Futurity Rules & Regulations

Futurity Rules & Regulations

1) The Futurity is an annual event sponsored by the Great Dane Club of America, Inc. and is exclusively for the competition of puppies and juniors between three (3) months and under eighteen (18) months of age.

2) The Futurity is open to member breeders (and members of their immediate families) in good standing with the Great Dane Club of America, Inc. or one of the affiliated clubs provided that all other requirements are met. Where the nominate bitch is co-owned, one co-woner must be a member of the Great Dane Club of America or one of the affiliate clubs at the time of the breeding. The owner , or the co-owner, of the stud dog is NOT the breeder unless said stud dog owner or co-owner, is a co-owner on the bitch at the time of the breeding of the litter.

3) Bitches may be nominated at any time between the BREEDING and before the WHELPING dates.

4) All dogs are made eligible for competition BEFORE they are born, however, it is only through the bitch that they are made eligible. Nominations of bitches must be made after the bitch is bred and before the bitch whelps. Only puppies whelped by nominated bitches AFTER th date of nomination are eligible. The date of the Post Office cancellation stamp on the envelope will determine the date of nomination. A fee of $15.00 shall accompany the n omination of each bitch. This constitutes the first nomination.

5) Puppies from litters whelped by nominated bitches are eligible even though sold to a new owner between the whelping date and the date of the Futurity. The new owner need not be a member of the Great Dane Club of America, inc. or one of its affiliated clubs provided that the nomination of the bitch was made by a member breeder.

6) Upon verification of eligibility, the breeder will be sent a form on which to nominate individual puppies from the litter. A fee of $10.00 is required for each puppy nominated from each litter nominated (there is no limit on the number of puppies nominated from any one litter) and the nominations must be made BEFORE the litter is three (3) months old. The Post Office cancellation stamp on the envelope will determine that this nomination has been made prior to the date the litter reached three (3) months of age. This constitutes the second nomination.

7) An additional fee of $15.00 will complete each individual nomination. This will be done on a separate entry/nomination blank which will be sent to the breeder for each individual puppy nominated. This entry/nomination will be filled out to include: the name of the puppy, litter or individual registration number, name of breeder, date of whelp and name and address of actual owner. After the Futurity closes, the receipt of entry will be mailed to the actual owner.

8) The final nomination which also serves as an entry to the futurity is due each year by the third Friday in August.

9) Puppies from three (3) months of age and under twelve (12) months of age shall only be required to comete against each other. Similarly, Juniors from twelve (12) months of age and under eighteen (18) months of age shall only be required to compete against each other.

10) CLASSESS. Classes will be divided according to age and sex as follows. Classes with large entries may also be divided into A, B, C and D Divisions as needed. Every effort will be made to separate litter mates of the same sex.

1. Puppy Dogs – 3 months & under 5 months; Puppy Bitches – 3 months & under 5 months
2. Puppy Dogs – 5 months & under 7 months; Puppy Bitches 5 months and under 7 months
3. Puppy Dogs – 7 months & under 9 months; Puppy Bitches 7 months and under 9 months
4. Puppy Dogs – 9 months and under 12 months; Puppy Bitches 9 months and under 12 months

The winners of the Puppy Dog classes will compete against each other for Best Puppy Dog and Reserve Puppy Dog. The winners of the Puppy Bitch classes will compete against each other for Best Puppy Bitch and Reserve Puppy Bitch. The Best Puppy Dog will compete against the Best Puppy Bitch for BEST PUPPY.

1. Junior Dogs – 12 months & under 15 months; Junior Bitches – 12 months & under 15 months
2. Junior Dogs – 15 months & under 18 months; Junior Bitches – 15 months & under 18 months

The winners of the Junior Dog classes will compete against each other for Best Junior Dog and Reserve Junior Dog. The winners of the Junior Bitch classes will compete against each for Best Junior Bitch and Reserve Junior Bitch. The Best Junior Dog will compete against the Best Junior Bitch for BEST JUNIOR.

The Best Puppy will compete against the Best Junior and the winner will be designated BEST IN FUTURITY. The BEST OF OPPOSITE SEX TO BEST IN FUTURITY will be judged by composition between the best Puppy and Best Junior of the sex opposit to best in Futurity.

1. GDCA Trophies will be awarded to Best in Futurity, Best Puppy, Best Junior, Best Puppy Dog, Best Puppy Bitch, Best Junior Dog, Best Junior Bitch, Reserve Puppy Dog, Reserve Puppy Bitch, Reserve Junior Dog and Reserve Junior Bitch. The Breeder of the Best in Futurity will receive the Breeder of Best in Futurity trophy.
2. In the event that a change must be made in the show date, then the original date shall be the one used in determining eligibility of nominees. Should the show date be set after the original date, then the age limit shall be incrased to take care of the differences in time from the original date to the revised date and the nominees affected shall still be eligible for competition in the Junior classes.

Nominations of bitches and nominations of puppies must be on official forms supplied by the Futurity Statistician or downloaded from The GDCA Website and must be accompanied by checks or money orders made payable to the Great Dane Club of America, Inc.

Entry fees will be retained in the event a nominated bitch or puppy is found to be ineligible under the above conditions.