As I sit down to fill in another entry form, I am still wondering when my 14.5 month old girl will come into season.  My instructor has assured me it's okay to show a bitch in season, but just to mention it to the judge before he/she runs her hands over her.  I have a limited amount of shows near me, so I don't want to miss any, and I definitely don't want to forfeit entry fees.  Just curious what others thoughts were... 

My second question has to do with the point system, which I'm learning as I go.  I've got the easy part of Winner's Bitch and Winner's Dog figured out.  What I am curious about is when there aren't say enough bitches to get a point, like being the only one, but there are enough males.  If the bitch goes on to be overall Winners or BOB, will she get points for the males she beat?  The show I was at this weekend had only one non-special male, and as my more experienced friend explained it, he would get pointed too because while we both had Winners B & D--he got overall Winners.  I ask this, because if I'm entered in a show where I can't get a point due to bitch numbers, I'm wondering if it's still possible to get them if there are dog numbers available...or if it's impossible to where I'd rather forfeit my entry fees and save on gas and such.  Hope that makes sense...

You can absolutely show a bitch in season. My girl went into season 2 days before Nationals last year. I would definitely tell the judge as they will often want to disinfect their hands after examining your girl. I would also carry a paper towel in your pocket and wipe her off before entering the ring, as well as any spots that hit the floor. In addition, the polite thing to do is stand a good distance away from any males. Let other exhibitors know that she is in heat so they can keep their males away from her.

As far as the points go, going Best of Winners means you get whichever sex had the most points available. So say that it is 1 point in bitches and 3 points in dogs, if the bitch goes Best of Winners she picks up a 3 point major (mind that it is 3 points total, not 3 plus the 1 from bitches). So if you are the only bitch entered and there are enough males to make it worth at least 1 point, then going Best of Winners would be worth 1 point. It gets more tricky when you talk about going Best Op over other specials or going Best of Breed over specials. If you go Best Op, you get to count the specials of the same sex  plus the class entry of your sex when calculating points; Best of Breed gets to count all specials plus the class entry of your sex for points. You can always check with the steward to see what the final count was in dogs/bitches to see how many points it was worth since they will know who was marked absent. I HIGHLY recommend checking the tear sheets (the sheets the judge's turn in following judging) when you win your majors to ensure that the correct number was marked. These will be at the superintendent's table. I have heard of people who's dog did not get credited the major win because the judge marked the wrong number and they then had to go to the AKC and try and prove that their dog had won.

I hope that made sense. It can be very confusing, but the good news is that it starts to make sense once you are in a situation where it applies to you.