— AKC Owner-Handler Series Kicks Off This Month —
This month, we’re pleased to launch a new event that will take place at select dog shows around the country – the AKC Owner-Handler Series.
Owner-handlers are the core of the conformation dog sport, making up the majority of show entries. We’re pleased to put the spotlight on all of our owner-handlers and acknowledge the time and dedication they put into their dogs.
The AKC Owner-Handler Series will take place after Best of Breed judging in each breed ring. This competition will be open to all non-professional owner-handlers, whether experienced or novice. All dogs’ eligibility must be indicated by checking the Owner-Handler box on the entry form at the time of entry and will be marked as Owner-Handler eligible with an asterisk (*) in the steward’s book and catalog.
Owner-Handler Best of Breed will be selected from the dogs that are eligible to compete in the Best of Breed competition including Winners Dog and Winners Bitch. If the Best of Breed/Variety winner is Owner-Handler eligible, it will automatically be Owner-Handler Best of Breed/Variety. If BOB is ineligible and Best of Opposite Sex is eligible, BOS will compete against the eligible Best of Breed dogs of the other sex. If the BOB and BOS winners are both ineligible, the judge will choose Owner-Handler Best of Breed from the eligible Selects and eligible WD or WB. If one of the Selects is eligible, the judge will excuse dogs of the same sex as the Select and judge the remaining dogs of the opposite sex including the eligible WD or WB. If the BOB, BOS and Selects are not eligible, the judge may choose any eligible dog remaining in the ring.
Based on points from Breed, Group and Best in Show wins accrued throughout the year, we’ll rank the dogs and invite our top owner-handled exhibits to a special year-end event to compete for a Best Owner-Handler Award.
AKC Owner-Handler Series Point Scale:
(Note: Owner-Handler Series points do not contribute to championship points)
| Best in Show | 100 |
| Group 1 | 30 |
| Group 2 | 20 |
| Group 3 | 15 |
| Group 4 | 10 |
| Best of Breed | 5 |
I hope that many of you will take part and we look forward to your feedback about the new Series. We plan to add shows featuring this new event throughout the year, so stay tuned for updates on www.akc.org.
The first events in the AKC Owner-Handler Series will take place at:
Dog Fanciers Association of Oregon – January 21st
Oakland County Kennel Club – January 21st
Sahuaro State Kennel Club – February 4th
Colorado Kennel Club – February 19th
International Kennel Club of Chicago – February 26th
Ft. Worth Kennel Club – March 24th
Atlanta Kennel Club – April 14th
Greenwich Kennel Club – June 9th
If you have any questions or feedback to share about the AKC Owner-Handler Series, we encourage you to contact Bri Tesarz at glt@akc.org or 919-816-3514.
And don’t forget to mark your calendars for the ABC Television Network broadcast of the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship on February 4th. Check your local listings for airtimes. The national exposure this broadcast brings helps us share all the good things AKC does for dogs with the pet-loving public.
Sincerely,
Ron Menaker
Chairman
January Chairman’s Report