Show Rules – Havana Silk Dog Association of America

HSDAA Show and Championship Rules and Procedures

Published September 23, 2011 Revised May17, 2022

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HSDAA SHOW RULES

A dog that is blind, deaf, altered (castrated or spayed) or a dog that does not have two normal testicles normally located in the scrotum, may not compete in the Provisional/Certified Classes except as set forth below and will be disqualified. A Dog that is blind or deaf may not compete in the Companion Classes and will be disqualified. When a judge finds any of these conditions in any dog he is judging, he shall disqualify that dog. When a dog has been so disqualified on three occasions it shall no longer be eligible to compete. Puppies and adults entered in the Companion Dog classes (as well as the Veteran, Veteran Champion, Grand Champion Veteran, the Stud Dog or Brood Bitch but not the offspring thereof, the oldest dog in the Generations Class and Brace classes when offered) may be altered and shown in pet clip, but should carry sufficient coat to evaluate. Veteran Champion Dogs and Veteran Grand Champion Dogs that are entered in the BOB and BISS classes and that are over 7 years old may be altered. A dog that in the opinion of the judge is a menace or threatens or exhibits any sign that it may not be safely approached by the judge or examined by the judge in the normal manner shall be excused from the ring. A dog so excused shall not be counted as having competed. A dog that is excused for menacing or threatening behavior, by a judge, on three occasions, shall no longer be eligible to compete. A dog that attacks any person in the ring shall be disqualified by the Judge. Any dog that has been disqualified under this section shall no longer be eligible to compete. Any dog , that in the opinion of 2/3 of the members of Board of Directors attacks a person at a HSDAA event resulting in an injury and is believed by the Board to present a hazard to persons shall be disqualified by the Board pursuant to this section and that dog shall no longer be eligible to compete. Any Board member, the Chair of any Show or any member of the Show Committee may decline any entries or may remove any dog from its show for cause, but in each instance shall file a report with the Board explaining the action.

HSDAA SHOW PROCEDURES

Exhibitors shall pre-register by the closing date listed (premium lists and entry forms will be available on the website). At the club’s discretion, day of show entries may be accepted but those dogs, of course, will not be listed in the show catalogue. Day of show entries will only be accepted until the start of the show each day. No entries will be accepted after the show begins. Only those dogs individually registered with HSDAA are eligible to be shown at HSDAA shows. Only dogs that are owned by HSDAA members are eligible to be shown at HSDAA shows. Exhibitors are expected to be ringside prior to the start of judging to pick up armbands. Classes will be called in catalogue order, and standard ring procedure will be followed. Judges will fill out a written report on each class dog, except for dogs entered in the Veteran and Grand Veteran classes, during the individual examination. Point cards will be awarded at the end of each class based on the judges’ score. Class placements and awards will be given out at the end of each class. First place winners from each class, except for the winner of the Veteran’s class, will compete for Winners Dog (WD) and Winners Bitch (WB) who, along with the HSDAA Junior Champions and Champions, (including those Veteran Champions that are 7 years or older that may be altered), are eligible to compete in the Best of Breed class, where Best of Breed (BOB), Best of Opposite Sex (BOS) and Awards of Merit (AOM) are awarded if there are sufficient dogs present. The BOB, BOS and AOM will be awarded the points associated with those wins specified below. The winner of the Veteran’s class will proceed directly to the BOB ring. In the BOB ring, the judge will also award a Best of Winners (BOW) from WD and WB, although BOW will not be awarded unless there is both a WD and WB in the BOB Ring. There will be no points awarded for WD, WB or BOW.

GRAND CHAMPIONSHIPS

All registered Havana Silk Dogs are eligible to earn points toward their Grand Championship (GCH),
including both Certified and Companion dogs. Past wins will count toward a dog’s GCH and all dogs
begin accumulating points from the time they are 6 months old and onward. Points may only be earned at
HSDAA sanctioned regional or national specialties. There must be a minimum of four Companion dogs
entered and present in a particular show for any dogs to earn GCH points. For Certified dogs there must
be a minimum of eight dogs entered and present for any dogs to earn GCH points. In order to obtain the
title of GCH a dog must be a Champion and earn a total of 50 points. Once a Champion dog earns 50
grand champion points it will no longer be eligible to compete in the ring for BOB. Instead, all GCHs
(including those Veteran Grand Champions that are 7 years or older and may be altered) present at a
show will compete for Best in Specialty Show (BISS), which shall take place immediately following the
BOB ring. The BOB winner will also be eligible to compete along with the GCHs for BISS for that show. If
there are no GCHs present, there will be no BISS ring and the BOB winner does not advance. If the BOB
wins BISS or any higher award in addition to BOB, the BOB winner will receive the points for the higher
award, but not in addition to the BOB points.
If there are at least 5 GCHs in the BISS ring, the judge shall choose a Reserve BISS (RBISS) winner. The
RBISS winner can be of either sex. If there are at least 10 GCHs in the BISS ring, in addition to a BISS
winner and RBISS winner, the judge shall pick a Select Dog (SD). For every additional 5 GCHs present in
the BISS ring the judge shall pick a SD. SD’s can be of either sex. The following schedule shall therefore
apply based upon the number of GCHs present:
1-4 GCHs present there would only be a BISS winner
5-9 GCHs present there would be a BISS winner and a RBISS winner
10-14 GCHs present there would be a BISS winner, a RBISS winner and 1 SD
15-19 GCHs present there would be a BISS winner, a RBISS winner and 2 SDs
20-24 GCHs present there would be a BISS winner, a RBISS winner and 3 SDs
25-29 GCHs present there would be a BISS winner, a RBISS winner and 4 SDs
30-34 GCHs present there would be a BISS winner, a RBISS winner and 5 SDs
The following point schedule will apply for each show:
BISS 10 points, RBISS 8 points, SD 6 points, BOB 5 points, BOS 4 points and AOM 3 points
In addition, for each AOM given at a show, each of the above winners will receive an additional grand
championship point. So if there are two AOM at a particular show, the BISS would receive 12 points, the
BOB would receive 7 points, the BOS would receive 6 points and the AOM would each receive 5 points.
Additionally, if there is a RBISS awarded the BISS winner will receive an additional 1 point. For each SD
chosen, the BISS winner, the RBISS winner and each Select Dog shall receive 1 additional point. For
example, if at a particular show there are 3 AOMs and 11 GCHs the BISS winner would receive 15 points
the RBISS winner would receive 12 points and the SD would receive 9 points.
Once a Champion dog earns 50 Grand Champion points it can use the title GCH before its name. In
addition the following levels may be achieved and the corresponding title may be used:
• Bronze GCH 100 GCH Points
• Silver GCH 150 GCH Points
• Gold GCH 200 GCH Points
• Platinum GCH 250 GCH Points
• Diamond GCH 300 GCH Points
It is incumbent on the owner/member of the dog seeking to earn its GCH to submit the form and all of the
records to the Show Records Chair to show that its dog has the requisite points to earn its GCH. The
Show Records Chair can then verify the wins with the Club’s official records.

CLASSES
COMPANION
* Companion Puppy (6 months. to 1 year) (dogs that are within 2 weeks of their 6 month birthday may be
shown in this class)
*Companion Junior (1 year to 2 years)
*Companion Adult (over 2 years)
*Companion Veteran (Comp dogs 7 years and older)
*Companion Best of Breed* (for Comp Junior CH dogs, Comp CH dogs, Comp WD Dog, Comp WB and
the winner of the Comp Veteran’s class)
*Companion Best In Specialty Show (for Comp GCHs and the Comp BOB winner if there are GCHs
entered and present.
PROVISIONAL/CERTIFIED
*Puppy (6 months to 1 year) (dogs that are within 2 weeks of their 6 month birthday may be shown in this
class)
*Junior (1 year to 2 years)
*Adult (over 2 years)
*Veteran (dogs 7 years and older and may be altered)
*Best of Breed (for Junior CH dogs, CH dogs, CH Veteran Dogs, WD, WB and the winner of the Veteran’s
class). Veteran Dogs and CH Veteran Dogs and that are seven years of age or older may be altered.
*Best in Specialty Show (for GCHs, Veteran GCHs and the BOB winner if there are GCHs entered and
present). Veteran GCHs that are seven years of age and older may be altered.
The Comp BOB and BOB classes would be open to all Junior Champions who are not yet two years old
and all Champions. When Junior Champions become age two, they are no longer eligible to compete in
the BOB ring, and they should enter the Adult Class to obtain the 2 additional Majors required for their
Championship and they can then compete in the BOB ring.

HSDAA TITLES
(note: Only dogs owned by HSDAA members are eligible for HSDAA titles

Companion Junior Champion
(Comp JrCH)

Companion Champion
(Comp CH)

Companion Grand Champion
(CompGCH)

Companion Bronze GCH
(Comp BGCH)

Companion Silver GCH
(Comp SGCH)

Companion Gold GCH
(Comp GGCH)

Companion Platinum GCH
(Comp PGCH)

Companion Diamond GCH
(Comp DGCH)

Junior Champion (JrCH)

Champion (CH)

Grand Champion (GCH)

Bronze GCH (BGCH)

Silver GCH (SGCH)

Gold GCH (GGCH)

Platinum GCH (PGCH)

Diamond GCH (DGCH)

Awarded to all companion dogs accumulating at least
15 Points and 2 Majors. (Age 6 months to 2 years old)

Awarded to all companion dogs accumulating at least
15 Points, with 2 Majors earned after the age of 2.

Awarded to those Comp CH accumulating at least 50 Grand Champion points

Awarded to those Comp GCH accumulating at least 100 GCH points

Awarded to those Comp GCH accumulating at least 150 points GCH points.

Awarded to those Comp GCH accumulating at least 200 GCH points

Awarded to those Comp GCH accumulating at least 250 GCH points

Awarded to those Comp GCH accumulating at least 300 GCH points

Awarded to dogs accumulating at least 15 Points, with 2 Majors. (Age 6 months to 2 years old)

Awarded to dogs accumulating at least 15 Points, with 2 Majors earned after the age of 2

Awarded to those CH accumulating at least 50 GCH points

Awarded to those GCH accumulating at least 100 GCH points

Awarded to those GCHs accumulating at least 150 GCH points

Awarded to those GCHs accumulating at least 200 GCH points

Awarded to those GCHs accumulating at least 250 GCH points

Awarded to those GCHs accumulating at least 300 GCH

Awarded to a sire (living or dead) who has produced 10 certified conformation Junior Champions or Champions or a dam (living or dead) that has produced 5 certified conformation Junior Champions or Champions (each offspring may only be counted once.)

POINTS AND MAJORS FOR CLASS DOGS
Point cards shall be awarded at an HSDAA show based upon each individual class dogs
conformation to the standard and judges shall fill out a written critique for each entry. There is no limit
on the number of point cards which may be awarded at any show or in any class.
Judges shall rate each dog in 12 areas of breed type and soundness as: Excellent, Good or Needs
Improvement, along with written comments, on a standardized form. Points awarded to each individual
dog at a show shall be based on the number of “Excellent” and “Good” ratings recorded on the dogs
critique as follows:
• A 5-point card shall be awarded to a dog receiving all “Excellent” ratings (Major)
• A 4-point card shall be awarded to each dog receiving at least 9 “Excellent” ratings, with the remainder
rated “Good” (Major)
• A 3-point card shall be awarded each dog receiving at least 6 “Excellent” ratings, with no more than 1
N.I. (Major)
• A 2-point card shall be awarded to each dog receiving at least 3″Excellent” ratings, with no more than 2
N.I. ratings.
• A 1-point card shall be awarded to each dog receiving at least 1″Excellent” rating, with no more than 3
N.I. ratings,

AWARDS AND ROSETTES
Companion Classes
• Comp BISS (Companion Best in Specialty Show)
• Comp RBISS (Companion Reserve Best in Specialty Show)
• Comp SD (Companion Select Dog)
• Comp BOB (Companion Best of Breed)
• Comp BOS (Companion Best of Opposite)
• Comp AOM (Companion Award of Merit)
• Comp BOW (Companion Best of Winners)
• Comp WD (Companion Winner’s Dog)
• Comp WB (Companion Winner’s Bitch)
Provisional/Certified Classes
• BISS (Best in Specialty Show)
• RBISS (Reserve Best in Specialty Show)
• SD (Select Dog)
• BOB (Best of Breed)
• BOS (Best of Opposite)
• AOM (Award of Merit)
• BOW (Best of Winners)
• WD (Winner’s Dog)
• WB (Winner’s Bitch)
The schedule determining the number of AOM for Companion and Provisional/Certified Classes
Comp GCHs and GCHs shall not count toward the number of dogs calculated to award AOMs..
Companion Classes
At least 4 entries………………………………. 1 AOM
5-8 entries……………………………………….. 2 AOMs
9-12 entries……………………………………… 3 AOMs
13-16 entries……………………………………. 4 AOMs
17+ entries………………………………………. 5 AOMs
Provisional/Certified Classes
At least 12 entries…………………………….. 1 AOM
13-24 entries……………………………………. 2 AOMs
25-36 entries……………………………………. 3 AOMs
37-48 entries……………………………………. 4 AOMs
49+ entries………………………………………. 5 AOMs

NON REGULAR CLASSES
At the National Specialty (and possibly other shows), Non-Regular classes may be offered. If they are
offered, these are the rules pertaining to those classes:
Stud Dog and Brood Bitch
Entries for the stud dog and brood bitch classes shall be made in the name of the Stud Dog or Brood
Bitch only. The dog or bitch shall be judged on the quality of the offspring and not the individual Stud Dog
or Brood Bitch. The Stud Dog and Brood Bitch will be examined by the Judge only to determine if it has a
condition which would cause it to be disqualified under our standard except that neutered dogs and
spayed bitches are eligible to compete. Only the handler of the Stud Dog and Brood Bitch will wear an
armband in these two classes and there is only one fee for the entry not for each dog. The entry shall
consist of the Stud Dog or Brood Bitch and at least two but not more than four of its offspring. The
offspring must be at least 6 months of age and be registered as provisionally certified or certified and be
intact. A Stud Dog or Brood Bitch that is entered in either category cannot be entered as an offspring in
the same class although a Brood Bitch could be entered in the Stud Dog class as an offspring of a Stud
Dog and vice versa. It is not necessary for the offspring to be of the same ownership as the Stud
Dog or Brood Bitch. It is not necessary for the dogs that are entered as offspring to be named at the time
of entry but they must be represented to be in fact offspring of the Stud Dog or Brood Bitch. The offspring
of the Stud Dog or Brood Bitch entered in these classes needs to be entered in a regular class. The Stud
Dog or Brood Bitch does not need to be entered in a regular class.
Brace
A brace entry shall be comprised of two dogs similar in appearance, performing in unison, and presented
by a maximum of two handlers. Brace entries must have at least one common owner or a common sire or
dam. The brace entry will be judged by the similarity and quality of their appearance. The dogs must be at
least 6 months of age and registered as a companion, provisionally certified or certified. Neutered or
spayed dogs are eligible to compete.
Dogs entered in the Brace class do not need to be entered in a regular class.
Puppy Sweepstakes
All puppies between the age of 4 -12 months are eligible to compete in the Puppy Sweepstakes. There
will be three member judges that will not be owners or breeders of any of the dogs entered. All dogs will
be judged using an Olympic-style 10 point system. Points from all three judges will be tallied after judging
is completed. The dogs will
be judged in each of the following categories and one overall score given by each judge (Type, Style,
Side Gait, Front Movement, Rear Movement, Hand Stack, Free Stack, Soundness, Temperament and
Overall Conformation). The dog with the most points will receive 50% of the total entry fee. The dog with
the second most points will receive30% of the total entry fee and the dog with the third most points will
receive 20% of the total entry fee. In the event of a tie the three existing judges and one more randomly
chosen judge will be issued new scorecards for evaluation of the two dogs that have tied. Dogs entered in
these classes need not be entered in a regular class. There are two sweepstakes, one for companion
puppies and one for provisional puppies. .
Generations Class
Entries shall be comprised of at least three but no more than five generation families with one member
from each generation regardless of sex, exhibited from the oldest to the youngest. Only the oldest
member of the entry
will enter the class and wear an armband and there is only one entry fee for the entry not for each dog. All
dogs must be at least 6 months of age and shall be registered as either provisionally certified or certified
and be intact. This
class is to be judged much like the Stud Dog or Brood Bitch classes, except the merits of all of the
generations are to
be considered. Except for the oldest dog in each generation class, dogs entered in the Generations Class
need to be entered in a regular class.
Bred by Exhibitor Class
This class is a breeders’ sho wcase for the specimens the breeder is most proud of and those that they
wish to represent the best of their kennel. Entries for this class must be shown by any of the breeders of
record of the dog. Dogs shown in this class must be at least 6 months of age and must be registered as
either provisionally certified or certified and be intact. Dogs entered in this class need to be entered in a
regular class.
Veteran Sweepstakes
All dogs over the age of 7 years are eligible to compete in the Veteran Sweepstakes. The Veteran
Sweepstakes will be conducted exactly as the Puppy Sweepstakes and the pay out shall be the same.
There shall be two sweepstakes, one for companion dogs and one for certified dogs. Dogs entered in the
Veteran Sweepstakes need not be entered in a regular class