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In the following short summary I will try to explain some of  the unusual terms, and define what you need to know if you are considering starting your ?show prospect? Boxer in the show ring.  AKC of course, is the American Kennel Club.  They have to license all shows  for your dog to acquire points toward the award of Champion.  ABC is American Boxer Club,  and they set the STANDARD for the Boxer of today.  The ABC also has a National Specialty Show and Futurity in May of each year.  At the conclusion of the Specialty, up to 5 Awards of Merit are given as recognition to those dogs with exceptional quality who did not win BOB, BOS, or BW.  During this week long event, Obedience trials are also held, and this year there may be an Agility exhibition.  In addition, other functions, such as the Awards Banquet and the Top 20 competition, are attended.

The dogs eligible for the Top 20 competition are the best of our Breed. They are selected on the basis of the number dogs and bitches that they have defeated in their Best of Breed wins.  Group and Best in Show wins are not counted.  The statistics come directly from the AKC and include all BOB wins from January 1st through December 31st of each year.

The above statement was taken from last year's Top 20 catalog, with the exception of a few inserts for clarification.

GETTING READY TO ENTER THE FIRST SHOW. 

First, at least several weeks ahead of time, an entry must be sent in for the Boxer.  There are several licensed show superintendents  and different superintendents handle the shows in different areas of the country.  To see what shows are coming up, check the AKC Gazette Events Calendar (see more on that at the link above).  You can also check the Web pages for these show superintendents and they will give you up coming shows in all areas.  Then the Boxer must be entered and usually the deadline is 3 weeks before the show.  This can be done by mail, fax or telephone, or for the few that are on line, it can be done there.  There is an extra fee for fax or phone entries.

Your dog must be AKC registered to enter either a Show or a Sanctioned A match.  You may enter a dog on it's litter registration only for a limited time and for a limited number of Shows, so it is best to have the Permanent Registration Certificate in your name before entering the dog for the first time.  The dog must be at least 6 months old to show in licensed Shows or a Sanctioned A Match.  When entering a Sanctioned B Match, the dog must only be PUREBRED, of a breed RECOGNIZED by the AKC and of the age stipulated by the Match giving Club.  This is done for experience and training the Boxer in the ring. Hopefully you will have had a chance to attend several B matches to see how it is done and get your Boxer acquainted with the show ring.

You will need to have a handler lined up or know how to present your dog to the judge yourself.  Boxers are about 50/50 shown by handlers and by owners. The handlers, of course, have an edge as they are out there weekend after weekend and show after show. They usually get the choice Boxers to handle and they are known to the judges to be handlers. This is something that you need to decide on a long time before the entries close, as usually the top handlers have full show schedules and can only accept so many of any one breed. We are going to assume here that you have a fully trained--or nearly so--Boxer ready for the ring.  If not, then go back and work, as they must be ready to present themselves to the judge and respond to your or your handler's commands.

The classes are divided by age, sex and color in Boxers. The dogs always show first, (male Boxers are always referred to as DOGS in the show particulars) and it starts with 6-9 months old, 9-12 months, 12-18 months, Bred by Exhibitor, American Bred ,  Open class, Brindle and Open class, Fawn. The American Bred class was originally developed when there were a lot of Boxers being imported from Germany.  This is not the  case now, but the class continues, due to imports from Canada and to exhibit dogs that are not quite ready for the Open classes, due to age or training. It also gives handlers a chance to show more Boxers to the judge.  The Bred By Exhibitor entries are handled by the Owner /Breeder of the Boxer. 

After all the dogs are shown in the various classes, then the winner of each class goes back in to compete for Winners Dog.  After that selection is made, the second place dog in that class goes back in and competes with the other first place winners for Reserve Winners Dog.

And then the same process is done to choose Winners Bitch and Reserve Winners Bitch

Later, the Winners Dog and the Winners Bitch go back in the ring for the Best of Breed competition.  In this competition, selections will be made for the Best of Breed Boxer, the Best of Opposite Sex Boxer & the Best of Winners Boxer.

The points are awarded on a scale of how many dogs are there and how many bitches are there. The Best of Winners --whether it is dog or bitch--gets as many points as the most points won by either sex. 

Example: Say Miss Priss wins Winners Bitch, and the bitch class was a 3 point class,  then she goes on to win Best of Winners over Mr. Tough, which was Winners Dog and he had won 4 points as there was more dogs there that day.  Miss Priss gets to match the 4 points for the day.

The AKC rules Chapter 16, Section 1 on Championships  explain the points given at any show.  The Champions that compete in the Best of Breed class only get breed points if they win Best of Breed, as they already must be Champions according to AKC records. These breed points are accumulated for the Top 20 Class at ABC in May and also for various awards and charts that are kept on the top winning dogs of any breed.

The Championship points given to the Winners Dog & Winners Bitch are determined by the AKC.  These points are determined on a yearly basis, new point schedules are imposed in May of each year.  The points are determined by the average number of dogs of a breed registered in an area, and on the number of dogs of a breed entered into shows in a particular area, called ?Divisions?, by AKC. 

MAJORS are needed to make Champions, at least two majors are needed under two different judges.  Total points needed for Boxers  (or any breed):  15 points, which must include at least 2 majors under two different judges.  Therefore, it takes two major wins, and a major can be either 3, 4, or 5 points.  See the chart to see how many dogs or bitches it takes to make majors in your area.  It is not easy to find majors, and the count is of dogs shown, not just entered.  So even if there are enough entries, it doesn?t guarantee a major, because a dog can get sick, a handler can have transportation trouble, or a dog that is entered may finish it's Championship and be moved up to the Specials (Best of Breed) class.  So many things can happen along the way to break a major.  Needless to say, the shows that make majors are terribly competitive, with the best of the best there trying for that illusive major that is needed to finish it's Championship. 

All Breed Shows have a Best of Breed award.  This is determined out of an entry of Champions that are called "Specials";  also added to this Best of Breed class are the Winners Dog and Winners Bitch.  We now have a class from which is chosen Best of Breed, Best of Opposite Sex, and Best of Winners.

The Best of Breed Boxer goes on to compete in the Group competition, (Boxers are in the Working Group).  There will be four places awarded in this competition, but only the 1st place dog in the Working Group will go on to compete with the other Group winners for  Best In Show.

BEST IN SHOW is held at the end of all the Group judging.  The first place winner of the Working Group goes on to compete for Best in Show against the first place winners of the other Groups, which are:  Sporting, Herding, Non-sporting, Hounds, Toys,  and Terriers.  There will be seven dogs in this final competition and only ONE will be awarded the coveted Best in Show! 

Needless to say if you get this far with any breed you have done well, the dog is very nice and he has been handled to perfection!