United Kennel Club

The United Kennel Club (UKC) is the second oldest all-breed registry of purebred dogs in the United States and the second largest in the world. The UKC records 250,000 registrations annually, from all 50 states and 25 foreign countries. The UKC is not part of the International Canine Organization, Fédération Cynologique Internationale, as most other countries' kennel clubs are.

History

The UKC was founded by Chauncey Z. Bennett in 1898. The UKC states that Bennett formed the club in order to provide a registry for working pit dogs as opposed to the American Kennel Club's emphasis on dog conformation shows. Some UKC detractors claim that the club was originally formed so that the founder could register his American Pit Bull Terrier, Bennett's Ring.

Bennett conceived and promoted the concept of the "total" dog, that is, a dog that performs as well as it looks; in which intelligence and working ability was as important as conformation to the show bench standard. Bennett found a niche among the owners of herding and hunting dogs. The UKC was innovative in the establishment of competitions and the use of DNA testing to establish parentage. Eventually the club expanded into other areas, including dog sports and more recently conformation, and today sponsors a variety of conformation, obedience, hunting, and agility shows and trials.

The current president of the UKC, Wayne Cavanaugh, is a former Vice President of AKC. In a 2000 interview with BJ Andrews for thedogplace.com, Cavanaugh defined the UKC as "a performance dog registry" and advocated cooperation rather than competition between the two clubs.

Registration

There are three ways to register a dog with the UKC:

• Single Registration is for dogs whose parents are not UKC registered, but are registered by another approved entity.
• Limited Privilege allows purebred dogs of unknown pedigree, and mixed breed dogs, to participate in obedience, agility, dock jumping, lure course, and weight pulling.
• Litter Registration is for puppies whose parents are both UKC registered dogs.

Top 5 Registered Breeds:

• Treeing Walker Coonhound
• American Pit Bull Terrier
• Bluetick Coonhound
• English Coonhound
• Black and Tan Coonhound

Programs

The programs at UKC include Obedience Trials, Rally Obedience Trials, Agility Trials, Weight Pull Events, Drag Races, Dock Jumping Events, Lure Coursing, Nosework, Total Junior Program, Coonhound Field Trials, Water Races, Nite Hunts and Bench Shows, Hunt Tests for retrieving breeds, Pointing Dog Events, Beagle Events (including Hunts and Bench Shows, and Cur and Feist Squirrel and Coon Events and Bench Shows).

Hunting programs

UKC offers a wide variety of field events for all types of hunting dog enthusiasts. The events offered by the Hunting Programs Department at UKC are designed to as closely simulate an actual hunt as possible with the exception of taking of game, which is strictly prohibited. Dogs compete, sometimes individually and sometimes in a group depending on the event, for points towards Championship and Grand Championship titles. All UKC Hunting program Events are designed around a family atmosphere where owners are not only encouraged to handle their own dog, but in some cases, specific provisions against professional handlers are in place

UKC championship

For the United Kennel Club (US) (UKC Ch), a combination of points (for example, winning the class earns 10 points in non-variety breeds, 5 in variety breeds) and competition wins (including group placements and Best In Show/Reserve Best in Multi-Breed Show) are required. In UKC a dog must receive 100 points with at least three competition wins under three different judges. A competition win is a when a dog defeats at least one other dog and receives points. A UKC Grand Champion (GRCh) title is earned by winning in competition with other champions of the breed in at least five shows under at least three different judges.

See also

• American Kennel Club
• American Bulldog Registry

External links

• Official United Kennel Club site