WIDE BAY CAPRICORN REGIONS show dogs

WIDE BAY CAPRICORN REGION

SHOW DOGS

What is Showing dogs about?

How do the shows run?

People who show dogs believe we have the very finest hobby/leisure time activity going; one that is more than just a hobby, it’s a life-style. The full time dog show people travel up to 50 weekends a year, from state to state, coast to coast, and country to country attending dog shows. Dog show people meet their friends at the show every weekend and enjoy a continuing party celebrating their communion with each other and above all, with their reason for being there, their dog. They will be quick to encourage you to spell that word backward. Make no mistake about it; this celebration of an entire species frequently does more than just border on worship.

What happens at dog shows

MADNESS! Enter the area of the dog show and there are people rushing everywhere, carrying dogs, leading dogs, pushing dogs in trolleys and running to and from the ring. Dogs are barking, a public address system maybe blaring, and people are talking or so involved with their dogs to approach would be intrusive. How can you make some sense of it all and start to figure out what's going on?

Stop and look or ask around for the catalog table, most clubs copy off a couple of extras judging programs. Or, if you are looking for a breeder of a certain individual dog or breed, buy a catalog. The catalog has all the information in the judging program, plus it has the name of each dog, its parents, its date of birth, and owner/ exhibitor. If the first person you contact doesn't know where there is a litter of good puppies, they will send you on to another person, and eventually you will find the breeder and the puppy you maybe looking for.

With the judging program or the information in the front of the catalog, you can locate which ring certain breeds will be showing at. There will be a judge, group and the ring number listed in the program for each breed. If you are looking for a particular breed approaching them in the marshalling area IS NOT a great idea. They are preparing for their dogs MOMENT in the ring the reason they are there. It's a good idea to plan to stay late, so you can see the whole event to its grand conclusion, the groups and best in show.

The original basis for showing dogs is to judge which individuals display the structure and best temperament that suits the dog for its typical tasks it was bred for. The way we know what characteristics do this is by comparing an individual to the breed standard, which defines the breed. Ideally, this standard will be well written and will enable the judge to tell which dogs come the closest, and are therefore best suited for the tasks The objective of conformation classes is to identify dogs most suitable to breed and produce the next generations.

Dog show enthusiasts attend shows every weekend. They enjoy themselves, and compete on a very personal level, through their dogs. They may take their dogs in the ring themselves, or they may hire a professional handler. They may own one dog, a leash, and a hatchback, or 30 dogs, hundreds of pounds of equipment, and a Greyhound Bus size motor home. You never know at a show if you're standing next to a millionaire or a pauper. Well, sometimes you do know; however, often you truly don't. The point is you can attend with just your dog and a leash, and you can also win. You can have your son or daughter compete in Junior Showmanship or in the actual "breed" ring. There are so many levels of competition and so many different kinds of events that you can spend a lifetime shepherding one or many dogs through them. Dog showing for most of us is much more than a hobby, it's a lifestyle.

CONFORMATION

Classes - those categories in conformation showing which dogs are entered based on age, sex and others as follows:

Baby Puppy - 3 to under 6 months

Minor Puppy - 6 to under 9 months

Puppy - 6 months to under 2 months

Junior: - 12 - under 18 Months

Intermediate- 18 months to under 36 months

State Bred - 6 months and older initally registered in the state being exhibited in

Australian Bred - 6 months and over whelped in Australia

Open - any dog 6 months or over eligible to show under ANKC rules

Veteran - a non - regular class, available if stated in usually at specialty shows; 7 years and older.

In the conformation ring, there are several different levels of competition. The size of the entry has a lot to do with whether all of these classes will actually have an entry at a given show. If there are only 2 dogs entered, obviously not every class will have an entry. However, each class that has been advertised is always available to the exhibitor to enter their dog in.

Initially the dog goes out to compete in his or her class of entry. All the dogs that have been placed first in their class of entry go against each other and the Best Dog of Breed and Reserve Dog of Breed are selected. The same with the bitches

At the next level of competition, the Best Dog and the Best Bitch of breed compete in intersex competition for: Best of Breed (BOB), and Reserve of Breed. Only the Winners Dog and Bitch can earn points towards their championship status. .

The individual that goes Best of Breed is then eligible to show in the Group. There are 7 Groups at a dog show;

GROUP 1: TOYS

GROUP 2: TERRIERS

GROUP 3: GUNDOG

GROUP 4: HOUND GROUP

GROUP 5 : WORKING DOG

GROUP 6 UTILITY

GROUP 7 NON SPORTING

Each BEST OF BREED from the individual breeds which make up the Group. The dogs winning Group in each of the 7 Groups then compete for Best in Show. In this manner, the Best in Show dog has defeated every other dog entered. After each Best In Group has been slected they then selct Besy Baby Puppy in Group, Best Minor Puppy in Group through the classes on offer, other than the class that the best in show and reserve in show came from.

After Best In Show and Reserve In Show have been selected each of the Baby Puppy to Open show winners for theri group compete for Baby Puppy in Show, Minor Puppy in Show until all classes of entry have been completed

Why use registered breeders:

If you gave the subject proper thought when you bought your puppy, you will have purchased him from a reputable breeder, and your puppy will have come with ANKC registration papers. Hopefully he will have grown up to be the quality of dog you and the breeder anticipated that he would.

Or, you may have purchased your puppy from a Pet store or through a newspaper ad from a back yard breeder. He may have been sold as an "ANKC dog" registered dog, and you may not have received the registration papers with the puppy. The puppies in pet stores often come from puppy mills, which do not (ever!) breed show quality dogs. If you have not obtained the registration papers for the dog, by the time you decide you'd like to show him in obedience or agility (which he can do even though he may not be quite up to snuff for conformation) you may find the pet store has gone out of business. Or, perhaps the pet store can't locate or get the papers from the 'breeder'. So first of all, whether you get a puppy from a serious breeder, a back yard breeder, a breed rescue organization, or a pet store, if you would like to be able to do something 'official' with him later, make sure you get the papers.

If you do have a good quality puppy and would like to be able to show in conformation classes later on, DON'T NEUTER the dog. If you would like to show and breed the dog, you should deal with a serious, reputable breeder and contract for a show and breeding quality puppy. This puppy must be on a full registration, if you hope to be able to breed later on, not on a limited registration. Breeders are likely to be very particular about which puppies they sell on full registration, and which people they will sell these individuals to. This is a good thing; only the best animals should be bred, and only owners serious about learning about the breed, about genetics and soundness, about training, and about the effort involved should take on the responsibility of breeding dogs. YOU DON'T BREED PUPPIES TO GET RICH. More often, you go well into a financial hole breeding dogs.

LAMENT OF A LADY WHO'S GONE TO THE DOGS

There was a time, there really was,
When I was young and tender.
When show dog meant a Disney Star,
And "bitch" was not a gender.

I went to bed at half-past ten,
I went to church on Sunday.
On Saturday I baked the beans,
And did the wash on Monday.

But then I got a certain pup,
And an erstwhile friends said "show!"
And so I did, and so I do,
Oh, what I didn't know!

Once I dressed with flair and style,
That was the life, don't knock it!
Now every dress from bed to ball,
Must have a good bait pocket.

I used to have a certain air,
I wallowed in perfume.
I used to smell like Nuit d'Amour,
Now I smell like Mr. Groom!

My furniture was haute decor,
My pets a tank of guppies.
Now I've furniture that's unstuffed,
And well adjusted puppies.

I used to long for furs and jewels,
And a figure classed as super.
But now, the thing I yearn for most,
Is a nice new pooper-scooper!

I was taught to be well groomed,
No matter where I went.
Now all the grooming that I do,
Is in the handlers' tent.

While once I spoke in pristine prose,
In dulcet tones and frail.
I now am using language,
That would turn a sailor pale.

I adored a man who murmured verse,
Through intimate little dinners.
But now the words I thrill to hear,
Are just three - "Best of Winners"!

I rise at dawn and pack the car,
The road ahead's a long one.
The one I've routed on the map's,
Invariably the wrong one.

I really love my doggy life,
I wouldn't care to change it.
But when I get that Best in Show,
I could maybe rearrange it.

And when my days on earth are done,
I'll go without much nudging.
Just give me three weeks closing date,
And let me know who's judging!
Author unknown.....