Important Entry Information For Licensed Officials and Club Officers
Lately we’ve gotten a few calls from Officials where participants have been trying to enter dogs without papers, with copies or with improper papers. Obviously there are a few different ways to enter a dog. The three most common are with the Registration Certificate, the UKC Easy Entry™ Card and Registration Certificate and degree. Obviously copies, and Certificate and Degree, without registration papers will not be accepted.
A ‘New Owner’ may enter their dog provided the Bill of Sale portion of the Registration Certificate is completely filled out, signed and dated. The registered owner would be listed as the owner and the ‘New Owner’ as the handler.
The ‘New Owner’ should only be allowed to do this one time. The Official taking entries should write their name and date on the Certificate and advise the participant to send the papers in to UKC. Club Management has the right and should refuse the entry when a handler tries to enter the dog at another event before sending the papers in to UKC after they have been advised to do so. A ‘New Owner may not use the previous owner’s Easy Entry™ Card.
A dog that has just made Champion and has not yet received the degree may enter using the Registered papers or Easy Entry™ Card. However, once they have received the updated degree they can no longer enter using the old registration papers unless they also show their Certificate of Degree. It usually takes anywhere from two to three weeks for the owner to receive their updated degree and Easy Entry™ Card provided the report is received from the club in a timely manner.
The Apprentice
Question: I have been to shows where the Apprentice Bench Show Judge seems to be making all the decisions, and I don’t think that is right. Should they be making the final decisions or not? I feel we are paying for the presiding official’s opinions and rulings, not the Apprentice. What is your interpretation? PB/IN
Answer: To be honest, I don’t watch the show but I did some research. You can watch it Thursday nights on NBC. You’re right, the Apprentices do make the decisions and if they’re wrong, they get fired! Also it seems to me if the Apprentice can’t win a beauty contest, Donald Trump will personally tell them “You’re Fired!” From what I can tell, a whole bunch of them have been axed. How in the world did Donald Trump’s name come up in a coonhound magazine? Like he needs another plug!
Let’s get serious here for a minute. No, an Apprentice should not be making the final decisions. Rule number one in Bench Show Judges Authority and Responsibilities in the rulebook states, “The Judge is in charge of the ring, and his decision is final.” I think that pretty much answers the question.
Sure, an Apprentice should be involved in all of the procedures, whether it be the bench show or the nite hunt. The Apprentice is there to learn as much as he or she can from the three different officials while doing the apprenticeship.
The Apprentice at a bench show should be encouraged to evaluate a dogs gait and physically check every dog’s bone structure and conformation. The Apprentice and the Judge should discuss their evaluations amongst themselves but the Judge has to make the final decision in placing the dogs.
The same goes for the nite hunt. The apprentice should be encouraged to help take entries and draw out the casts. If a question comes back to the Master of Hounds, they should both listen and ask any questions they may have from the cast involved. Before the Master of Hounds makes the final decision, he should take the Apprentice off to the side and discuss the question. The Official should answer any questions the Apprentice may have and tell him what his final decision is and also explain why.
Basically, an apprentice should be looking to learn anything they can while serving under a licensed official. They may even learn what not to do! Fortunately Donald Trump is not a UKC Licensed Official. Most of our apprentices probably wouldn’t stand a chance!
A Class Win Is All I Need
Question: Let’s say a Registered dog only needs five or ten points to finish to Champion. I have seen it happen at shows where a dog wins class and then the handler withdraws the dog and does not show in the next class. Is the dog awarded its points for winning the class before it was withdrawn? JP/GA
Answer: Great question. Just because a dog has plus points and is the only dog left in a cast doesn’t mean the handler can call it quits and not finish the hunt. In a nite hunt, a dog must hunt the whole two hours of the hunt before it can be considered for placement.
Is a dog that wins Best in Show after an eligible dog did not show in the class, really the best dog in the show? Maybe it was, but there’s also a chance that it wasn’t. The point is, the dog that was withdrawn may very well have been the Best in Show had it been in the class! It is UKC’s interpretation that a dog will not receive points for a class won if it is withdrawn or scratched prior to the completion of the show.
Likewise, the same would go for a dog competing in a field trial or water race. Let’s say a dog wins a heat and advances to the next heat. Now the dog gets involved in fight and is scratched for fighting. The dog will not be awarded Championship Points for points earned in previous classes without completing the event.
Spectators
Question: Can spectators help shine trees if everyone in the cast agrees? MF/IA
Answer: Rule 17 states; “Spectators may not shine tree. Handler’s dog(s) will be scratched for rule violations by their spectators.” To put it quite simply, if you agree to let spectators shine, you are agreeing to violate the rules!
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