UKC Dog Show, Brampton, ON

French Bull Dog Nationals 2009 - Butters and Kay showing in open Cream/Fawn bitches.

I’m thinking of entering Butters in a UKC dog show this weekend.

The UKC is the United Kennel Club, a breed registry and event holding club that was formed in 1898. The United Kennel Club was formed as an ‘alternative’ to the American Kennel Club, by Pit Bull fancier Chauncey Z. Bennett. Specifically, Mr. Bennett wanted to found an organization that focused on the ‘total dog’, as opposed to the AKC, which he saw as focusing only on conformation.

The UKC has held a strong line on the concept of dog shows as purely a means of examining a dogs conformational adherence to the written standard, rather than a canine ‘beauty show’.

I like this part, in particular —

I. Prohibition against professional handlers in conformation shows.

United Kennel Club events are intended to be family-oriented recreation for owners of UKC Registered dogs. Accordingly, UKC encourages the promotion of the owner/breeder handler and prohibits the use of professional handlers in conformation.

1. Construction of this rule. The prohibition against professional handlers is one of the cornerstones of UKC philosophy. Therefore, this rule is to be construed as broadly as necessary to achieve that goal. Each UKC Official Entry Form includes the following statement that must be signed by the owner/handler of each dog entered at a UKC event: “I swear that this dog is not being handled by a professional handler in conformation.” Dog owners and professional handlers who look for technical ways to circumvent this rule run a grave risk of losing their UKC privileges if caught.

The part I’m NOT so sure about is this one —

E. Baiting in the ring.

The United Kennel Club believes that dogs should be exhibited in a natural state. We believe that a dog’s temperament, tractability and conformation are best evaluated when a dog is exhibited without any aids used to change the dog’s natural behavior.

Butters’ natural behavior is to EAT. Everything Butters does is designed to give her access to food. She shows well, because showing well gets her bait.

Showing her with NO bait will be sort of like trying to convince me to go to work without getting a paycheck – nice idea, but not gonna happen.

Another interesting side note – the UKC French Bulldog standard’s section on weight differs from that of the AKC and CKC standards, in having a minimum weight limit, and a maximum slightly higher than we’re used to –

WEIGHT

A French Bulldog in good condition must weigh between 18 and 30 pounds.

Serious Fault: Over or under the prescribed weight.

At any rate, there’s more info on the show here — http://www.mapleleafkennelclub.org/november2009showinfo.htm

And more info about UKC shows in general can be found here — http://www.ukcdogs.com/WebSite.nsf/WebPages/DogConformation

You can register same day, which is also an added bonus, although there is a discount if you enter in advance. If you’re thinking of attending, please let me know.