Editor's Notes on Conditional Entries

Editor's Notes

June 22, 2016

Even More On Conditional Entries
This column originally appeared in the June 2016 issue of Coonhound Bloodlines.

I really hate to keep harping on Conditional Entries, because it is (in theory) a great program for our exhibitors.

Here we go again. A dog must be permanently registered before it may be entered in any UKC Licensed event. Permanently Registered really does mean just that. It does not mean that your dog’s “Application for Permanent Registration” (commonly referred to as “Puppy Papers”) has been mailed to UKC, and you are pretty sure they have been processed. If you do not have your dog’s papers (and Easy Entry Card) in hand, verifying that the dog has been permanently registered, you should not enter it in a UKC Licensed event as a Conditional Entry. (This does not apply to transfers, as the dogs being entered are already permanently registered. They are just being transferred to a new owner.)

Unfortunately, far too many instances have come up where dogs have gone on to major wins when they are not permanently registered. Guess, what? Not only do they lose all the points they really didn’t earn anyway, they have taken those points and wins away from a permanently registered dog that was eligible to earn them. Best Male or Female of Show, for example.

A real interesting example came up recently when it was discovered that a Conditionally Entered dog won first place Registered on Saturday at Purina Points Event, qualified at an RQE, and had earned enough points to become a Nite Champion. When the owner was contacted, we found out that the dog’s papers have never been sent in at all. Just think how many eligible dogs potential wins/points were taken away by that dog.

When someone enters a dog Conditionally, it is not the entry taker’s responsibility to verify that the dog is permanently registered; that responsibility lies with the individual entering the dog. A dog entered as Conditional, but not yet permanently registered, is an ineligible entry.

We have heard many excuses for ineligible entries. Usually, it’s simply that most people do not understand the time sequence involved with the registration process. Just because a dog’s papers were mailed two weeks before the event, does not mean their papers will have been received and processed, and are on their way back to the owner. We are currently at the mercy of the postal system for both receipt and delivery. That’s not an excuse, just a fact we all have to live with. Then, once the application is received at UKC, it can be from seven to ten business days before it is processed and, after that, mailed. That’s why our applications all state, “Please allow 4-6 weeks for processing.”

We also hear from clubs and entry takers that the owner said they called UKC and were told that “everything is okay, and they can enter an event.” That’s simply not the case. No one in the UKC office will ever tell a caller that it is okay to enter an event.

If you, as the dog’s owner, are confused about entering a dog Conditionally, it means you probably shouldn’t do it. As the old axiom says, it’s better to be safe than sorry.