Dog shows are often said to be like an exclusive little club with qualification criteria ruling who is allowed in and who is not! This may sound rather absurd but it happens to be true! The qualification criteria of dog shows is rather strict and, as such, you have to make sure that your beloved pooch actually conforms to guidelines before you even start training him or her!

Although there are many dog shows that occur all around the world today, very few of them will have the same rules or qualification criteria. There is only one way to find out the qualification criteria for each of the dog shows and that is to ask for a copy of them from the individual organizer. However, there are some things that all dog shows will have in common in terms of the entry requirements and they are as follows:

• Each and every dog entering dog shows has to be a pure breed. Cross breeds are not allowed at all and, as such, you are usually required to have all of the relevant paperwork to prove pure breed status!
• Dogs that are under 6 months of age are not allowed to compete at all.
• The dog has to be entered into the correct categories for the individual dog shows within the large. If it is not then it will automatically be disqualified from competition.
• All dogs entering dog shows must be fully inoculated and up to date in terms of veterinary care.
• In some countries, no dog with a tail that was docked after April 2007 can compete in dog shows at all as it is illegal. The UK is one of them. The same also applies to any dog with clipped ears, irrespective of when the procedure was performed.

For specific rules, you should check the individual rules of the dog shows themselves.