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The Kennel Club (UK)
system, which is also used by the Australian National Kennel Council and
in other countries, is considered the most difficult to earn a title
under. At certain shows designated as Championship shows, the top bitch
and dog in each breed will be awarded a Challenge Certificate, with
three CCs needed to become a champion. The amount of CCs on offer for
each breed is decided by the Kennel Club in advance, so opportunities to
gain a title are very limited.
In the US and Canada, each time a dog wins at some level of a show, it
earns points towards the championship. The number of points varies
depending on what level within a show the win occurs, how many dogs are
competing, and whether the show is a major (larger shows) or minor
(smaller shows). The exact number of points needed to gain a
championship varies depending on the kennel club offering the title.
Finally, there are the huge Championship shows, where dogs can gain
points towards a Junior Warrant and compete for the highly coveted
Challenge Certificate (CC). If the breed is sufficiently numerous, the
Kennel Club awards a Challenge Certificate for the Best Dog and Best
Bitch. A dog needs three CCs from three different judges to be awarded
the title of Champion one of which must be awarded when the dog is over
12 month old. The most prestigious Championship show is Crufts, and each
dog entered at Crufts has had to qualify by certain wins at Championship
or Open show level.
Crufts
In the United Kingdom, the international championship show Crufts was
first held in 1891. Since its centenary year in 1991, the show has
officially been recognized as the world's largest and most prestigious
dog show by the Guinness Book of Records, with a total of 22,973 dogs
being exhibited that year. 22,964 dogs were exhibited in 2008, 27 short
of the previous record. Crufts is held over 4 days at the National
Exhibition Center (NEC) in Birmingham and it is the largest annual event
held at the venue, with an estimated 160,000 human visitors in 2008. The
winner of the title of "Best In Show" receives a replica of the solid
silver Keddall Memorial Trophy and a surprisingly small cash prize.
Criticism of dog showing
The practice of breeding dogs for conformation showing has become a
subject of intense debate. Some critics state that conformation shows
lead to selecting of breeding dogs based solely upon appearance, which
is seen by some as being detrimental to working qualities and at worst
as promotion of eugenics.
In the United States some working dog breed organizations, such as the
American Border Collie Association and the Jack Russell Terrier Club of
America have put a considerable amount of effort in the fight to keep
their breeds from being recognized by the AKC and some other kennel
clubs as they fear that introduction of their breeds to the show ring
will lead to decreasing amounts of working dogs with adequate qualities.
Although I have a few show dogs and will be showing a few here and
there, I firmly believe that the ACD is happiest doing what it was meant
to do. WORK and Having a job to do. I believe that any breed of dog
should not spend its life in a kennel 24/7 and only taught to stack and
bait. That is not a life for any dog. My dogs are my pets first, part of
my family and working dogs. Showing is last. If the Cattle Dog Gods had
it their way the gene pool would be limited to what they think is the
ultimate ACD and in a few years we would no longer have a working dog
but a robot to perform for their personal pleasure.
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