Talk to me about dog shows please.

[ProstetnicVogonJeltz]

I have the best, most beatiful dog in the world.
Can somebody talk me through showing? I have no idea at all.
Does one just rock up and win? Do I need to register with shows beforehand? Do I have to join a cub?
(he is pedigree and KC registered by the way)
oh and did I mentio he is beautiful.

You will need to train your dog to go in a ring. Ringcraft classes are good as there are people who show dogs and know what they are doing, it differs depending on the breed of dog. For most shows you need to send in enteries before the day of the show and again any good ringcraft class will have the details of the upcoming shows.

Prosetnic - my Mum has shown dogs for about 50 years and my Dad is an international judge and they always encourage people to go to ringcraft classes first. You will meet lots of other people in the dog show world in an informal setting. They are usually in local church halls.

Your dog does need to be kennel club registered as a pedigree dog before it can be shown in Open shows, or Championship shows that are all run under Kennel Club Rules. In other words, each dog needs to effectively be certified as a pure bred pedigree dog of the stated breed. What breed is your dog. Is it KC registered? Do you have its pedigree from the previous owner or breeder?

Do also think about going to a few proper dog shows in your local area as well (without your dog) just to see how it works. Watch the people, the dogs and the judges. Also do talk to people. Most people just sat watching round the rings are very open -except when actually showing the dog or getting it ready for the ring.

You can find out about the upcoming local shows as well as the big championship shows from specialist dog show newspapers like Dogs World which also has a website here.

The Breed Club you are interested in also probably has a website and the local shows as we as the specialist Breed shows.

Here is link to the Kennel Club website page about dog showing.

The Kennel Club is a bit like the Jockey Club that sets the rules of horse racing. It is a bit distant in its relationship and often at odds with the people who show dogs but it is good place to start.

The people in the Breed clubs are really the people who do it for the love of it and are ones to talk to.