Australia

reported by Maree Harding
Photo for this section provided by Maree Harding.
BIS. Ch. Idylewins Black Chat - winner of 22 BIS awards and one of Australia's top winning and most consistent cockers of the mid to late 80's.

BIS. BISS. Ch. Merriyank Meadow Song (Black) - Multiple BIS winner and Specialty BIS winner. One of Australia's top winning and most consistent bitches of the 80's.

BISS Ch. Idylewins Sophie. Australia's first specialty BIS winning Parti color.

The Dog Show Scene "Down Under" varies a good deal to that of the USA. Though in certain aspects it seems to be catching up!

Cocker Spaniels in Australia are referred to as American Cocker Spaniels with the Cocker Spaniel name belonging to their English cousins. This has the potential to create a little confusion - especially for the English Cocker folk here surfing the net!!

In the showring here all three varieties compete together for Championship points, and champions and non champions compete together in the classes. We have no such thing as a "special". A dog once titled still continues to compete from the same classes against other champion and/or non champion dogs.

Classes are divided by age, the following being offered at the majority of shows;
Baby Puppy (3-6 months)
Minor Puppy (6-9 months)
Puppy (6-12 months)
Junior (9-18 months)
Intermediate (18 months - 3 years)
Open (described as 6 months and over, but usually consisting of those over 3 years).

These classes are offered for both dogs and bitches. Judging commences with the dogs, the class winners are assembled at the conclusion of the Open Class (with the exception of the Baby Class winner - only exhibits over the age of 6 months are eligible to compete for points) and these class winners are then judged for Dog Challenge award. This is similar to the American Winners Dog with the exception that Champions also compete for the points. The Dog Challenge awarded, the 2nd place winner from the same class is then brought into the ring to compete for Reserve Dog Challenge. This system is repeated for the Bitch Challenge and Reserve Bitch Challenge awards.

The Dog and Bitch Challenge winners then compete for Best of Breed. Lets say the Dog Challenge winner takes BOB - then the Reserve Dog Challenge winner comes back into the ring to compete for Runner Up to Best of Breed. This is followed by the respective "run-offs" between the class winners in dogs and bitches for Best Baby Puppy of Breed, Best Minor Puppy of Breed etc.

Once all the breeds are judged in the Gundog Group - Group Specials commence. Best of Breed winners compete for Best Exhibit in Group (the equivalent of Group 1st) and the Runner Up to Best of Breed winner to that dog then enters the ring to compete for Runner Up to Best in Group (an equivalent of Group 2nd). These are the only Group placements - there is no 3rd or 4th Group placements. These awards are then followed by Best Baby Puppy in Group, Best Minor Puppy in Group etc.

Finally for Best in Show - Each of the seven Group winners compete. The Runner Up to Best in Group winner to the Best in Show dog enters to compete for Runner Up to Best in Show and there are also winners selected for the Classes in Show as well. Best Baby Puppy in Show, Best Minor Puppy in Show etc.

Points towards the Australian Championship are awarded subject to the number of dogs exhibited. 5 points plus one point for each dog exhibited. Thus if you are the only dog or bitch you are awarded 6 points (at the discretion of the judge of course). 10 dogs and 5 bitches would make the Dog Challenge worth 15 points and the Bitch Challenge worth 10 points. From January 1st 2000, extra points now cross over to the Best of Breed winner. One point is awarded for each dog/bitch exhibited of the opposite sex for the Best of Breed winner. The Best in Group and Best in Show win is generally worth 25 points each, however the maximum number of points that can be won at any one show is 25 so these are not accumulative with the Challenge Points. The total points required for the Australian Championship title is 100.

At the beginning of 1998 a new title was introduced - the Australian Grand Champion. The criteria for this title is that a dog must have accumulated 1000 points, and at least one Challenge Certificate had to be obtained on or after the 1st January 1998. So far there have been several Cockers attain this title, however there were also many many top winners of the past who had also attained the 1000 point level which sadly will never be recognised because they were unable to compete for that 1998 certificate.

We have two Specialty Clubs in Australia, both on the East Coast - one in Melbourne and one in Sydney. Both these clubs have in the past drawn large entries for their shows, however it would seem that in the past 10 years or so breed numbers have diminished somewhat. The largest breed entry in this country was approximately 120 but that was some time ago. Specialty show entries have dropped to 80 and below. The Clubs have endeavoured to secure the judging services of overseas specialists wherever possible, but this is a very expensive project for any Club with such small resources. Entries for the majority of shows in Australia cost approximately $8 per class - Specialty shows are generally a little higher.

In this country we do not have Professional Handlers, the majority of dogs being owner handled. This combined with average entry fees of $7.00 per dog for regular All Breeds Shows, and less emphasis on advertising, would seem to make our Dog Showing Sport somewhat less expensive to partake in than our fellow USA fanciers seem to incur.