Canuck dogs quebec

Understanding Canadian Conformation Dog Shows

By Sherry Borgia of Sherakan Reg’d Siberians
 

Understanding dog shows can be a huge challenge if you are new to the show world.

The following is about Canadian Kennel Club conformation shows.

The judge is not just comparing dogs to each other — the judge is comparing each dog to the standard of excellence for the breed and evaluating which dog comes closest to meeting the standard.

However, no dog is perfect, and it is in the relative weights given to the strengths and imperfections that make for different judgments!

Breed Level — The Classes

The very first thing to understand is that the male and female dogs are judged entirely separately until the very last class, the “general specials,” or Best of Breed competition.

There are “five classes” in each sex: Junior Puppy, Senior Puppy, Canadian-bred, Bred-by-Exhibitor, and Open.

They are judged in this order. The catalogue, however, lists them by class, so if you can, buy a catalogue to help you keep track.

Junior