Chief Solano Kennel Club Celebrates 45 years

By Susan Sakala

Chief Solano Kennel Club (CSKC) is celebrating 45 years with its 57^th and 58^th licensed American Kennel Club (AKC) All-Breed Shows and Obedience and Rally Trials, Saturday and Sunday April 21^st and 22^nd. Judging begins at 8:30 am at the Vallejo Fairgrounds.  Admission is free but the fairgrounds charges for parking.  Each day is a new show, so if you can’t make it one day, you can come the next day and watch your favorite breed/breeds compete in conformation, obedience and Rally.

Contrary to popular belief dog shows are not beauty contests.  Dog shows are about finding the best breeding stock. Each dog entered is judged against its individual breed standard and the quest for the day is to find the dog that comes closest to the ideal in its standard.  Here’s how it works.

Each breed entered is first judged against its own breed for a chance to win Best of Breed (BOB). For example, all Pugs are judged against all the other Pugs entered. Classes are divided by sex, age, and sometimes color and variety.  All the dogs (males) compete for Winners Dog (WD) and all the females compete for Winners Bitch (WB). WD and WB win points based on the number of dogs and females entered in their sex division.  It takes 15 points to become a champion.  At least 6 of those points must include two majors won at two different shows under two different judges. Majors are worth 3, 4, and 5 points. WD and WB then compete against the champions entered for a chance to win BOB. The dog winning BOB represents its breed in group competition. There are four placements in each group but only first place advances to compete for Best in Show.

There are currently seven breed groups:  Sporting, Hound, Working, Terrier, Toy, Non Sporting and Herding.  The Miscellaneous Class is for dog breeds that are currently in the AKC Foundation Stock Service (FSS) Program. These breeds are not fully recognized nor assigned to a breed group. They do not appear in the official Stud Book as an AKC recognized breed. Dogs assigned to the Miscellaneous Class compete in their class but are not eligible to compete for Best in Show.

Obedience and Rally competitions will also take place both days. In performance sports dogs and handlers compete against a score and/or time for qualifying legs towards titles. It takes three qualifying scores, at three different shows under two different judges to earn an AKC obedience or Rally title. Each qualifying score is called a leg. Dogs and handlers must earn three legs to title in the class they are competing. The top scores are then compiled for Highest Scoring Dog. Dogs entered may be spayed, neutered, or intact, and mixed breeds (All American Dogs) with a PAL number from AKC may also compete for performance titles.

CSKC is the only AKC licensed All Breed Dog Club in Solano County and is devoted to the promotion, advancement and celebration of the Purebred and All American Dog.  In addition to their annual shows, the club sponsors dog owner responsibility and education through puppy socialization, obedience, and conformation classes; the AKC Canine Ambassador program, and through club participation at local events. Club members strongly believe these programs foster the dog/owner experience and strengthen and enrich the unique bond shared between dogs and their owners so that all dogs will have superb forever homes

Admission to the shows is free, but the fairgrounds charges a nominal parking fee. There are concessions featuring many dog and pet-related items, such as food, toys, books and magazines, as well as vendors offering food items for you and your family.