Breed Shows
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Breed Shows |
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Breed shows is truly a lot of fun! It is a great outing for the family and you get to know lots of amazing people that share the same hobby & passion for dogs as you. The purpose of Breed Shows is mostly to obtain "confirmation" that the dog you intend to breed with is a good specimen of the breed as all dog breeds as judged according to their specific breed standards. It takes many years of experience and judging lots of different dogs to be able to understand the conformation of each breed and to make an informed decision about which dog is the best on that specific day. There are also a lot of other factors that might influence the decision of the judge - the way that the dog is being presented, the quality of the coat, the handler's experience and the number of quality dogs in the ring. There is no truer saying than "Every Dog Has Its Day" because this is in fact very true when it comes to Breed Shows.
It takes a lot of preparation to show your dog to the best of your ability and to present your dog, looking its best. It can become quite an expensive hobby and there are NO financial returns. The show entries are expensive, travelling to the show venues that sometimes requires overnight and weekend stays, show equipment (scissors, clippers, dryers, crates, gazebos, show leads, etc,) and it takes a very special kind of person that will continue with showing, even IF you lose 10 times in a row! You will also not always agree with the judges' decision - but this is something that must be respected and accepted at all times. Judges also have preferences when it comes to dogs and this is just normal & natural. We all have our preferences, even with Golden Retrievers - some prefer the big white ones and other the smaller darker ones, some prefer Goldens with big teddybear heads and others the more traditional heads. Your will also NEVER get a perfect dog and the "trick" is to "hide" the faults or to highlight the virtues whilst showing - this takes years of practice & experience and a thorough understanding of the breed standard.
There are also lots of politics involved - as with any other sport and this needs to be understood and tolerated and not taken personally. If you are a person that is very competitive and can not stand losing, then dog shows is not the hobby for you. Being competitive is very good, because then you will try to improve each time but you have to accept that you will probably loose against another dog, whether you think the dog is better or not!
If you would like to become involved in showing, feel free to contact me. You can come along to some of the Open Shows (less formal and allows for training) and you can visit some of the Championship Shows to get an idea of how everything works. For more information you can also visit the following websites:
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This website was created and maintained by Arnel Sauer. All rights reserved. Copyright 2003No content or photograph's on this website may be used or reproduced in any format, at any time, without the explicit consent of the author / owner. |
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Last Updated: 04/12/2012 09:52:41 PM |