I see on Fosse data that online entries for SKC have been extended until 19 April.

WHY do they bother putting a closing date on thewy always extend

Yes did chuckle at WELKS had a comment saying this date can NOT be extended - low and behold it was - which actually I was grateful for!

I think they must be trying to pull in more entries???  They do charge you for the privilege of missing the official date though don't they?

some charge extra but not all. i to wonder why they have a closing date at all as they nearly always extend every show ( not crufts though ).
i too wonder if its beacuse some entrys are low, i'm sure they will be only getting lower and lower as we go though the year, people CANT or WONT enter so many shows this year.
IMO anyway.

yep agree - its not just the entry fees - fuel is very high at the moment !

> people CANT or WONT enter so many shows this year.

That does cover me too. I've entered Welks and have no issue in paying out the cost of entry fee's, whats crippling me is the fuel costs as Rachel has said. I'm lift sharing to Welks, but even so i'm questionning whether I can afford to do it and is it really worth the long drive over there?

i am going to skc the same way i went to crufts same friend one berlinago four dogs in travelling boxes one cage trolley sharing the petrol and the pull in, going to corgi club champshow scottish friend spending night before and after at mine(lives in fife) again one berlingo four corgis and one cage trolley going to east of england the same way sharing petrol costs with both helps both of us, the answer is travel with friends in the same breed where possible and with my scottish friend she can get to shows she could not attend otherwise

Agree.!. I travel with 2 other people and their dogs and we split the petrol 3 ways, could not afford to go to the shows otherwise.

We are quite lucky that a couple of people run coaches from Scotland regularly to most of the Champ shows, it is much more economical and the patter is great!! Also no hassle with driving!

I will only be going to possibly 3 or 4 Champ shows this year, and I share with at least one, usually 2 other people so we share driving and costs. None of us can afford the petrol costs anymore. We did look into hiring a coach in the past and may look into it again.

> We are quite lucky that a couple of people run coaches from Scotland regularly to most of the Champ shows,

does anyone do it the other way round? I would like to go to SKC but the petrol is too much. are there any coaches going to the show?

I am sure they extend to get extra entries in. The entry fees are bad enough, with Birmingham wasn't it, that was going for £25 per dog but I think fuel is the real killer. The amount of cash that was spent filling a tank takes it little more than half way now. I feel there will be a real dip in numbers this year making it a sport for the rich only, which is awful.

Entry fees are bad enough, but to charge the same for puppy classes as the higher ones is robbery.  Generally shows abroad the puppy class entry fee is way lower than the Junior classes upwards.  Our breed has alot of puppies on the ground at the moment but only a couple or no entries at shows as no one is going to pay £25 for a puppy entry.

I do not understand what you mean. Why should puppy classes be cheaper than another class.?

>but to charge the same for puppy classes as the higher ones is robbery.

Why on earth would they charge less? The winner has a chance of the CC, as well as BP.

> <IMG alt=confused src="/images/confused.gif"> Why on earth would they charge less? The winner has a chance of the CC, as well as BP.

What is it with the British obsession of wanting dogs made up at 14 months only to see that at 2 or 3 they have fallen apart.  I watched a breed yesterday at Kelso and there were 2 still in yearling that had been made up as Juniors and they did not even earn a place yesterday.  Just had not matured on.  Too much like the US system which everyone gripes about here.  Maybe the toys and little breeds have alot of chances at CC's as puppies because they mature so quickly but what about the large breeds who do not even look mature till 3yrs old and will rarely if ever see puppies being awarded tickets so young.

You need to have the same rules for all breeds; for example it's ridiculous in my breed to consider a dog a 'veteran' at 7 years old - they're just coming into their prime! But in other breeds they're definitely very senior. The idea of charging different entry fees for different classes within a breed is one of the more off-the-wall, complicated and divisive ones (sometimes puppies are awarded BoB - if their entry fee was less for the same honour the antagonism would be appalling) I've come across for a long time, to be honest.