Your advisor for the AKC show weekend
Every AKC show weekend as one clear guide: when entries close, who's judging, where you're going, and how to get there — checked against the official sources.
Closing deadlines for the featured weekends. Entries go through the superintendent — never through ThePetAdvisor.
The national flagships — upcoming shows in date order, visible here whatever state or division you're browsing.
Oct 20261–4Thu–Sun
Eastern Pennsylvania
Where: Macungie Memorial Park, Macungie, PA (Thu, Fri & Sun, outdoors) · Ludwigs Corner Horse Show Grounds, Glenmoore, PA (Sat)
Why go: The biggest weekend in the terrier world. Three All-Breed shows Thursday through Saturday build to Sunday’s Montgomery County Kennel Club classic — Terriers only, outdoors, with 23 Specialty clubs and 4 Supported Entry clubs on Sunday.
Nov 202614–15Sat–Sun
The Thanksgiving Classic
Oaks, Pennsylvania
Where: Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, Oaks, PA
Why go: The National Dog Show presented by Purina, taped for the expected NBC Thanksgiving broadcast, inside a four-day all-breed cluster at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center — with 11 AKC-verified specialty events across the weekend.
Dec 20268–13Tue–Sun
Orlando, Florida
Where: Orange County Convention Center (North/South Building), Orlando, FL
Why go: AKC’s National Championship week — six events under one roof at the Orange County Convention Center: the 26th AKC National Championship, Puppy & Junior Stakes, and NOHS Finals, plus three lead-in All-Breed shows and 90 AKC-verified specialty events across the week.
The National Championship closes 3:00 PM CST, Wednesday, November 4, 2026.
Central Florida Kennel Club (Dec 10) closes Wednesday, November 11, 2026 via MB-F — Pending exact closing time unconfirmed. Space Coast & Brevard premiums expected October 2026.
Premium listJudging programpendingPlan your visitWeekend guide
Jan 20278–11Fri–Mon
The New Year kickoff
Indio, California
Where: Empire Polo Club, Indio, CA (outdoors)
Why go: The Kennel Club of Palm Springs opens the dog-show year — a group and breed specialty day on Friday, then three All-Breed shows Saturday through Monday, all outdoors at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.
Jan–Feb30–2Sat–Tue
New York, New York
Why go: Breed judging at the Javits Center by day, Groups and Best in Show at Madison Square Garden by night — and the broadcast moves to Netflix, live February 1–2.
More weekend guides — the same verified format, across the country.
Oct 20268–11
Hamburg, New York
Four-day cluster hosted by the Niagara Falls Kennel Club and the Kennel Club of Buffalo.
View the weekend guideOct 20269–11
West Friendship, Maryland
Three-day cluster hosted by the Catonsville Kennel Club and the National Capital Kennel Club.
View the weekend guideOct 20269–11
Wilmington, North Carolina
Three days of shows at the coast, hosted by the Hanover Kennel Club.
View the weekend guideFor the people who put on the shows — and the people who want to understand them.
For show officials
Send us your premium list and we turn it into a complete weekend guide — free for the club. Plus done-for-you club websites with online reservations for vendors, grooming, and RV.
The reading room
Coming soon
Plain-English explainers for exhibitors — how to read a premium list, what closing dates really mean, the first-timer’s packing list.
Every fact is labeled verified (seen in an official 2026 source: AKC premium list, AKC event-detail PDF, superintendent database, or parent-club site) or pending (not yet confirmed). Unverified items are never published as fact.
Data current as of September 24, 2026. Verify closing dates with the superintendent before entering.
Every guide carries structured data, permanent URLs, and a machine-readable source list — so the agents and tools that help exhibitors plan can cite ThePetAdvisor as a source. See llms.txt for the machine-readable site brief.
Questions, corrections, or source tips: [email protected]. Learn more about ThePetAdvisor.
