UKC Shows

This past weekend Fire and I attended three United Kennel Club Shows in Carlisle PA. This was my first experience with the UKC. In the past I have had a few students earn UKC obedience titles, and so I have studied their obedience classes and rule/regulations. I always found their obedience program interesting and appealing but because of the lack of trials in the area, and my involvement with AKC shows I never found the time to venture into the UKC Obedience ring. As for UKC conformation, well I had an opinion there that shall not see print at this point in time. But in short, having known one of the first UKC Champions of a particular breed, a dog which IMO was a poor specimin of the breed...I didn't think too highly of their conformation program. More recently however, I've been encountering UKC shows more frequently. Several UKC shows are held during the year, at a horse show grounds I frequent. So I recently explored the UKC website to learn more, and found the four shows listed for Carlisle PA. Fire needs experience with other people touching him. Between his broken leg as a puppy and impaling himself this summer, he was starting to not trust strangers to touch him anywhere other than his head. I prefer to not combine exam acceptance with the obedience stand-stay when I have a problem dog and so felt getting him out to some match shows in conformation would be the way to go. I can feed, help, and support as needed. But match shows are few and far between these days. So when I stumbled across the Carlisle show, I thought "why not". Entry fees at UKC shows are reasonable and there are usually generous discounts for multiple entries of the same dog and/or pre-entries. I also LOVE that you can enter the day of the show at many events. Perfect for me, as with my family of five there are many times when I find myself needing to skip a show due to schedule conflicts.

At the UKC show, I found most of what I'd heard to be true, and some of what I suspected to not be true. The show was laid back, almost too laid back! (Hurry up and Wait!) But it was a beautiful day and a great chance to lounge in my chair with nothing to do. Friendly is definitely a way to describe UKC shows. I was greeted by almost every exhibitor I passed in the morning. I felt comfortable approaching various people to ask questions and all were willing to assist. I obseverved most of the judges being friendly and patient. The dogs were friendly, and clapping and congratulations was heard frequently. Unfortunately these shows cancelled their obedience trial for some reason, so I didn't get to observe the obedience rings. But if they are as accommodating as the breed rings (usually obedience is More accommodating) they too must be a pleasant place to exhibit.

Although I have no plans to leave the AKC behind, it is still the "cream of the crop" IMO and I love the competitiveness encountered there in some breeds. If I want an accurate opinion of my dog, I'm going to enter under knowledgeable AKC judges. But UKC shows may see more of me in the future! I find it to be a great training grounds for a puppy, more relaxing than other show venues, and very accommodating with the low fees and day of show entries.

If you'd like to try UKC showing, you can visit their website at www.ukcdogs.com Your dog has to be UKC registered, but they will register purebred dogs who are already registered with another upstanding registry (AKC, Canadian Kennel Club, etc). And they do have listing privileges for spayed/neutered dogs who are not otherwise registered. You also don't have to wait to register your dog prior to entering a show, they have a temporary listing number you can acquire over the phone or Internet which allows you to show your dog prior to receiving it's UKC registration. If you need help or have any questions, drop me an email! wescotdobe@hotmail.com