Hello! I have a friend who fwded me this thread from Greek Chat and I finally signed up so I could reply. She has sent me other things which I found interesting having pledged Alpha Sigma Kappa, but nothing so near and dear to my heart as dogs! FYI you can only be a Junior Handler until you are 18. After that you have to compete with everyone else. I trained and showed my first dog Splash in Obedience while in junior high and high school. When you are showing in Obedience, there is often an award for high Junior at the trial but you have to compete against the adults during judging and are held to the same standards. If you want to show dogs, any age is a good time to start!
To begin with, there are two major divisions of competition. The first is Breed, which is what you saw at Westminster; the second Obedience. There are other competitions that take place such as herding, tracking and retriving but they tend to be a bit more breed specific i.e. herding dogs do herding, gun dogs do pointing and retriving.
Agility and flyball are fun, but to me are a subset of Obedience, though some would debate me. You have to have a somewhat obedient dog, before you can teach them more advanced manuvers.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) is by far the dominating organization in this country when it comes to dogs. Their goal is specifically to promote the purebred dog, and the majority of their events are restricted to registered purebred dogs. This is a major pain for those of us who have mixed breed dogs that would love to compete in obedience or agility. There is an organization for people who have mutts! Go to
www.amborusa.com and you will find the American Mixed Breed Obedience Registration. They have all kinds of opportunities for you and your dog.
To me, Breed competitions are gigantic beauty contests for dogs. Only purebred dogs can compete, and the AKC website has a very detailed description of how judging takes place. All dogs are judged against the ideal breed standard for their particular breed. This is even true when the different breeds are competing against each other.
I was originally a diehard obedience person and scorned Breed competitions, however I recently acquired a dog whose mother has won Best of Breed at Westminster for four years. She is a Cardigan Welsh Corgi and was on TV with the rest of them. So I have started competing in breed because it is an injustice to my dog not to show him! To get a dog that is capable of winning at breed is often a significant capital investment though. I just got really lucky. $500 is about the starting price and it goes up from there. If there is a breed you are interested in, find a reputable breeder and let them educate you about that particular breed.
If you get a purebred dog that is not "show quality" don't dispair. They can still compete in Obedience and Agility, they just won't win a beauty contest. A responsible breeder will require a "pet quality" dog to be spayed or neutered and include this stipulation in the sales contract. A pet quality dog is also generally cheaper than a show quality dog.
If you rescue a dog that appears to be purebred from a shelter, you can get what is called an Indefinite Listing Priviledge from the AKC and show it in Obedience competitions provided it is spayed or neutered.
The best thing to do if you are interested in dog shows is to attend one! There is a link on the AKC website under Dogs in Competition that helps you find shows in your area. Once you are there, talk to people, most of them are very friendly, if a bit dog-crazy. Generally, shows are sponsored by a local club and attending meetings of that club is also a way to get involved. A lot of clubs will periodically have handling and obedience classes to help you learn how to train your dog.
To get ready for showing obedience takes a lot more one on one training time with you and your dog than showing in breed. I usually work my obedience training time in to my dog's walks. It is loads of fun though and a great way to deepen the bond between you and your pet. If you have any other questions I'll be happy to answer them as best I can!
Anna Jo
Show Dogs
Linear Mode
