A Beginner's Guide to the Western Washington Dog Show Cluster

We  get it - the world of AKC dog shows can seem a lot a secret society. Figuring out how to enter one, or even just how to attend, requires copious amounts of patience and detective skills.  That's why we've broken it down for you, dear readers who are not already members of the secret sisterhood of dog fanciers, so you can get the most out of the Western Washington Dog Show Cluster, which will take place in Puyallup, Washington immediately following our Water Work Day event on July 5.

The Western Washington Summer Dog Show Cluster is a series of dog shows put on by the Puyallup Valley Dog Fanciers (PFDF) in conjunction with the Gig Harbor Kennel Club and the Seattle Kennel Club.  It is held at the Washington State Fair Mattress Firm Showplex in Puyallup, Washington.  The summer cluster will be held July 6, 7, and 8, 2024, from 8am to 5pm each day.  A detailed schedule of the summer shows has not yet been posted, but when it is available it will be posted by the PVDF on their website. To get a jump start on what to expect, here's an example of what they posted for their winter cluster of shows, which happened in January 2024.

Show dog clubs often aren't great at handling money, so they typically hire an independent company to handle the registration of entries and collection of money for the show. These "event services" companies use cutting edge 1980s technology to set up registration pages and take your money. It takes some time to set up 1980s technology for each show, so you generally won't see the entries open until about two months before the show. 

The Western Washington Summer Dog Show Cluster entry forms will appear on the BaRay Events site when it is ready, likely in late April or early May. 

If you're new to dog shows and want a basic primer, this Beginner's Guide to Dog Shows from the AKC is pretty good, despite being created with 1980s technology. 

If you're ready for a little more detail and think you might want to enter your dog in the show, check out this page from the AKC on how to get started in conformation ("conformation" is the beauty pageant part of dog shows; judges decide which dogs conform most closely to the standard for the breed). And here's a good page on how to decide which class to enter your dog in for conformation.  

If you have an eligible Spanish Water Dog and want to enter it in the Spanish Water Dog specialty that will take place on July 6 during the dog show cluster, David and Ruth Milstein, who are chairing the specialty committee, have graciously volunteered to answer questions.  You can contact them at swdca.directoreast@gmail.com.  

One more thing to know: the people who run dog shows don't want you to bring dogs that are not entered in the show to the show venue; sometimes there are even strict rules against having non-entered dogs on the show grounds.  What can you do if your dog is a non-conformist, but you still want to bring him or her? Good news -- there is a loophole.  It's called "performance events" and "companion events." At the Western Washington Dog Show Cluster, the three main performance events that are likely to be held this summer are Fast CAT, Fetch, and Scent Work. The companion events that will be held include Obedience, Agility, and Rally. Check out the rules for each, and enter your dog in one or both when the online entries open. 

Like Dorothy's Toto in the Wizard of Oz, we hope that we've help pull back the curtain on the wizardry of dog shows enough to get you started.  If you have any questions or other tips for beginners, feel free to post them in the comment section below.