Beginner's Guide to Showing Dogs

I am also especially interested in what topics about dog showing you would like to know more about. In the coming days, I will also put up a site that deals with the issue of handling your dog in the show ring.

Please note: feel free to link to this site from your own site. You may reproduce this information as long as reference is given to the author - Jane Anderson, email address: jane@bluegrace.com Be sure to note the date that you have printed out the pages, as this page will be updated on a regular basis.

Welcome to the world of showing dogs! I am so happy to greet you to the world of showing dogs. I am terribly excited and humbled that you have chosen to read this page, and hope that if you are new to dog shows, then this page can be of help to you. The world of the dog showing is an interesting place to be. You can be a complete new person in the dog world and still able to compete with some of the top in the “business” and win. For most of us, however, showing dogs is not a business, but our true love and hobby in life.

You may only want to show your dog once a year, or at the other extreme, every weekend. Whatever the case, you will be welcomed to the dog show scene.

On behalf of Bluegrace Portuguese Water Dogs, can I welcome each and every one of you who want to learn more about showing dogs.

There is a lot you will need to learn, but there are many people who will be able to help you. You will learn over time that like any part of society there are some absolutely wonderful people in the dog world, and then there are some others. Hopefully, we can help guide you to those people who are going to make you a success in the dog show scene, regardless of what your definition of success is.

What you will need to do first:

• Join the formal association for the og show scene in your country. Be wary of some organizations who are not the real thing. There is only one legitimate organization in each country. Attend some dog shows. Take a chair, a hat, and a drink, and sit near the ring side and observe.
  
• Talk to as many people as possible (hint: best not to talk to people as they are preparing their dogs as their minds are keenly focused on the task ahead)
• Visit web sites and join email groups - in essence you need to network yourself as well as possible, even before you get your first dog. You can do an amazing amount of research through the internet which will cost you nothing more than your time and internet access. Then after all of that .. think about buying your first show dog.
• Borrow books from you library, or buy some. Click here for a list of books that I've got and recommend

Another tip

Mentoring

Cost

Do I have to breed?

Here’s a few more tips to get you going:

• sometimes dogs that aren’t great still win in the show ring.
• It is best for you to buy from someone who is prepared to sell you a very good puppy, whose dogs win under a wide range of judges.
• learn the difference between a nice looking dog, and a good breed representative - these can be very, very different.
• network extensively
• keep confidences
• just because you may be unhappy with one breeder, don't badmouth them. You may never know when you may rely on their help.
• if you commit to buying a dog from someone and then buy one from someone else, you will definitely create a poor name for yourself
• it takes time and work to become good in the show ring. Have patience and work hard.
• Please if you need any additional help, let me know and I will see if I can help you meet some other experienced people in the show ring. I, for one, will never forget that once I was a novice to the show world, so am more than happy to help others. On another note, we can never stop learning. If you haven't started by now, make this day the official start to a program of life long learning.

I know you probably have plenty more questions. Over the next few weeks I will endeavour to answer them in the form of additional pages. That way you don't have to solely rely on my time to provide you with help. In the interim, please feel free to email me.

From here, click to our next page on actually handling dog in the show ring.

Best Wishes.

Jane Anderson