# Organising a Dog Show



## Tapir

Hi there

I am looking to organise a fun dog show, but I am unsure of where to start!

I have organised a dressage event before but was helped a lot by the club who use the venue letting us use their insurance...

What insurance, if any will i need?
Do i need proper judges (classes are only going to be fun)
What is a good price to charge for classes?
Would i need to supply things like water for the dogs or should that be up to owners?
I am going to do a doggie raffle and tombola too raise extra cash (not sure what charity for yet...maybe retired greyhound?


----------



## Merlin Birmingham

Tapir said:


> Hi there
> 
> I am looking to organise a fun dog show, but I am unsure of where to start!
> 
> I have organised a dressage event before but was helped a lot by the club who use the venue letting us use their insurance...
> 
> What insurance, if any will i need?
> Do i need proper judges (classes are only going to be fun)
> What is a good price to charge for classes?
> Would i need to supply things like water for the dogs or should that be up to owners?
> I am going to do a doggie raffle and tombola too raise extra cash (not sure what charity for yet...maybe retired greyhound?


As far as insurance for any event its advisable to have Public Liability Insurance unless the venue already has it which they should have but you will have to check there exclusions!


----------



## leoti

i would recomend looking here and for 10 pound they will provide the insurance for u

Organising a Companion Dog Show - The Kennel Club


----------



## Tapir

thank you for the advice.
i had a look on that page, do you NEED to liscence? i can't seem to find it it is essential or not?


----------



## leoti

Tapir said:


> thank you for the advice.
> i had a look on that page, do you NEED to liscence? i can't seem to find it it is essential or not?


You will need to fill in a Licence Application Form and send it to the Kennel Club with supporting paperwork from the charity of your choice and a fee of £10. Also we can provide Insurance for your show for a fee of £10 (inclusive of Insurance Premium Tax at 5%) if required, see below for more details. Also if you intend to hold Companion Dog Club Classes (see below), you will be entitled to Promotional Assistance, please complete section on the form as required.

taken from kennel club info


----------



## PennyH

Hi there
I organised a fun dog show at the school I work at last summer - it was great fun but exhausting as I didn't have much help!!!!
I made loads of lists so I didn't forget essentials and also made lots of signs so that people understood the ground rules such as Toilets this way (!!!!), Signs pointing to where the dogs could be exercised (obviously not on the school grounds), plenty of dog poo bags available and signs pointing out where to dispose of the poo.
I personally put out loads of bowls of water and it was someone's job to make sure they were filled regularly (it was a very hot day in June!)
I am organising it again in July this year - so have everything on my work computer.
If you want to pm me your email address, once I go back to school next week I would be more than happy to send you my notes, reminders etc if you think they would be any use.
I had to get special council permission cos obviously the school is funded by the local council - they were supposed to send a dog warden along too with advice etc, but on the day they got called away so didn't attend.
I also invited loads of people to run stalls - the rule I made was that if it was a charitable organisation such as a rescue centre, their stall was free, but if it was something that was going to make money (such as the local pet shop) I charged them £10. I also had a local ice cream van on site as well as organising a mobile sandwich /snack shop.
We charged £1.00 per class and have made the decision this year that we will close the entries as each class starts...... even at £1.00 per class and knowing the money was going to the school, we had several people who went to the ring and told the steward (my husband!!!!) that they had paid me to enter - when they hadn't really paid at all!!!!
Good luck and get as much help as you possibly can - oh and pray for good weather!!!!

Oh and I also had to do huge risk assessments for every possible eventuality - again because it was on school grounds.
I also had to agree to wash the whole playground with disinfectant as well as any benches /chairs that we used to ensure they were safe for the children to use afterwards!
I also had to get insurance but in my case it was done via the local council.


----------



## Tapir

wow that sounds fab! well done you! that would be great, i will pm you my email.

did you have a professional judge for the novelty classes? like waggiest tail etc?

i was also thinking about asking local training centre to borrow their agility equipment and have a mini obstacle course for dogs and owners!

thanks again for all the help!


----------



## moboyd

PennyH said:


> Hi there
> I organised a fun dog show at the school I work at last summer - it was great fun but exhausting as I didn't have much help!!!!
> I made loads of lists so I didn't forget essentials and also made lots of signs so that people understood the ground rules such as Toilets this way (!!!!), Signs pointing to where the dogs could be exercised (obviously not on the school grounds), plenty of dog poo bags available and signs pointing out where to dispose of the poo.
> I personally put out loads of bowls of water and it was someone's job to make sure they were filled regularly (it was a very hot day in June!)
> I am organising it again in July this year - so have everything on my work computer.
> If you want to pm me your email address, once I go back to school next week I would be more than happy to send you my notes, reminders etc if you think they would be any use.
> I had to get special council permission cos obviously the school is funded by the local council - they were supposed to send a dog warden along too with advice etc, but on the day they got called away so didn't attend.
> I also invited loads of people to run stalls - the rule I made was that if it was a charitable organisation such as a rescue centre, their stall was free, but if it was something that was going to make money (such as the local pet shop) I charged them £10. I also had a local ice cream van on site as well as organising a mobile sandwich /snack shop.
> We charged £1.00 per class and have made the decision this year that we will close the entries as each class starts...... even at £1.00 per class and knowing the money was going to the school, we had several people who went to the ring and told the steward (my husband!!!!) that they had paid me to enter - when they hadn't really paid at all!!!!
> Good luck and get as much help as you possibly can - oh and pray for good weather!!!!
> 
> Oh and I also had to do huge risk assessments for every possible eventuality - again because it was on school grounds.
> I also had to agree to wash the whole playground with disinfectant as well as any benches /chairs that we used to ensure they were safe for the children to use afterwards!
> I also had to get insurance but in my case it was done via the local council.


did you have to have anything like st. Johns ambulance there or 1st aiders?

Mo


----------



## waggytailsstore

Tapir said:


> Hi there
> 
> I am looking to organise a fun dog show, but I am unsure of where to start!
> 
> I have organised a dressage event before but was helped a lot by the club who use the venue letting us use their insurance...
> 
> What insurance, if any will i need?
> Do i need proper judges (classes are only going to be fun)
> What is a good price to charge for classes?
> Would i need to supply things like water for the dogs or should that be up to owners?
> I am going to do a doggie raffle and tombola too raise extra cash (not sure what charity for yet...maybe retired greyhound?


Hi Tapir
Good Luck with organising the show, it sounds like a lot of hard work, if you are allowing traders let us know the date you have in mind and, if we're not already booked up, we could come with our tradestand, we're always happy to donate either prizes or money towards the charity.
All the best


----------



## Tapir

waggytailsstore said:


> Hi Tapir
> Good Luck with organising the show, it sounds like a lot of hard work, if you are allowing traders let us know the date you have in mind and, if we're not already booked up, we could come with our tradestand, we're always happy to donate either prizes or money towards the charity.
> All the best


that sound brilliant thank you.

i will be in touch


----------

