# How to decide which class to enter



## Christen113 (Dec 3, 2014)

Cooper is about to outgrow the puppy classes--he’s 11 months today. We have a few shows coming up one week after he turns 1 so I’m debating the classes to enter him in. My thought was if they offer Amateur Owner Handler to enter that if I’m showing him-I figure it will excuse any mistakes I may make while handling him but will that also mean that the judge won’t give me a second look in Winner’s? My thought is to take the path of least resistance to the Winner’s Ring but maybe that’s not the best option. Any thoughts on Am-Bred instead of 12-18? It seems like we generally have fairly large 12-18 classes here. Thanks for your input!


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## Kmullen (Feb 17, 2010)

Depends on how mature he is. I had my 16 month old boy in open in small shows. If not, I would do 12-18 class. If he looks good but not ready for open, you could do am bred.

I like to be in classes that have other dogs in it. I hate to be the only one... Bc I feel rushed. I feel AOH class will be just you.


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## LJack (Aug 10, 2012)

I would not suggest AOH. I have personally never seen a winners come from that class. Maybe at a regional or national but at little shows it is not going to get you anywhere IMHO. If you are an new amature, you need ring time and exposure. You are not getting that in a class of one. Though a big competitive class may not get you wins now, the extra ring time and getting comfortable in your skin in the ring are well worth the investment. Also, some judges see this as this as the adult version of showmanship and tend to look at you and not the dog, not where you want the focus. 

I would put him in 12-18 or Open depending on maturity. I am not a very big fan of Am Bred either but have used it when my bitch aged out of 12-18 and was not quite ready for open. If you do win a big 12-18 class, I think that is a positive for the judge looking at a 12-18 in the Winners ring.


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Part of the problem with AOH class is no one uses it. And when people do it's usually very obvious they are inexperienced. I see winners out of 12-18 pretty often so I would probably go there or open.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

12- 18 is a very good class from which to win. While Open usually pulls the winner statistically, I have had my dogs either finish from 12-18 or get most of their points from there. If the judge doesn't love the Open class presented, 12-18 is the go-to and the youngness of the dogs excuses more things than does Am Bred. Although you can win from AM Bred, it usually is for a handler's second priority dog or a dog the owner is saying cannot compete with open. I think 12-18 is a precious time, loaded with opportunity.


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## Christen113 (Dec 3, 2014)

LJack said:


> I would not suggest AOH. I have personally never seen a winners come from that class. Maybe at a regional or national but at little shows it is not going to get you anywhere IMHO. If you are an new amature, you need ring time and exposure. You are not getting that in a class of one. Though a big competitive class may not get you wins now, the extra ring time and getting comfortable in your skin in the ring are well worth the investment. Also, some judges see this as this as the adult version of showmanship and tend to look at you and not the dog, not where you want the focus.
> 
> I would put him in 12-18 or Open depending on maturity. I am not a very big fan of Am Bred either but have used it when my bitch aged out of 12-18 and was not quite ready for open. If you do win a big 12-18 class, I think that is a positive for the judge looking at a 12-18 in the Winners ring.


Interesting and I can see the focus not being on the dog which totally defeats the purpose.


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## Christen113 (Dec 3, 2014)

I appreciate all of the feedback!!


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

I've entered AOH locally and at national. Locally I was the only dog in the class. I hate being the only dog. Didn't go well. Nationally it was fun. Large class, but not too large. I had plenty of time to play with my dog and have fun. Other than national, I wouldn't do AOH.


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