So there is an Exemption Show with Obedience next weekend. Why not go along and see what it’s all about? When you get to a show you may find other Exemption Show Schedules sitting on the table at the Secretary’s Tent or on the tables around the rings. They are all free for you to pick up. Once you get started, you will soon get the hang of it all.

Exemption Shows are always run with the permission of the Kennel Club. They’re run in aid of a Charity that the organisers want to support. But you can’t just go into the ring, you have to find the Secretary and pay the nominal entrance fee. (Generally between one and two pounds a class). Somewhere near the rings or at the edge of the field, you will see a tent or caravan. If there is a long queue, you have found the right place. (Though it could be the ladies loo)!

You are looking for the Secretary. He or she may be in a hall or tent, so ask someone with a dog. They are bound to point you in the right direction. You will be given a slip of paper where you write your name and address down and the details of your dog. His name, breed and age. Your dog doesn’t have to be registered with the Kennel Club or be a pedigree. If he is registered and has a long pedigree name, just write his pet name down. You then put down the number or name of the class you want to enter. If you are an absolute beginner you can probably enter more than one class. You can enter as many classes as you like, but don’t go into the higher Obedience classes if this is your first time, as it will do neither you nor your dog any good. Read the requirements of the various classes very carefully. See if there are any restrictions on entering particular classes that may affect your ability to enter. You will be given a number that you should pin on your top garment. The judge will want to see this number when you enter the ring to work.

Go over to your ring and tell them you are there. Generally there is someone sitting at a table by the entrance to the ring; they are called the Score Steward. Ask them when you can work your dog. There may be a bit of a queue because others have said they are ready to go into the ring. They may not be queuing at the entrance to the ring, but may be waiting or warming their dog up by practising near by. Be ready when it is your turn to go in. Don’t get upset if you are all ready and raring to go, only to be told the Judge is stopping for a coffee. Your Judge may have up to 60 dogs to judge. It could be a very hot or cold, windy day or it could be chucking it down. Your Judge still has to get all the dogs judged, so if he needs a short break, bear with him. It was just bad luck on your part that you had to wait. On no account let your Judge think you disapprove of him stopping as you were about to work. You will not be popular.

If you get lost somewhere on the show ground or absorbed while browsing through the Stands selling attractive goods, and return to work your dog rather later than you meant to, you may find the judge has closed the class. He could be judging any ‘Run Off’s’ there might be. There is nothing you can do about it. Accept his decision and get back earlier the next time. Don’t ask for your money back just put it down to experience.

When you do go in to work your dog, try and enjoy it. The happier you are, the better your dog is likely to work. After the Ring Steward has taken you round and all the exercises are completed, you can go over to the Judge and he may tell you what you have lost and what points you need to work on. Thank him for his time and the Ring Steward and leave the ring. If there is a queue waiting to work and there are a lot of dogs entered in the class, the Judge may want to get on with judging the next dog. He may feel he doesn’t have time to talk to each handler. Don’t be offended, as your marks will be placed on a score sheet on the table at the ringside. You can check your marks there. The less you have lost the better you have done.

If you have worked your dog and have finished on the same mark as another dog at the end of the class, you will be required for a ‘Run Off’. The Judge may ask you to repeat an exercise and then decides which dog has performed the repeated exercises best and he determines the order of placing. Never ask the Judge how you did after a run off, wait until the place marks and rosettes are given out. You can then ask the Judge to sign your prize card or the back of your rosette if you want to.

As you become more experienced and start winning rosettes, you will have to keep an eye out for the wording of eligibility for entry into each class. The exercises you will be required to do are always listed. The wording for eligibility may be: ‘Dog and handler never to have been placed at any show before’. This means that any rosettes you may have been awarded in a breed class don’t count, nor do awards from Club Tests or Matches. But if you had been to a small Exemption Show with the rosettes going down to tenth place in an Obedience class, and you were placed in one class, it makes you ineligible to enter that class. It is a shame, but Exemption Shows are held to raise much needed funds for different Charities by people who sometimes have very little experience in Obedience. Never cheat by not saying anything; it is unfair to others.

You can have a word with the Judge of the class you want to enter, but are not eligible for, and ask if you can work the class: ‘Not For Competition’ (NFC, as it is referred to). He may agree, so go and enter your dog, pay your money, which is what the Charity needs, and go and work, making sure that the Score Steward puts NFC beside your number on the score sheet. Don’t forget to remind the Judge it is NFC when he asks for your ring number when you go into work. You will not be awarded a rosette, even if you have the best dog in the class on the lowest marks. But it will give you the much-needed experience of working your dog in the ring.

Some shows have a separate ring set aside purely for practicing with your dog. You may find there is a small charge that you pay at the ring-side and an Instructor or Trainer there to assist you. (Again, this money always goes to a Charity). Make full use of the opportunity to practice with your dog with someone you may not know. They are often able to help you with any problems you may be having by offering you alternative methods of approaching a problem that you or your regular trainer may not have thought of. You must remember that at this time you are not being judged, so you can stop and play with your dog if you want to. You should be allowed to give a tit bit to your dog in this ring too. Use everything you use at home or at club to get the best results you can from your dog. And remember you are there to have fun.

Occasionally, you might not like or understand what the Trainer or a Judge in the ring advises you to try and do. Just ask for it to be explained again, or politely leave after thanking them, making some excuse, like you’ll try it at home first. People, who help out Judging or running a practice ring at shows, do so for the love of the sport. This is the same reason you went to the show in the first place. Keep a record of all the shows and classes you enter and the name of the judges with some notes. Later on you can look back and be reminded not to enter a show if someone you didn’t like is going to be your judge. It works the other way too. You may find your next show has a judge that really liked your dog before, or gave you your first rosette. The same Obedience Judges turn up all over the place at the most unlikely shows. There would be no classes if there were no Judges.

One little point here. It is important that you write clearly on the form with no mistakes. Your form will be winging its’ way back and forth if you don’t get it right. You will be asked to put down the name of your dog. This has nothing to do with your dog’s pet name. Don’t use words in your dog’s pedigree if he has one; they may belong to someone else. Don’t copy another dogs’ name. Pick something original and you have a better chance of it being accepted. When choosing the name remember that you will have to write this name down every time you send in a ‘Show Entry Form’. The space on these forms to write it is not that large, so if your handwriting is large, don’t pick a long name.

You can’t enter the following types of shows till your dog is registered, so get it done and get it right.