Most dogs pick up single points along the way. The majors are the hard part, and the part that decides when a dog finishes.
A major is a win worth 3, 4 or 5 points at one show. A Champion needs two of them, under two different judges, so ringside talk on a big weekend is usually about one thing: is it a major?
What a major is
AKC puts it simply: “a major is a final credited rating of 3–5 points at one show.” How many points a win is worth depends on how many dogs of the same breed and sex competed, winner included, using the AKC points schedule for the breed and the division the show is in. When the entry reaches the 3-point number, the win is a major.
“Final credited” matters. The points can go up after Winners: Best of Winners, Best of Breed and Best of Opposite Sex can all raise the count, and that is how plenty of majors are won.
Three of five are majors
A win is worth 0 to 5 points. Five is the most a dog can win at one show, so the major is the top three levels of the schedule.
Win1point
Win2points
Win3major
Win4major
Win5major
Why a Champion needs two
The championship rule, in AKC's own words:
“Any dog which shall have won fifteen points shall become a Champion of Record, if six or more of said points shall have been won at two shows with a rating of three or more championship points each and under two different judges, and some one or more of the balance of said points shall have been won under some other judge or judges than the two judges referred to above.”AKC, Rules Applying to Dog Shows
In plain terms: 15 points, two majors under two different judges, and at least one point under a third judge. Two majors from the same judge both count as points, but they only cover one judge, so you still need a major under someone else.
The Grand Championship asks for more: three majors under three different judges, won as a champion.
How many dogs make a major
It depends on the breed, the sex and the division, and the gap is wide. In the 2026 schedule:
Number competing needed for a 3, 4 or 5-point major, 2026 schedule.
Breed, division
3-point
4-point
5-point
Schipperke dogs or bitches, Div. 4
4
5
6
Great Dane dogs, Div. 4
9
13
19
Great Dane bitches, Div. 4
15
18
24
Labrador Retriever dogs, Div. 1
15
21
31
Labrador Retriever bitches, Div. 1
24
40
71
Division 4 is Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, and Division 1 is New England. Look up your own breed in the full 2026 table. The numbers change every May 12, when AKC's new schedule takes effect.
How Best of Winners picks up a major
Best of Winners gets the greater of the Winners Dog and Winners Bitch points. So a major in one sex can carry over to the other.
Take Great Danes in Georgia with 9 class dogs and 11 class bitches. Winners Dog is worth 3 points, a major. Winners Bitch is worth 2. If the bitch goes Best of Winners, she takes the dog's 3 points and leaves with a major of her own.
If neither Winners earned a point, the class dogs and bitches are added together, and if that total reaches the 1-point number for the Best of Winners' sex, it gets 1 point. There is no Best of Winners when Winners was only awarded in one sex.
Best of Breed and Best of Opposite Sex
A Winners Dog or Winners Bitch that goes on to beat champions can add them to its count:
Best of Breed: the dogs of both sexes it defeated for Best of Breed are added.
Best of Opposite Sex: the dogs of its own sex it defeated for that award are added.
Back to the Georgia Great Danes: with 11 class bitches, Winners Bitch is worth 2 points. If she goes Best of Opposite Sex over 4 champion bitches, her count becomes 15, and 15 bitches is a 3-point major in Division 4.
Veterans and other non-regular classes that compete for Best of Breed count toward Grand Championship points only. They never count toward championship points.
Reserve Winners and the Group
Reserve Winners earns no points, with two exceptions. If AKC cancels the Winners award, Reserve moves up. And at a specialty where the class count reaches twice the 5-point number, Reserve can be awarded a 3-point major, unless the club opted out.
A Winners that places in the Group can take the highest point rating of any breed it beat there. That can turn a 1-point win into a major on a good day.
Majors and judges, counted
ShowPoints keeps the majors and the judges next to the points, so you can see which requirement is still open. Duke has his two majors under two judges. He needs 3 more points.
Majors under different judgestwo of them, under two judges
Breed counts by showhow many of your breed competed last year
Points calculatorthe 2026 schedule for your breed and state
ShowPoints adds up the results you enter. AKC's records are the official ones.
A win worth 3, 4 or 5 championship points at one show. AKC calls it "a final credited rating of 3–5 points at one show." How many dogs make a major depends on your breed, its sex and the division the show is in.
How many majors does a dog need to finish its championship?
Two, won under two different judges, as part of the 15 points. At least one more point has to come from a third judge. A Grand Championship needs three majors under three different judges.
Do two majors under the same judge count?
They both count as points, but they only cover one judge. The championship needs its two majors from two different judges, so you still need a major under someone else.
Can Best of Winners give my dog a major?
Yes. Best of Winners takes the greater of the Winners Dog and Winners Bitch points. If the other sex had a major and your dog goes Best of Winners, your dog gets the major too.
Can Reserve Winners get a major?
Usually not: Reserve Winners earns no points. The exceptions are when AKC cancels the Winners award and Reserve moves up, and some specialties where the class count reaches twice the 5-point number, which can give Reserve a 3-point major unless the club opted out.
Two majors, two judges
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