Jim Rau Dog Shows: Schedules, Entries & Results

Who Is Jim Rau? (The Organizer Behind the Circuits)

Jim Rau Dog Shows isn't a single show or a single man standing ringside with a clipboard. Rau Dog Shows, LTD. is a company established in 1979 that specializes in organizing dog shows and related events, providing services such as online entries, show results, judging programs, and catalogs for dog show participants. The company is based in West Reading, Pennsylvania, and Rau Dog Shows was established in 1979 and has consistently grown and adapted through the years.

In the sport of conformation, the term you actually want is "superintendent." A superintendent is the company a kennel club hires to handle the logistics of a show, and Rau is one of the long-running names doing that work across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. A superintendent is a show official, usually a professional show managing company, licensed by the AKC and hired by the show-giving club to act as the coordinating management team for the show, usually generating and distributing the premium lists, receiving entries, creating catalogs, and providing the equipment needed. That's the job Jim Rau's office does, week after week, for dozens of independent dog clubs that don't have the staff to run entries and catalogs themselves.

Types of Shows Jim Rau Organizes

Rau's client list skews toward two categories: all-breed kennel clubs and single-breed specialty clubs, most of them clustered in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. Club pages and premium lists name Rau as superintendent for all-breed shows including Berks County Kennel Club, Lebanon County Kennel Club, York Kennel Club, Carroll Kennel Club, Boardwalk Kennel Club of Cape May County, Chambersburg Area Kennel Club, Suffolk County Kennel Club, Westbury Kennel Association, and Elmira Kennel Club, among others, based on listings at infodog.com and the clubs' own show records.

On the specialty side, Rau's recent premium lists show work for breed-specific clubs such as the Garden State Saluki Club, the Borzoi Club of Greater New York, the Komondor Club of America, and the Scottish Deerhound Club of America. If your dog's breed has a dedicated regional club, there's a decent chance a Rau-superintended event is where that club holds its annual specialty. The breadth runs from toy and terrier specialties to large all-breed clusters that run multiple days back to back, often pairing an all-breed show with co-located specialties and even obedience or rally trials on the same grounds.

If you're trying to figure out which circuit fits your dog, our breed guides cover temperament and ring presence for dozens of breeds, including ones that show up regularly on Rau's specialty calendar like the Dachshund and Golden Retriever.

How to Find Schedules & Premium Lists

The official source is raudogshows.com. The site's main navigation runs to Upcoming Shows, Online Entries, and Show Results. The upcoming shows page breaks events out by month, listing the show date, the hosting club, the location, and the entry closing date in a straightforward table format.

A premium list is the document that actually matters once you've spotted a show you want to enter. It's a publication created by the show superintendent, mailed or posted to prospective exhibitors, listing the host club, the date and location of the show, the judges, and the classes and awards offered, along with the entry forms and fees, and the closing date by which entries must be received. Rau posts these as downloadable PDFs tied to each specific show, and they're the only document you should trust for breed-specific class offerings, since the online entry system lists all classes offered at a show, not necessarily the classes offered in your particular breed, so you need to check the premium list for what's actually available to you.

Facebook's Rau Dog Shows page and club-specific group pages often repost schedule reminders faster than the website updates, which is why that platform ranks for schedule-related searches, but the premium list on raudogshows.com is still the binding document for entry fees, deadlines, and judge assignments.

Entering a Jim Rau Show: Step-by-Step

Once you've found the premium list for your show, entering follows a fairly fixed sequence:

1. Confirm eligibility. Your dog needs current AKC registration (or an ILP/PAL number for mixed-breed or unregistered purebreds in eligible events). A quick way to check your dog's registration status before you commit to an entry is our AKC dog lookup tool.
2. Read the premium list for your breed's classes. Confirm which classes (Puppy, Novice, Bred-by-Exhibitor, Open, and so on) are offered for your breed at that specific show.
3. Enter online or by mail. Online entries for events superintended by Rau Dog Shows can be made at raudog.co/entries. Mailed entries with fees go to the superintendent's Reading, PA address printed on the premium list.
4. Watch the closing date. Entries typically must be received by the superintendent approximately two and a half weeks prior to the event date, though Rau's own premium lists set the exact hour and date for each show, and limited-entry shows can close early once a cap is reached.
5. Pay the entry fee. Fees vary by club and by show, so always check the current premium list rather than assuming a flat rate.
6. Print your confirmation and judging program. Rau posts judging schedules close to show day so you know your ring and approximate time.

For a day-of refresher on what superintendents, catalogs, and armbands actually are once you're on the grounds, our animal competitions overview covers the general shape of how judged events like this run.

Viewing Results & Past Winners

Results from completed shows post to the Show Results section of raudogshows.com, organized by club and show date. Rau's site has also added a Points Calculator tool, a newer addition aimed at exhibitors tracking championship point progress across a season rather than one show at a time. For dogs entered at AKC events generally, official results and championship records also flow through the AKC's own database, so a dog's full win history isn't limited to what any single superintendent posts.

Common Questions from Entrants

How do I find a Jim Rau dog show near me? Check the Upcoming Shows page at raudogshows.com, which lists shows by month with location and closing date, or search by state on club-specific pages.

What's the difference between a Jim Rau show and an AKC show? There isn't one in the sense of competing systems. Rau is the superintendent, the company handling entries and logistics, for shows that are themselves licensed and governed by AKC rules. The club hosts the show, the AKC sets the rules, and Rau runs the paperwork.

Do I need AKC registration to enter? For standard conformation classes, yes, your dog needs AKC registration or an eligible ILP/PAL number. Some shows also offer non-regular classes like Beginner Puppy that have their own eligibility rules, listed in that show's premium list.

How much does it cost to enter? Entry fees are set by the hosting club and vary by show, so treat any number you see online as a rough estimate and confirm the current fee on that show's specific premium list.

When are shows scheduled? Rau's calendar runs year-round with heavier clustering in spring and fall, standard for the Northeast show circuit. Exact 2026-2027 dates are posted on the Upcoming Shows page as each club finalizes its contract, so check close to your target season rather than relying on last year's calendar.