Did You Know – There are rules…And There are RULES!

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114 – August, 2025

By Michael Canalizo

One must assume that with every game… there are rules for the players. Yup, there’s that damn word, “assume”. Some think rules don’t apply to them, and others just dive into the game without reading the rules of competition. Most fall somewhere in between. Oddly enough, those who are most proficient on all things related to rules are also the ones who don’t participate at the level one would think they did. You keyboard warriors know who you are! In the sport of purebred dogs, most rule violations are “complaint-driven”. There is no way for the records department (or the computer) to know if the person showing in the Bred-By Exhibitor class is not an owner and breeder of record–but someone, somewhere knows different and isn’t shy about sharing what they know with the event records department (my guess is they went Reserve to that entry). The same goes for a dog bred outside of the USA but is shown in the American-Bred class. Here’s a fun fact: if your litter was born in the USA, but the actual breeding (mating) took place in Canada–those dogs are not eligible for the American-Bred class. (This is most always an honest mistake, but if one intentionally changes a litter’s birthdate–for whatever reason–it’s best not to announce the “Blessed Event” with hour-to-hour updates on social media while the whelping is happening because someone, somewhere will recall the actual date of birth, and it will be noticed six months later when that dog is competing–and defeating–their competition.) All of this results in “complaint-driven” situations, and consequences can come swiftly.

Back in the day, a breeder might “add” an extra puppy on the litter registration, or mistakenly report the sexes of the litter wrong. And “boom”–when the fourth bitch goes to get her formal papers, you get a letter “reminding” you that the litter application stated there were only three bitches whelped in that litter. This could usually be corrected with a written acknowledgment of the error. Today, with digital records and stricter oversight, it’s not brushed off as easily.

A friend of mine was told they are supposed to report to the AKC when a dog passes. Really? A situation where that was not done caused a lot of friction when a judge was called in for having an exhibitor in his ring that he co-owned a dog with. Whoever reported him might not have known the dog had died 12 YEARS PRIOR… Heck, even the statute of limitations is less!

A common rules infractions is showing a champion in a class other than the Open class. Exhibitors are allowed to show a confirmed champion in the “classes,” but only in the Open Class. Anything else is an oversight that could raise eyebrows or prompt a protest.

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114 – August, 2025

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Posted by AnthonyA on Aug 7 2025. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.