🏆 Dog of the Season 2025/2026 — Scoring System Explained

Published On January 21, 2026

The Dog of the Season Leaderboard recognizes consistent performance throughout the show year. Points are accumulated from two sources:

Rating & Placement Points (earned within class competition)
Award Points (earned from Best of Breed, Group, Best in Show, CACIB, etc.)

Both contribute toward the season totals, rewarding depth, consistency, and competitive strength.

📊 1. Rating & Placement Points

Before any awards are considered, every dog earns points based on the rating given by the judge and its placement within its class.

🐾 Rating Hierarchy

Ratings are prioritized in the following order:

Excellent (Ex)
Very Good (VG)
Good (G)
Very Promising (VP)
Promising (P)
Sufficient (S)

A higher rating always outranks a lower rating, regardless of numeric placement.

🏁 How Points Are Assigned

Within each class:

The dog with the highest rating and placement receives points equal to the total number of dogs entered in that class
Points descend sequentially down to 1 point for the last-ranked dog

This rewards participation depth — a larger class creates more points for all dogs.

📍 Example Scenario

A class of 9 dogs receives the following:

Dog	Result
Dog 1	Ex 1
Dog 2	Ex 2
Dog 3	Ex 3
Dog 4	G 1
Dog 5	G 2
Dog 6	G 3
Dog 7	VP 1
Dog 8	VP 2
Dog 9	P 1

Interpretation

All Ex dogs outrank all G, VP, and P dogs.
Within a rating category, numeric placement determines order.
Ratings determine tiers; placements sort within tiers.

Point Outcome

Dog 1: 9 points — highest rating & placement
Dog 4: 6 points — top dog in the G tier
Dog 9: 1 point — lowest available rating in the class

This system encourages handlers to compete in stronger classes, as depth increases points for everyone.

🥇 2. Award Points

In addition to class results, dogs earn Award Points from titles achieved during the show. These points recognize excellence at Breed, Group, and Best in Show levels, as well as FCI/CACIB results.

🎖️ All Breed Show Awards

Award	Points
Best in Show	50
2nd Best in Show	40
3rd Best in Show	30
Best Junior in Show	25
Best Puppy in Show	20
Best Minor Puppy in Show	10
Best Veteran in Show	5

🐕 Group & Breed Level Awards

Award	Points
Best in Group	5
Best of Breed	5
Best of Opposite Sex	5
Best Veteran of Breed	5
Best Junior of Breed	5
Best Puppy of Breed	5
Best Minor Puppy of Breed	5

🌍 FCI / CACIB Awards

Award	Points
CACIB	20
R.CACIB	10
CAC	10
J.CACIB	10
J.CAC	10
V.CACIB	5
V.CAC	5

📌 Multipliers for Competitive Strength

Two major awards scale based on entries — rewarding larger competitive fields.

Best of Breed (BOB)

BOB Points = Base Points × Total Dogs of Breed Entered

Example:
Base 5 pts × 12 entries = 60 pts

Best in Group (BIG)

BIG Points = Base Points × Total Dogs Entered in Group

Example:
Base 5 pts × 21 entries = 105 pts

These multipliers ensure wins in deep competition are recognized appropriately.

🎯 Why This System Works

The combined scoring:
✔ rewards participation
✔ values competitive strength
✔ encourages improvement of breeding programs
✔ highlights year-round consistency

The final leaderboard reflects the dogs that excel across multiple shows and competitive fields throughout the season.

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