show is given.

• If ribbons are given at sanctioned matches, they shall be
of the following colors, but may be of any design or size:
First prize—Rose.
Second prize—Brown.
Third prize—Light Green.
Fourth prize—Gray.
Special prize-—Green with pink edges.
Best of Breed—Orange.
Best of Match—Pink and Green.
Best of Opposite Sex to Best in Match—Lavender.

Dog Show Entries Conditions Of Dogs Affecting Eligibility
A dog which is blind, deaf, castrated, spayed, or which
has been changed in appearance by artificial means except
as specified in the standard for its breed, or a male which does not have two normal testicles normally located in the scrotum, may not compete at any show and will be disqualified. A dog will not be considered to have been changed by artificial means because of removal of dew claws or docking of tail if it is of a breed in which such removal or docking is a regularly approved practice which is not contrary to the standard.

When a judge finds evidence of any of these conditions in any dog he is judging he must, before proceeding with the judging, notify the Superintendent or Show Secretary and must call an official show veterinarian to examine the dog in the ring and to give the judge an advisory opinion in writing on the condition of the dog. Only after he has seen the veterinarian's opinion in writing shall the judge render his own decision and record it in the judge's book, marking the dog "disqualified" and stating the reason if he determines that disqualification is required under this rule. The judge's decision is final and need not necessarily agree with the veterinarian's opinion. The written opinion of the veterinarian shall in all cases be forwarded to The American Kennel Club by the Superintendent or Show Secretary.

When a dog has been disqualified under this rule or under the standard for its breed, either by a judge or by decision of a Bench Show Committee, any awards at that show shall be cancelled by The American Kennel Club and the dog may not again be shown unless and until, following application by the owner to The American Kennel Club, the owner has received official notification from The American Kennel Club that the dog's show eligibility has been reinstated. The American Kennel Club will not entertain any application for reinstatement of a male which has been disqualified as not having two normal testicles normally located in the scrotum until the dog is twelve (12) months old.

• A dog that is lame at any show may not compete and shall
not receive any award at that show. It shall be the judge's
responsibility to determine whether a dog is lame. He shall
not obtain the opinion of the show veterinarian. If in the
judge's opinion a dog in the ring is lame, he shall withhold all
awards from such dog and shall excuse it from the ring. A
dog so excused shall not be counted as having competed.
When a judge excuses a dog from the ring for lameness, he
shall mark his book "Excused—lame."

• No dog shall be eligible to compete at any show and no dog
shall receive any award at any show in the event the natural
color or shade of natural color or the natural markings of the
dog have been altered or changed by the use of any substance
whether such substance may have been used for cleaning purposes or for any other reason. Such cleaning substances are to be removed before the dog enters the ring.

If in the judge's opinion any substance has been used to alter or change the natural color or shade of natural color or natural markings of a dog, then in such event the judge shall withhold any and all awards from such dog, and the judge shall make a note in the judge's book giving his reason for withholding such award. The handler or the owner, or both, of any dog or dogs from which any award has been withheld for violation of this section of the rules, or any judge who shall fail to perform his duties under this section shall be subject to disciplinary action.

• Any dog whose ears have been cropped or cut in any way
shall be ineligible to compete at any show in any state where
the laws prohibit the same except subject to the provisions of
such laws.

• No dog shall be eligible to compete at any show, no dog
shall be brought into the grounds or premises of any dog show,
and any dog which may have been brought into the grounds
or premises of a dog show immediately be removed, if it
(a) shows clinical symptoms of distemper, infectious
hepatitis, leptospirosis or other communicable disease, or
(b) is known to have been in contact with distemper, in
fectious hepatitis, leptospirosis or other communicable dis
ease within thirty days prior to the opening of the show, or
(c) has been kenneled within thirty days prior to the
opening of the show on premises on which there existed
distemper, infectious hepatitis, leptospirosis or other com
municable disease.

• A club may engage dogs not entered in its show as a
special attraction provided the written approval of The American Kennel Club is first obtained.

Benching Of Dogs
• At a Benched Show to which admission is charged, every
dog twelve months old and over that is entered and present
must be on its bench throughout the advertised hours of the
show's duration, except for the necessary periods when it is
actually being prepared for showing at its crate, or is being
shown, or is in the exercise ring, or is being taken to or from
these places. The advertised hours of the show's duration shall
be hours from the scheduled start of judging at the time
shown in the premium list for the closing of the show.

No such dog shall be in its crate during the advertised hours of the show's duration except by written permission of the Superintendent or Show Secretary, and except for a period of one hour before the time printed in the program for the judging of its breed or variety and, if it becomes eligible for its Group or for Best in Show, for a period of one hour before the time printed in the program for the judging of such competition.

• The provisions of Section 1 also apply to a dog under 12
months of age except that it need not be benched until after
the judging of the breed classes for which it is entered or be
comes eligible and it may be in its crate until the judging of
those classes. At a two day show it is required to be present
only on the day it is to be judged.