Dog Shows

[arivecchi]

Does anyone here show dogs? Can you tell me about it? We have a champion that we could show to get more titles but I want to know what is involved first.

[StantonHyde]

Lots of time, work, and MONEY!!!! I used to show horses and livestock--but for horses it was more of what I or the horse could do vs. how the horse looked. So I had goals to train for etc. You could try obedience training or agility training because that gives you a common goal. But again--that's time and work.

Honestly/personally I wouldn't do it until my kids were a lot older.

[drako]

Yes, we do! More so before kids because it is expensive! Now we co-own our current dogs and split all fees. I personally would not show a special (champion). It is very political and you need a great handler. Your dog would probably be gone every weekend and sometimes longer than that. It seriously becomes a pain because you have to drop off the dog at the handler and that's assuming he/she is close...before every show! Handling fees for a special are probably upwards of $120+/- for every day the dog shows, plus boarding, grooming, the handler's expenses and mileage. Your entry fees are about $30/day of show. so as you can see it really adds up. Plus if your dog wins the breed and places in the group than handlers charge an additional fee for group placements. Than if you win best in show than another bonus fee! Many shows are 3-4 day circuits so as you can see the amount adds up! This happens every.single.weekend. And you pay the handler that handling fee whether you win or loose! PM me if you want more info! Although, if your breeder does the handling and co-owns the dog than she/he should pay all or fees should be split between the two. Go to a dog show and spectate first. It really is political and expensive and very time consuming.

[drako]

Also, dog showing is very subjective! It's all based on the judge's interpretation of the standard for the breed. Many times the best dog doesn't win...that's where the politics come in! My husband who grew up playing sports always has a hard time with the subjective side of it. Me, on the other hand grew up showing horses so I was used to it! Let us know what you decide and PM me with any questions.

[arivecchi]

Yes, we do! More so before kids because it is expensive! Now we co-own our current dogs and split all fees. I personally would not show a special (champion). It is very political and you need a great handler. Your dog would probably be gone every weekend and sometimes longer than that. It seriously becomes a pain because you have to drop off the dog at the handler and that's assuming he/she is close...before every show! Handling fees for a special are probably upwards of $120+/- for every day the dog shows, plus boarding, grooming, the handler's expenses and mileage. Your entry fees are about $30/day of show. so as you can see it really adds up. Plus if your dog wins the breed and places in the group than handlers charge an additional fee for group placements. Than if you win best in show than another bonus fee! Many shows are 3-4 day circuits so as you can see the amount adds up! This happens every.single.weekend. And you pay the handler that handling fee whether you win or loose! PM me if you want more info! Although, if your breeder does the handling and co-owns the dog than she/he should pay all or fees should be split between the two. Go to a dog show and spectate first. It really is political and expensive and very time consuming.Thank you! This is pretty much what a GD breeder I trust told me, but she loves it and says it's a fun but expensive hobby! I own the dog outright so I would bear the expenses. I would use the same handler the breeder used though. Can one just do one show or do you have to commit for longer periods? He would be a special and this breeder I trust said he would easily get his GCH title.

[AngelaS]

Some breeds are more owner shown than breeder shown, so depending on your breed, you could show for yourself.

[drako]

Let me ask you this, what would you gain from getting his GCH title? Are you going to use him as a stud dog? If so, than go for it. Seriously, if you are not going to use him as a stud dog than besides getting your feet wet to see if you like the sport than I don't see the purpose. All it would be doing is giving your breeder another GCH at your expense $$. Yes, you will have fun watching him in the ring but keep in mind many shoes will probably be several hours away. No, you can't just do one show. You need to probably do it 2-3 a month (which means 2-4 days of showing in one weekend). You need 25 points in order to get a GCH and you need 3 majors under 3 different judges. Majors ar hard to come by these days. Plus, does the handler already have a special he/she already shows? If so, than you most likely will not be the priority and your dog will get handed off to an assistant, jr handler or another handler that doesn't have a conflict. If you think this is a hobby you and your family will like, then try it! You may get bitten by the show bug but beware you will end up with more dogs for sure! It is expensive and fun. But for us with little kids, we are holding off to see if our children take an interest and then we will have them do jr handling. For now, we send our current dog off with a handler and sometimes she is gone for months until she gets her CH title. Chasing those majors so to speak and she is with a notorious handler but the majors are hard to come by!

[vejemom]

Silly question for those in the know - I thought you could only show intact dogs? I thought I read in another thread the OP had the dog snipped.

[drako]

Silly question for those in the know - I thought you could only show intact dogs? I thought I read in another thread the OP had the dog snipped.

Yes, AKC conformation shows judge breeding stock...so yes, they need to be intact. Unless, it's a veterans sweepstakes class that allows them to be neutered/spayed and not obtain BOB or points.

You could show the dog yourself but that would mean taking the dog to handling classes to learn what to do. The dog is already trained so you would need to learn. But, I believe GDs are a professionally handled breed. Doesn't mean arivecchi couldn't do it, it would just be harder! Plus, the specials ring is a whole other breed! I hate to say it, but judges often go with the handlers (esp all breed judges)...political! Professional handlers usually will not show a dog worthy of winning. Yes, all dogs have faults and they can make a sub-par dog look beautiful and hide there faults. But they also don't want to be seen with a dog that can't win! Also, the handlers want to win too. This is their job and winning mean $$. You showing the dog would mean weekends away in hotels either with the family or without. The dog friendly hotels are the nicest either...Red Roof Inn or Motel 6! Those are the types of hotels the shows usually block rooms for. Sometimes there are nicer hotels that allow dogs but more often than not they are not the nicest!

[arivecchi]

Silly question for those in the know - I thought you could only show intact dogs? I thought I read in another thread the OP had the dog snipped.He's still intact.

[arivecchi]

Let me ask you this, what would you gain from getting his GCH title? Are you going to use him as a stud dog? If so, than go for it. Seriously, if you are not going to use him as a stud dog than besides getting your feet wet to see if you like the sport than I don't see the purpose. All it would be doing is giving your breeder another GCH at your expense $$. Yes, you will have fun watching him in the ring but keep in mind many shoes will probably be several hours away. No, you can't just do one show. You need to probably do it 2-3 a month (which means 2-4 days of showing in one weekend). You need 25 points in order to get a GCH and you need 3 majors under 3 different judges. Majors ar hard to come by these days. Plus, does the handler already have a special he/she already shows? If so, than you most likely will not be the priority and your dog will get handed off to an assistant, jr handler or another handler that doesn't have a conflict. If you think this is a hobby you and your family will like, then try it! You may get bitten by the show bug but beware you will end up with more dogs for sure! It is expensive and fun. But for us with little kids, we are holding off to see if our children take an interest and then we will have them do jr handling. For now, we send our current dog off with a handler and sometimes she is gone for months until she gets her CH title. Chasing those majors so to speak and she is with a notorious handler but the majors are hard to come by! You are a wealth of knowledge! Thank you! I would do it for the hobby aspect. I do know that the breeder would benefit from it and the breeder has asked us if we want to continue using him as a stud. He's still intact because of an arrangement we have with the breeder for one more collection, but we'd obviously leave him intact if we decide to do shows. Thanks for explaining that it would take several shows to get the GCH title. I did not realize that! I don't mind the $ aspect as much as the time, but if the handler takes him to the shows, then I guess that would not be as much of an issue. I'll ask his breeder more about the handler. Also, it seems like in the GD world, it's very hard for a newbie to get a show dog unless you're an experienced CH owner. Is that accurate? I guess this would then hopefully open the door for us to possibly get show pups in the future?

[drako]

You are a wealth of knowledge! Thank you! I would do it for the hobby aspect. I do know that the breeder would benefit from it and the breeder has asked us if we want to continue using him as a stud. He's still intact because of an arrangement we have with the breeder for one more collection, but we'd obviously leave him intact if we decide to do shows. Thanks for explaining that it would take several shows to get the GCH title. I did not realize that! I don't mind the $ aspect as much as the time, but if the handler takes him to the shows, then I guess that would not be as much of an issue. I'll ask his breeder more about the handler. Also, it seems like in the GD world, it's very hard for a newbie to get a show dog unless you're an experienced CH owner. Is that accurate? I guess this would then hopefully open the door for us to possibly get show pups in the future?

No problem! Keep asking away! We have been doing this for years! Before I got married I lucked out and got an awesome boxer female from a reputable breeder. We bred her and the rest is history! After getting married we would go to dog shows almost every single weekend showing our dogs! I worked with a few professional handlers and learned alot. I actually was considering becoming a professional myself but life happened...got a job teaching and eventually had kids! While our friends were going on exotic vacations...we showed our dogs! While I don't regret our hobby, I do regret not going on the awesome vacations! But that was when we first got married and all our extra money was going to the dogs...literally!

It is hard getting a puppy from a reputable breeder especially a good show puppy. But in the same sense it's hard to find dedicated show homes. With the way the economy is not many people are showing dogs as they did. It is very expensive and you can blow through $1,000 in a weekend no problem. If you really think showing is going to be a hobby for you than give it a try. Talk to your breeder's handler. And if you think you want a show puppy in the future to show then this certainly will help you. Many people start out showing and get frustrated or see how expensive it can get and then never show again. Granted, it's not as expensive as showing horses but it is up there. I wouldn't be surprised if the owners of the top dogs ranked in their groups who spend $30k or more/year campaigning their specials! That's when you have a top dog who is winning a lot though. I wouldn't be surprised if they spend more to be honest.

Go to a show and spectate. See if you think it will be for you. You can check out www.infodog.com to search for any shows coming up in your area. That is just one dog show superintendent but they are pretty big and organize shows all over the country.

[arivecchi]

Thank you! I will check out a show first! I will PM you a show pic of my dog - just for fun! :)

[drako]

I will check it out when I get home! Don't think I can get PMs from tapatalk. Keep me posted on what you decide!

[arivecchi]

So we decided to show our brindle male! I'm so excited! He will be showing this weekend. :) Any last minute tips?

[StantonHyde]

no--but give us an update with pictures!

[drako]

How did he do?


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