im new to showing, can anybody please explain to me how open shows work please?
i understand you can get a c.c from champshows however i was wondering apart from experience why would you enter an open show?

Gaining experience is a big part of it for both dog and handler but it's also a less expensive, less pressurised and generally more social day out :) 

The stakes aren't as high re placings
entry fees much less expensive
the venues are usually a lot handier than champ events
excellent from an educational POV in your own breed as well as others
gives sound practice of ring etiquette for exhibitors / stewards / judges
supports hard working, unpaid and generally unacknowledged folks in Canine Clubs who are the backbone of the sport
and encourages newcomers to test the water

TBH there are lots of reasons for entering open show - those are just off the top of my head :)

ok, so it it doesnt give me points for example toward a c.c?

As above plus and would agree a nice social day out - even in the freezing cold/wet/snow/ice!!!

Its a hobby and I really enjoy the open shows - much more than the champs to be honest - closer to home and lovely atmospheres (not saying you don't get that at the champs) but I think its more frantic at the champs than at the open shows.

No points towards CC - but can be points to a ShCM if you get BOB/Group placings.

or points towards a JW ....

>No points towards CC - but can be points to a ShCM if you get BOB/Group placings.

sorry are you able to explain or have a link i could read about this?
what is the difference between a c.c that will go toward being a champion (am i correct?)and a show champion? how does it work?

sorry not well up on this

http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/activities/exhibiting.html

have a look on the kennel club site - all should be explained there :)

hiya thanks for that i have had a look at this before, but i cant seem to find out what the open shows do? what points go towards etc...
am i just being thick? sorry

3 CC's - Show Champion

http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/277

here will explain about JW or ShCM

To be honest its not that easy to get CC (although some might disagree in some breeds) so its not something that many people think about when showing - we go for the enjoyment of it - winning a class or even getting placed is a bonus - its not a cheap hobby that's for sure.

aaaahhh i thought shCM stood for show champion i get it. thankyou.

Perhaps you're confusing competition in Ireland and the US for example where points are given towards championships. 

In the UK the only way of obtaining a champion in conformation is to win three CCs under three different judges and with at least one being won after the dog is no longer a puppy. 

Some breeds, notably gundogs and BCs can only become 'Show Champions' however many CCs they win unless they have the requisite working qualifications too (it's less common for dual Ch in these breeds but not impossible).  Most other breeds don't have the Ch title prefixed with 'Sh'

CCs are only available at Championship shows - no others - and not all shows have CCs for all breeds, only Crufts and the area representative shows Welsh KC and Scottish KC for example

right so far i have understood- at open shows i can get points toward a junior warrant and shCH?
and at a champ show i can get a c.c if placed 1st or 2nd? am i right so far??
if so are junior warrants and shCH still highly regarded?
for example if someone said my dog has won a c.c (or more) i would think that dog is from good stock judges are placing etc...
so if i had points and got a shCH would that still be highly regarded?

> at open shows i can get points toward a junior warrant and shCH?

Yes, although some JW points must be won at Ch level

> at a champ show i can get a c.c if placed 1st or 2nd? am i right so far??

Nearly - you wouldn't win the CC from being placed 2nd, but could be awarded the Reserve CC if the class winner won the CC

> if so are junior warrants and shCH still highly regarded?

That's personal TBH depending on breeds (some have greater opportunities than others for eg).  Some dogs with these awards after their name don't do well at championship level, whereas others could possibly sweep the boards but their owners don't show much (if at all) at champ shows

> for example if someone said my dog has won a c.c (or more) i would think that dog is from good stock judges are placing etc...

In theory, the dog should be a fine example of it's breed.  The best dogs usually come from the best stock, but not always - there are occasional 'fliers'

> so if i had points and got a shCH would that still be highly regarded?

Again specific to breed and in part to location.  I for example have virtually no opportunities to campaign a youngster towards a JW because there are no shows local to me which schedule the breed.  I wouldn't consider doing a 300+ mile round trip with a puppy for the sake of JW points and I'm sure many exhibitors are in a similar position within a multitude of breeds.

HTH Teri

thanks yes it has helped

You can only get a CC if awarded a CC - but you need to be an unbeaten dog to challenge for the CC

JW you can win up to the age of 18months but you only get points if there are more than 3 in your class and you win your class.  It is a good achievement to get a JW - its NOT easy though.

ShCM is also a very good achievement and is not easy.

Sh Ch or Ch is only awarded to those awarded 3 CC's by 3 different judges as Teri said.

Rambled on and Teri has posted a much better answer than mine!

>at a champ show i can get a c.c if placed 1st or 2nd?

Not 1st or 2nd in a class - The dog classes go first, and all the class winners compete against each other for the CC, with the one coming second getting the RCC. Then the same process for the bitch classes. Then the Dog CC winner competes against the Bitch CC winner for Best of Breed.

The dog classes go first, and all the class winners compete against each other for the CC, with the one coming second getting the RCC. Then the same process for the bitch classes.

Except on those occasions when there is just one single CC on offer. (Happens in rarer breeds.) That then goes to BOB.

Bless ya .. you ll get the hang of it !! we ve had dogs since the 70s and still CONFUSED.COM  

ROFLMAO !!!!

>Gaining experience is a big part of it for both dog and handler but it's also a less expensive, less pressurised and >generally more social day out :-)

>The stakes aren't as high re placings
>entry fees much less expensive
>the venues are usually a lot handier than champ events
>excellent from an educational POV in your own breed as well as others
>gives sound practice of ring etiquette for exhibitors / stewards / judges
>supports hard working, unpaid and generally unacknowledged folks in Canine Clubs who are the backbone of the >sport
>and encourages newcomers to test the water

>TBH there are lots of reasons for entering open show - those are just off the top of my head

Also if you did win BIG, BIS or RBIS it would give you a very big grin on you face for quite a while :-D

One thing often forgotten when thinking of open shows is that you can make a lot of breed contacts, especially if it's a group or breed specific show ;)  it's a great way of meeting people as well as a great training ground :)

I won BIS at an open show :) there was an entry of 800+ with absentees etc .... I was on a high for weeks . Open shows are great for Junior Warrants , SHCM , socialising , experience , My bf wants to start showing and open shows will be great for him. More experience and Championship shows will follow . . I do ok at championship shows but thats with a lot of experience . When I first started showing I did mostly open shows  :)

Think most people, particularly when they first start, do not go to shows with the idea of winning anything, they go to meet others in the breed, to learn about their breed, to socialise their dogs and to have a very special relationship between them and their exhibit.

With your first dog you will find out why it is not winning, in some cases, and what you should look for in your next dog. You will get an honest opinion from your fellow exhibitors, you will gain a whole new set of friends. Most beginners would be happy to learn their trade at open shows and win the occasional class and perhaps a BOB or a Group, they would be delighted to be placed at a Championship show, over the moon to get a place that gave them entry to Crufts and I will never forget my first championship show challenge.

I am not saying this is your attitude but if you are only interested in winning rather than exhibiting you will not enjoy the experience half as much nor make the number of friends you may wish, enjoying showing is as much about what you can put into it as what you can get out, it you are only happy if you make your dog into a champion then you are almost certainly doomed to disappointment. Dog showing is not Bingo most people do not go to win whatever the show, they go to enjoy a dog day out.

To be honest so few people expect to have the chance at the CC it makes no odds if they are available.  My breed only has 19 sets available anyway, and I woudl only choose to travel to about half of those.

Most people show for the enjoyment without ever a hope of a sniff at a CC.  You only have to look at the large entires in Special Beginners to realise that (for dog owner or handler never having won a CC).

Often you see more of the people you have got to know at Ring craft etc at Open shows and get a chance to watch other breeds more, though sadly numbers in most breeds seem to be low.  I actually prefer competing in variety and not separately classified classes at this level.

You can gain points toward a Junior Warrant (in fact you have to win some of them at Open shows) and there is a Show Certificate of Merit, a kind of Open show champion if you like.

I used to love Open shows but not been able to get to any for 3 years, hope my next one is more enjoyable than the most recent one I attended.

In my opinion Open show's are more fun, no pressure just a great day out with nice people.
I enjoy them far more than the champ show's (they for me bring out the worst in people all for the sake of a green card) Open show's are a learning ground, for both the dog and the handler.
A show no matter at what level should be enjoyed, your dog is always the best win or lose you brought him/her with you and you take the same home, placings don't matter to them.
I have made up 2 ch, have 3 shcm winners and 2 jw winner's they don't know and are just the same as always.
My advise is ENJOY your day, its about you and your dog spending time out together not the winning.

Like others have said, not all of us have dogs with a good chance of winning tickets etc. My girl is well made but a bit big and plain headed, so the allrounders like her and the specialists are less keen. I do go to some champ shows with her, specially this year I will do as she's beaten some good dogs this winter. But mostly I stick to open shows where I can get 1st 2nd or 3rd and even sometimes BOB, much more fun than getting chucked out with the rubbish in the huge Champ classes my breed has! :-)

hiya, could i ask another question please?
On the shCM it says to get so many points for group placings, so does that mean a 1st or 2nd in your own breed class or does it mean when you gain 1st then compete in the group as in working group?

you would need to get best of breed then go into the group (such as working, gundog, hound etc...) and get placed in the group.