How to enter a dog show
There are two ways. The traditional route means registering your dog, finding a sanctioned show, filling in entry forms, and driving to a field. The other route is a live online dog show you can join from your couch in about three minutes. This page covers both — honestly.
Watching The Dog Show is always free. Entering your own dog is free too — no subscription, ever.
The short answer: to enter a traditional in-person dog show, register your dog with a kennel club (in the US, the American Kennel Club), find a sanctioned show on the AKC Events Calendar, submit an entry form and fee before the closing date, and turn up on the day with a handler. To enter The Dog Show — a live online dog show that runs around the clock — upload a photo at dogshow.lol, name your dog, and pick the breed — it's free. Your dog joins the live rotation, collects votes from the audience, and gets a permanent show page. No breed requirements, no handler, no travel.
Traditional show vs. online show
Both are real dog shows. They just ask very different things of you and your dog.
How to enter your dog online in 4 steps
Start to finish, this takes about three minutes. Your dog doesn't even need to know it's happening.
What is a live online dog show?
The Dog Show is a live online dog show — a continuous stream where real dogs, uploaded by their owners, take a virtual stage one at a time. Everyone watching sees the same dog at the same moment, chats alongside it, and throws bones (think of them as votes) at the ones they love. It runs 24 hours a day, and watching costs nothing.
How the voting works
When your dog is on stage, viewers tap to send bones. Bones are votes: the more your dog collects, the higher it climbs. Everyone who registers gets a stack of bones to throw, and friends and family can pile on through your dog's shareable link. Want to rally extra support for a favorite? You can buy more bones in packs starting at $1.99 for 250.
The monthly Best in Show
Bones earned over a calendar month decide that month's champion. The top dog is crowned Best in Show and keeps the honor permanently on its page. Since bones can be bought as well as earned, the crown is partly pay-to-support — we'd rather say that plainly than pretend otherwise. It is, as far as we can tell, the least serious and most affectionate dog show on the internet.
Looking for a show near you instead?
If you specifically want an in-person event, the AKC Events Calendar lists sanctioned conformation shows across the US. And if you'd rather skip the drive, our dog show near me page explains why the nearest one is already on your screen.