Instructions
Register your dog with the American Kennel Club or an approved foreign registry. According to Infodog regulations, only dogs in the AKC stud book or recognized pedigree registries can compete at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show.
Complete an AKC conformation championship title on your dog. The Westminster Kennel Club dog show is a competition for conformation champions only. Championships in other registries such as the Canadian Kennel Club or for working titles such as obedience do not qualify your dog for the Westminster Kennel Club dog show.
Respond to your Westminster invitation by the required deadline if your dog receives one. Westminster issues an invitation each year to the five dogs with the most points in each recognized breed club. The number of dogs your dog has defeated in AKC breed competitions determines the points. The standings are determined for points earned from January 1 until October 31 of the year before the show. Check your breed kennel club standing for your dog and verify that all the points your dog earned are on the list.
Complete an entry form for your dog if you did not receive an invitation. Deadlines for the current year are listed at Infodog, AKC and Westminster Kennel Club Show sites. Generally, application acceptance is from the middle of November until the first seven to ten days of December. Only the owner of the dog or an authorized agent of the owner (the person who will be showing the dog) can sign the entry form.
Place one entry form and fee per dog in an envelope and send only through First Class Mail, United States Postal Service, according to Westminster Kennel Dog Show regulations. Enter as soon as possible as the registration limits entries to the first 2,500 received. On the envelope, write "Invitation" if it is an invitation acceptance. Mail the entry to this address:
MB-F, Inc.
P.O. Box 22067
Greensboro, NC 27420
How to Get Your Dog into the Westminster Kennel Club Show
The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show takes place each year in February at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY. Westminster is part of the American Kennel Club (AKC) and is part of the MB-F, Inc. Superintendent's region (Infodog). According to the AKC, Westminster was the first show to include a competition for winners of each breed or "Best in Show."