Information

Pedigrees *Section under construction, please check back later.

Making a pedigree
Attention to Details
The Variety of Your Rabbit
Pedigrees vs. Registrations
The difference between a 'Registered' rabbit and a 'Pedigreed' rabbit...

Showing the Netherland Dwarf Rabbit

Some Terminology:
Showing a rabbit can be confusing at first when you do not know what the abbreviations and terms mean. Below is a list of common show terms.

BIS – Best in Show
RIS – Reserve in Show
BOB – Best of Breed
BOS – Best Opposite Sex of Breed
BOSB – Same as BOS
BOSG – Best Opposite Sex of Group
BOG – Best of Group
BOV – Best of Variety
BOSV – Best Opposite Sex of Variety
1^st – Placed the top of its class
Variety – Color of the rabbit
Senior – 6 months or older
Junior – Under 6 months of age
Buck – Male rabbit
Doe – Female rabbit
GC – Grand Champion

Netherland Dwarf Varieties
Not all breeds of rabbits divide their breed into groups and varieties. The Netherland Dwarf rabbit has 25 recognized varieties, which are broken into 5 groups:

Group 1: Self
This group includes the solid colored rabbits:
Black Blue Chocolate Lilac Blue-Eyed White (BEW) Ruby-Eyed White (REW)

Group 2: Shaded
The shaded group includes rabbits that have shaded markings, meaning dark point colors around the head, ears, and legs, which fades to a lighter body color.
Sable Point Siamese Sable (Sable) Siamese Smoke Pearl (Smoke Pearl) Tortoise Shell (Tort)

Group 3: Agouti
These rabbits all have banded color on the hair shaft giving them a unique coloring called Agouti. They will also have a white belly, eye circle, inner ear, and nape of the neck. Group 3 varieties include:
Chestnut Opal Lynx Chinchilla Squirrel

Group 4: Tan Pattern
Tans start off with a base color from Group 1 or 2 (sable or smoke) and then have a pattern of markings which consist of a white belly, inner ear, eye circle, and in the case of an otter, a golden or fawn colored trim line around the white areas. The varieties are:
Otter (Black, Blue, Chocolate, or Lilac Otter) Silver Marten (Black, Blue, Chocolate, or Lilac Silver Marten) Smoke Pearl Marten Sable Marten Tan (Black, Blue, Chocolate, or Lilac Tan)

Group 5: Any Other Variety (AOV)
These are all of the varieties that don’t fit into groups 1-4. They include:
Himalayan (Black, Blue, Chocolate, or Lilac Himalayan) Broken (White rabbit with spots/markings in accepted variety colors) Steel Orange Fawn


Showing:
During a show, each different variety (color) will be shown, broken down into classes. The classes are Senior Buck, Junior Buck, Senior Doe, and Junior Doe (again, each color will have these 4 classes to be judged). The 1^st place winner from each of these classes will be judged against each other to determine the Best of Variety (BOV). Whatever sex of rabbit is chosen as the best of that variety, the judge will then choose the best animal of the opposite sex, which will be awarded Best Opposite Sex of Variety (BOSV). After all of the varieties (colors) in a group have been shown, the BOV and BOSV animals in that group will compete against each other for BOG and BOSG. All five groups go through this process until only the best buck and doe from each group remains to compete. These animals will compete against each other for the Best of Breed. After BOB has been picked, the judge will then choose the best animal left of the opposite sex for BOSB (also seen as BOS). At an Open Show the BOB animal may compete with BOB winners from the other breeds for Best or Reserve in Show after all of the breeds at the show have finished. Judges opinions vary, so be prepared for different results at every show. Judges base their decisions on a break-down of points that are the standard of perfection for that breed. They are looking for the best representation of the breed. They will fault or disqualify animals based on the standard, so it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with your breed standard before showing.

Grand Champion Legs:
A Grand Champion (GC) Leg is an award won by a rabbit if it wins 1^st place or its top award (variety, group, or breed win) at a show is over at least 5 rabbits owned by at least 3 different people. If these qualifications have been met, a rabbit can win a leg for BIS, BOB, BOS (sometimes seen BOSB), BOG, BOSG, BOV, BOSV, or 1^st place as long as there was a total of at least 5 rabbits being shown that were owned by at least 3 different people. The rabbit can only win one leg per show, and only if the show is ARBA Sanctioned (American Rabbit Breeder’s Association).