AKC Champion vs Grand Champion??? - Page 1

What is an AKC Champion and how does it differ from a Grand Champion? I am on the sport side of the house and understand how/why a dog looses points in their performance. I understand what a dog must do in order to achieve IPO titles and UScA training certificates, but i am really lost as how a dog gets AKC Champion or Grand Champion titles. I have been to a few AKC shows here in Phnx but i dont really get what i am looking at and the few people i have asked at the shows were not really able to answer the question.

  Does a dog achieve Champion ship status because they won a show at a certian level, like a regional or national event?

https://www.apps.akc.org/classic/events/conformation/counting_points.cfm

https://www.apps.akc.org/classic/events/conformation/counting_grand_championship_points.cfm

AKC events award points to dogs who go Best of breed and best of opposite sex when; 1 ] a minimum number of dogs are shown [ different for each breed and is determined by the amount of individual dogs  being shown, hence the more popular the breed the more dogs must be shown to acheive points]   2 ]  Shows award to the breed winners from 1 point to five points, again depending on how many dogs are at that event. 3] to become a Champion a dog must receive 15 points with at least 6 points being from a ''major show''. 4 ] a magor show is 3,4, or 5 points again depending on the amount of dogs shown. You will not be a Champion of record with 15 wins of 1 points. 5] I believe a grand Champion is a APBT thingy and has nothing to do with the GSD

Thank you both. So you have to accumulate points from different shows and different judges and once you have accumulated enough you get a Championship or Grand depending on what shows you have gotten what points from... Wow and i thought trialing for sport was expensive. No wonder why show people generally arrive in Motor homes and us sport people pile into a Motel 6 room :)

It probably costs more to show AKC style because no one title is earned in only one show or trial.  While your dog can earn an IPO 1 or 2 or 3 in one trial, that doesn't happen with AKC titles. The fastest you can title a dog in an AKC venue is in OB where it takes 3 qualifying scores at 3 different trials under 2 different judges. Also AKC people tend to want to keep showing the same dog after it wins it's championship. Many want their dog to be in the top 10 of their individual breed and so forth.

Most of the RV's belong to the professional handlers. AKC people rarely own dog trailers. AKC handlers don't charge as much as SV handlers and the entry fees aren't as high.

I could be wrong but aren't AKC the Champions and the dogs at UKC events termed Grand Champions?

I used to do limited AKC showing way back in the '70's but more recently  looked into showing UKC and they apparently are much less fussy and more fun oriented.

I just don't understand all the IPO and working dogs shows at all.

AKC now also does Grand Championships. I remember when they first started doing it, a lot of people brought their champions out of retirement to get their GRCH.

To earn Grand Champion status, the dog must be a Champion already, and earn 25 points with 3 major wins (wins worth 3 points or higher). You need to win under at least 4 different judges. You also must beat another Champion at one of the shows.

http://www.apps.akc.org/classic/events/conformation/counting_grand_championship_points.cfm

UKC does both Champions and Grand Champions as well, although the requirements, in my opinion, are not quite as difficult as in AKC. It is not impossible for a working line GSD to get a Ch or GRCH in UKC like it pretty much is in AKC.

In UKC you get a Grand Champion when your Champion dog has beat at least two other Champions in the Champions class 5 times under 3 or more different judges.  It was changed from 3 to 5 wins.

Thanks for the explanations.  I am glad I am not doing any showing anymore.  Sounds too complicated.  And, expensive!