Why Use ShowPoints? Find Events, Get Organized and Track Your Dog’s Progress

Where should we enter next? Who’s judging? When do entries close? Has the judging program been posted? And how many points does my dog still need?

Participating in dog shows and performance events comes with plenty of details to manage. You might have dates in your calendar, judging programs in your email and results scattered across notebooks, spreadsheets and screenshots.

ShowPoints brings event planning, ring information and progress tracking together, helping you spend less time searching and piecing together records.

Whether you’re preparing for your first conformation show or working toward your next title, here’s how it can help.

Find dog shows and performance events that fit your interests

Maybe you’re looking for conformation shows within driving distance. Perhaps you want to try Fast CAT, find an obedience trial or explore another activity with your dog.

ShowPoints brings together event listings across multiple organizations, including events beyond AKC. Explore conformation and performance events, narrow your options with the available filters and save events you’re considering.

If your dogs participate in different sports, you can look for opportunities for each of them without starting your planning from scratch every time.

The event calendar covers a broader range of sports and organizations than currently have dedicated title trackers. You can discover an event even when a tracker for that particular sport isn’t available.

Find shows with judges you’re interested in

For conformation exhibitors, the judging panel can be an important part of deciding where to enter.

ShowPoints helps you explore judges and upcoming assignments, find shows with particular judges and use available alerts for assignments involving your breed.

That gives you time to consider an opportunity alongside travel, your schedule and your dog’s readiness.

As you build your results history, you can also look back at previous shows and judges when planning future weekends.

Keep entry deadlines on your radar

It’s easy to find an event, plan to enter later and then miss the deadline.

Save events you’re interested in and use closing reminders to keep those dates in view. That’s especially useful when you’re considering several weekends or managing plans for multiple dogs.

ShowPoints helps organize your participation. You still complete your entry through the event’s designated provider. Saving an event in the app does not enter your dog.

Before entering, review the premium list for classes, eligibility, fees and event instructions.

Know when the judging program is posted

Once you’ve entered a show, the next question is often: “Has the judging program come out yet?”

For supported conformation events, ShowPoints can notify you when the judging program is available in the app. You can then find your breed’s ring information and start organizing your day.

Check the ring, judge and scheduled time, see which breeds are ahead of yours, and plan when to arrive, groom and get ready.

Having that information within reach saves you repeatedly checking for the program or searching through a lengthy PDF.

Is the ring time for my breed or my individual class?

Your entry class and your ring information serve different purposes.

You might enter your dog in Puppy, Novice, Bred-by-Exhibitor or Open. Those classes are judged as part of your breed’s judging sequence.

The judging program generally provides scheduled times for breeds or groups of breeds, rather than a separate start time for every individual class.

Your entry class tells you where your dog begins competing within the breed. The ring information helps you know where and when to be ready.

What if other breeds are ahead of mine?

Several breeds may be listed under the same scheduled start time.

For example, judging might begin at 9:30 a.m., with two other breeds ahead of yours. Your breed would follow those breeds rather than necessarily entering the ring at exactly 9:30.

Seeing what’s ahead helps you estimate when you might go in and organize your preparation.

Treat estimated times as a guide. Check the official schedule, visit the ring and keep an eye on how quickly judging is moving. Be ready before your breed is called.

Get ring time alerts on your phone or smartwatch

Between grooming, exercising dogs, collecting armbands and getting yourself ready, a show morning can get busy quickly.

ShowPoints can send ring time reminders to your phone or connected smartwatch, helping you remember when to prepare without repeatedly checking the schedule.

That’s particularly useful when your hands are full or your phone is tucked away in your grooming bag.

Enable notifications on your phone and, if you use a smartwatch, make sure it’s configured to receive them.

Alerts are based on scheduled judging information. Use them alongside the judging program and your own checks at the ring, especially when other breeds are ahead of yours or you’re managing dogs in different rings.

Understand the difference between an entry class and a result

If you’re new to AKC conformation, this distinction helps explain both the judging process and championship tracking:

The class is where your dog begins competing. The result is what your dog is awarded that day. Championship points depend on the result and the competition.

When you enter a show, you select a class your dog is eligible for. Depending on your dog and the classes offered, that might be Puppy, Novice, Bred-by-Exhibitor, American-Bred or Open.

Winning that class is an accomplishment, but the class win alone does not earn championship points.

An example: Bred-by-Exhibitor to Winners Dog

Your male dog is entered in Bred-by-Exhibitor. If he wins his class, he advances to compete against the other eligible first-place male class winners for Winners Dog.

The class win alone does not earn championship points. A second, third or fourth place in the class does not earn championship points either.

Winners Dog can earn championship points, depending on the competition and the applicable AKC point schedule.

That’s why the ShowPoints Championship tracker focuses on the awards, points and judges that count toward the title. The class you entered and the point-earning result are different pieces of information.

Know what your dog still needs toward a Championship

“My dog has 12 points, but do we still need a major?”

“Were those majors under different judges?”

“Have we earned points under a third judge?”

A points total tells only part of the story.

For an AKC Championship, your dog needs:

- At least 15 championship points.

- At least two majors under different judges. A major is a win worth three, four or five points.

- Points earned under at least three different judges overall.

The majors count toward the 15-point total. For example, three five-point majors under three different judges would complete these requirements.

ShowPoints helps you follow those requirements together. Keep your results with your dog’s record so you can review points, majors and judges without reconstructing previous weekends.

If your dog already has points, enter your starting information and build from there. Include the applicable major and judge details so the tracker reflects the progress you’ve already made.

Estimate points using the right AKC point schedule

How many dogs does it take to make a major? The answer can change depending on where you’re showing.

AKC conformation point schedules vary by breed, sex and geographic division. If you show in one division this weekend and another the following weekend, the number needed for a major may be different.

ShowPoints’ point estimates help you plan using the applicable schedule, without assuming last weekend’s numbers apply everywhere.

Past entry counts can also help you evaluate a show, but they don’t guarantee this year’s entry or available points. Final points depend on the dogs actually competing and the applicable AKC rules.

Follow your Grand Championship and higher GCH levels

Finishing a Championship may be the beginning of your next goal.

For an AKC Grand Championship, your dog needs:

- At least 25 Grand Championship points.

- At least three majors under three different judges.

- Points earned under at least four different judges overall.

- At least one eligible Champion of Record defeated at each of three shows.

The majors count toward the 25-point total. A win can satisfy several requirements at once, such as earning a major and recording a champion defeat.

ShowPoints helps you follow those requirements so you can see whether your dog needs more points, another major or a remaining champion defeat.

You can also track progress toward higher Grand Championship levels:

- Bronze

- Silver

- Gold

- Platinum

Whether you’re pursuing your first GCH or adding points toward the next level, keeping your results together makes progress easier to follow.

Track your National Owner-Handled Series progress

Your dog may also compete in the AKC National Owner-Handled Series, or NOHS.

NOHS uses a separate points system. Owner-Handled Best of Breed, owner-handled group placements and higher awards contribute to that progress, separately from Championship and Grand Championship points.

ShowPoints helps you keep track of NOHS points and progress toward owner-handled milestones alongside your other goals.

One weekend can move your dog forward in several ways. Your dog might earn Grand Championship points and an owner-handled group placement on the same day. Recording both lets you follow each path without mixing the totals.

Keep Fast CAT runs and title progress together

If your dog enjoys chasing a lure, you can organize those accomplishments, too.

ShowPoints lets you record Fast CAT runs, review speeds and follow progress toward BCAT, DCAT, FCAT and subsequent title milestones.

You can review your dog’s top-three average speed and an estimate of runs remaining toward a title. Future speeds can vary, so the estimate helps with planning.

Keeping those records alongside your other results gives you one place to follow your dog’s activities.

Find past wins in your virtual ribbon rack

Who judged your dog’s first major? Where did you earn that owner-handled group placement? What happened at that show last year?

Your virtual ribbon rack gives your results a searchable home.

Keep wins organized by dog, with shows, dates, judges and awards together. Search your recorded history to find a particular result, revisit a show or review previous results under a judge.

Those records help when you’re:

- Deciding where to enter next.

- Reviewing your season and progress.

- Checking the details of a milestone.

- Preparing an advertisement or year-end recap.

- Looking back at a weekend you want to remember.

Instead of searching through old posts, photos and notes, you can return to the record you saved.

Start with what makes your next weekend easier

You don’t have to use every feature at once.

Start by finding an event and saving it. Add your dog’s current points. Check your ring information when the judging program is available. Record your next result.

Over time, those small steps build an organized history you can use for planning and tracking progress.

If you’re new, ShowPoints helps you manage the details as you learn. If you’ve been competing for years, it helps keep your dogs, deadlines, results and goals together.

Keep personal records and confirm official results

ShowPoints trackers reflect the information you enter. Accurate starting totals, points, awards and judges make your records more useful.

Your personal trackers do not replace official records. Confirm points, titles and rankings with AKC or the relevant governing organization.

Spend more time enjoying your dogs

We participate because we enjoy doing things with our dogs: learning together, traveling, seeing friends and working toward goals.

ShowPoints helps manage the details around that experience.

Find events. Keep deadlines in view. Know when judging programs are available. Get ring reminders on your phone or smartwatch. Follow your dog’s progress and keep a searchable record of what you accomplish together.

Explore ShowPoints and start with your next event.