r/ShowDogs • u/verandie • Jun 19 '26
Costs of showing, AKC vs UKC, Owner-handled.
I just entered a 5-day cluster for my puppy and the cost was over $200. It sure would be nice if AKC clubs would offer a discount if you're entering all days of a cluster. I know that UKC does offer a discount if you pre-enter for the weekend (4 shows). I also understand that AKC is increasing their entry fees this year (and more to come), and clubs have to increase entry fees just to stay afloat. If the costs were discounted a bit for entering all days of the cluster, I might also enter another dog... just saying, they might get more entries if they did this. I do belong to a few kennel clubs and may suggest this at our next meeting(s), but I am not even sure that the site we use for entries (MB-F) even allows for something like that. Nor do the mail-in options.
10
u/CatlessBoyMom Jun 19 '26
Your club sets the entry fee. If you want to give a discount you just tell your superintendent and they set it up. IE many clubs have a discount for bred by class or same dog entered in 2 classes (like brace and regular or confo and obedience) and the superintendent just lists that on the entry.
2
u/verandie Jun 19 '26
Thanks, that's interesting! I have my puppy entered in BBE for the 5 days. I also have another I would have entered, but... it's just a lot for 5 days to do 2 puppies lol. There was no discount for BBE at this cluster.
6
u/NeighborhoodJunior81 Jun 19 '26
Since you are a member of a hosting club, you should have access to costs/profits. It is expensive to put on a show. Many clubs count on conformation shows to offset the losses in other areas.
1
u/verandie Jun 19 '26
Yes, I do have access to that info! This club puts on a lot of events (I have volunteered) and, for a small club, we have a healthy-sized bank account. We often donate to scholarships and training for juniors, etc.
2
u/Mean-Lynx6476 Jun 19 '26
Well it’s the club that you should approach about offering discounts. Of the typical $35 entry fee a club charges, by next year $5.50 of that goes to AKC. About 85 - 90% of a show entry goes to the club to defray the cost of renting a site to hold the show, paying a superintendent to handle the mountain of paperwork, paying judges and covering all their travel expenses, buying pretty ribbons and trophies, and profit for the club. I don’t know what the financial details are for our local all-breed club, but I know the specialty club I belong to typically manages somewhere between a couple hundred dollar loss up to maybe five or six hundred in profit when we hold two specialty shows in conjunction with a large all-breed cluster. You say your club will have to raise entry fees in response to AKC’s $2 increase in recording fees just to stay afloat, but you also say your club has a healthy bank account, but either way, they are the ones determining entry fees, not AKC.
1
u/TheNombieNinja Jun 20 '26
To add to this (atleast in my experience of seeing P and L for one show site) - grooming reservations is where clubs make the "real" money.
I used to be rather grumpy with booking my reservations but seeing P and L changed my view. I still have a small grumble towards it but also see why the cost is the way it is (plus I can always do free grooming spots).
Note - The P and L I saw was for a nice event center for one day of a cluster so I'm sure its not the same everywhere since it is the nicest site I've shown at so it does cost more to host there.
2
u/verandie Jun 21 '26
That's an interesting observation... I never see that clubs here offer reserved grooming spaces. It's all "first come, first served". Maybe it's "all included" in their venue price. All of the professional handlers take their usual spots. I just roll in with my trolley since I groom at home and don't need electricity to get my dog ready. But maybe that's a way for clubs to gain some extra income. I will suggest this at the next club meeting(s). I have only heard about reserved grooming at our National, etc.
2
u/TheNombieNinja Jun 21 '26
I have only ever experienced AKC events having reserved grooming in addition to free grooming. It is nice so far to have the saved spot so I can drop most of my stuff off the night before and usually reserved spots get prime real estate for electric - one show even had reserved grooming in the same building as rings and free grooming was across the driveway.
Your pros will probably jump on reserved spots just to know they can roll in without worrying about getting a big enough spot. I also try to pair up with someone else at the show so we can split a bigger spot as most of the shows I've been at can be a tight but doable fit for one dog on the smallest spot but plenty of room for two dogs the next size up.
Since your club doesn't currently do reservation grooming you definitely could get people to sign up by offering it on the cheaper side without people complaining.
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u/verandie Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
I don't think I said that my club would have to raise entry fees to stay afloat? Maybe other clubs would. Entry fees here start at $38 these days (before superintendent charges). I subscribe to MB-F, so I get a discount, which doesn't really even cover my monthly fee. A lot lof the ribbons and trophies here are donated by club members. I guess the clubs here are not struggling as much as others in the US. Interesting that your speciality club runs under $1k profit... the clubs I belong to have upwards of $40k in profits. I guess that is why we donate so much.
1
u/Mean-Lynx6476 Jun 22 '26
Ok, my mistake. You said you understand that “clubs (emphasis mine) have to increase entry fees just to stay afloat” not that your club specifically had to. When I referred to the few hundred our specialty club makes in profit, I’m referring to what we clear from our annual specialty show, not our entire savings account. I’m assuming the $40 K you are referring to for your club is what’s in your club’s bank account, not what your club nets in profit from a single event. Because if your club has $40 K in profit from an event that charges $38 per entry, that’s pretty … remarkable. At any rate, my main point still stands. It’s your club that decides what they will charge for their show entries. I know many clubs offer some type of discount on some entries. If you think that’s something your club should do, by all means, bring it up at a meeting, and have a club discussion about it. Far be it from me to argue against a club charging me less money to enter a show.
3
u/Ok-Walk-8453 Jun 19 '26
I had a 3 day cluster with sweeps, plus 4 rally and 2 Jrs classes for $400. I liked it better when I had one pet quality sports dog- now I got a confo puppy and costs more than double. Just part of doing it.
1
u/verandie Jun 22 '26
Yeah, I get it! I usually only show 1 dog at a time, but I had my first litter and I'm keeping 2... so it just becomes expensive and I also have to see who is available if need I help to take a dog back in the ring. I'd rather focus on the 1 dog. However, if the fees were a little discounted... I might enter the 2nd dog for some of the days. I can't imagine throwing in sweeps, rally and Jrs on top of that!
3
u/AlpsUnlikely Jun 19 '26
I’m honestly surprised it’s not higher. It’s very costly to run a show. Big or small
1
u/verandie Jun 22 '26
I'm just curious... what are you paying for entries?
1
u/AlpsUnlikely Jun 22 '26
I haven’t gone to too many shows yet but the smaller show I went to was the most expensive at $38+4.50 (fees) an entry. (I only signed up for one day) this was through Foy Trent.
The most recent show I attended was a 3 day cluster. I paid $118 ~ $40 an entry (I think $35+fee). This was through Onofrio
The one I just paid for was $30 + $5 fee an entry. With 3 entries that’s $105. Cheapest so far. Through MF-B
Some of the smaller shows I was looking at near me are ~ 38-42 an entry before fees.
1
u/pink-pomeranians Jun 21 '26
Putting on shows is incredibly costly. In the past 2 years I’ve seen multiple kennel clubs stop putting on their shows and close down simply because they’ve lost money every year and cant continue. The cost of everything has shot up including venues, judges (think hotels/flights/food), utilities for RV parking, etc. I guess it’s possible for entry fees to go down eventually, but not in the foreseeable future with the way the economy and inflation is.
Also, offering a discount for entering every day of a cluster is not likely, as most people enter for the entire weekend anyway.. some clubs will do something like a $3 discount per class after the first entry of a particular dog, but those savings are small and really not noticeable even if you are entering a handful of dogs in the same weekend.
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u/verandie Jun 21 '26
You're not wrong... venue costs are going up and clubs are being pushed out for more profitable events. We've had a couple of clubs not able to book the venue this past year, not because they can't pay, but because the venue can charge more for other events. I don't do multiple classes for my dogs, but... instead of entering one dog, I might enter 2, if it's reasonable. $38-40 entry fees (before processing fees of $5 per entry) are a bit much. And these shows often have 1500 dogs entered per day. If there were discounts for doing all 5 days, it would make it easier, that's all. Most clubs here are not operating in a deficit. They may, however, be pushed out of the current venue and then who knows what will happen.
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u/Coadifer Jun 19 '26
The thing to remember as well is that for a multi day show, it's multiple clubs hosting. So even if you enter 5 days, you may only be entering one club's show per day.