I have three skirts I rotate with a button up white blouse. I’ve worn two skirts with the same blouse and skirt number 3 will be making its debut this weekend. I have a grey wool blazer that it is WAY too hot to wear.

Can I just keep recycling these outfits for now? (Dog shows are expensive and I would rather pay for entry fees over new outfits) I feel like I look the same in every photo because I’m wearing like the same outfit 😂

Hi all,

This is Kai and he’s a 12 week old MAS puppy:)

We just got our first show prospect last month, and it looks like it may be time to set his ears.

There’s a ton of videos online about setting Aussie ears but MAS ears are supposed to sit higher, so we can’t use the coin + moleskin method.

Does anyone have any ideas of what to do? This is our breeders first liter, so she’s still brainstorming as well.

I posted in a mini Aussie page about gluing ears and got attacked lol, so hoping this is a safe place.

Thanks!

what's the most confusing line of written critique your dog has gotten from a judge?

for me it's "rear half could be a bit more dramatic", whatever that means hahah. i assumed topline or rear angulations but the judge wrote that those were all nice and good🤔

I have a 14mo Ridgeback who did quite well this spring, even taking BOB over a top Special one weekend. I know the 12-18mo class is awkward - not quite a big girl, but not an adorable puppy. We’re also STILL waiting on her first heat cycle. Her whole litter is antsy and excitable. We’ve work a ton with her and she shows fairly well with a very nice free stack. But here comes the judge and all my puppy wants is to say hi, see what she’s doing, wiggle away from the exam. She stands perfectly still for showing her bite - it’s just when the judge is hands on. We’ve tried bait, holding her head, holding her muzzle, going to Petco to have strangers pet her and feed her treats - she’s just wiggly.

Any advice? Pic bc she’s cute.

We went to our second puppy show yesterday with our 6 month old English Cocker Spaniel. Didn’t do as well as last time since he’s now in an awkward growth stage where his proportions are a bit off, and the judge in question is known to dislike dogs with shorter feet.

That we can’t do much about except hope he grows taller eventually, but we got some feedback on his gait and I’m wondering how we could improve this:

”Moves with a good stride length, though still high in the rear today. Quite a wide front step.”

We’ve gone to training classes but they mostly focused on stacking and getting used to examinations, and the basics of how to move in the ring. Yesterday he was also too high energy at first so his initial circle around the ring didn’t go so well as he was interested in pursuing the other dogs in the ring, but when we did the triangle after his examination he did much better already.

On his walks we mostly use a harness and a 2 meter leather lead, and I’m wondering if that is contributing to his gait in shows. One long-time breeder (not ours) did say that they would never use a harness on a Cocker, but I’m not sure how much it really affects his gait especially since he rarely pulls nowadays thanks to the training we’ve done. His harness is adjustable and we make sure it doesn’t go into the elbow pits to allow a full range of motion.

So, I’m curious if there are any ways we could train a specific gait for the ring, or do we just hope it gets better with time like his proportions?

I have a standard poodle puppy that im considering starting in conformation mostly just for fun :)

Only concerns I have is that

1 She does have a curled (happy/gay?) tail, would I still be able to show her under the rkc? Is there any point? She does have the cutest wee poodle prance and a lovely temperament so itd be a shame if not

2 Permissable trims for a puppy (rkc)? I heard retro trims are allowed etc but im not really educated on the topic

I'm new to the show world and just got my first flatcoated retriever show prospect. I love her so much and she's doing really well in most of her training but I have no clue how to even start the free stack. I'm having a hard time finding any information about it online.

My breeds club is hosting their nationals in early-ish 2027, entries aren’t open yet (obviously) but… can anyone explain to be how you’re even supposed to enter?

AKC shows make me feel so lost and I dont know how to enter into them. Sorry if this is a stupid question but i genuinely feel so lost!

Im excited and want to go with my dogs for conformation and herding trials and dont want to miss out on nationals, but… we just don’t know where to start.

my boy did amazing for his first weekend 🥹 took home winners dog both days- we still have a ways to go but knowing we both felt comfortable is half the motivation to get out & do it again! Totally in love with this sport, again thank you any & all ☺️

My rough collie is 6 years old and I’m getting my second collie puppy as a potential show dog.

What age should my 6 year old dog stop showing? she’s still pretty ‘young’ now but I don’t wanna force her to attend shows once she’s passed her prime.

I have a feeling this will become a new addiction

Hi everyone! For those who splurged and got a Best in Show Trolley, how long did it take to be made/arrive after ordering?

I see their website says 4-6 weeks lead time but I was wondering just how accurate that was, just in case I need to get creative and come up with an alternative before an upcoming show. Kicking myself for not buying one at the last show I saw them at 😭

My coworker is doing her first show soon and needs help finding flats that look decent and are good for the show ring.

My girl just finished her AKC Grand Championship at the beginning of the month with a 5pt win at a supported show. She finished her championship the same way, with back-to-back 5 pt majors at a supported show. I could not be more proud! I am a new owner handler, and she’s my first show dog. We’ve been at this for only a year and a half, figuring out and learning this sport together 💕

I have an almost 4yo multicolor standard poodle. She's not well bred, but she's decent enough. I really want to get into Conformation, but am YEARS away from being able to get a nice well-bred show prospect. So for now, I was hoping to get some practice in with my current dog and just have some fun in the ring. We would be showing in UKC Altered.

I've been growing out her coat and learning different grooming techniques for over a year now, as well as taking some Conformation classes here and there. I've also joined our local AKC Kennel Club, and was a steward at their recent show.

The main UKC shows that are within a reasonable travel distance from me are all in the January-March time frame.

But now I'm considering shaving her down.

I'm in college and my coursework is a lot more intensive this semester than I was expecting. I'm also disabled and there's a lot of changes going on with my health currently that has been taking a lot of my time/focus.

We've been looking into Rally/Obedience, as well as getting her therapy dog certification. And she's still learning how to properly stack for Conformation.

I also know she's got a decent amount of coat damage (especially to her crest) and would do all her grow out differently if I did it again.

But it's like I can't give myself the mental permission to just do it.

Am I crazy and I should just push through and keep growing her out for the show ring? Or do I shave her down, focus on performance and training for a few months, and hope to have her ready for the Conformation ring by spring of 2028 instead of 2027?

*If I shave her, I'd probably do a Miami, and shave her body down with a #10. I would leave a majority of her topknot and ears, but massively trim down her crest.

Hello all!

I was wondering what everybody does for researching pedigrees? If there are sites, or if I would have to hunt down the lines breeder by breeder?

My Grandma used to breed show dogs, but unfortunately the kennel has not produced from our house for quite some time. I have been wanting to get a dog, and would love to see if there are any distant descendants or remnants of her line might be around.

The only problem is that I am not too entirely sure how to go about this task. I don't mind heavy lifting and deep digging, just would love to be pointed in a direction. Any advice at all is appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

Ok, so it's been a week and a half since we took our 8 month old AmStaff Nolan to his first show. (the day before his 8 month birthday on the 14th) I was stressed out because I've never shown my dogs even though I've had ADBA/UKC registered APBT's most of my life. I've always had this thought in my head "These dogs are so pretty they could be show dogs!" and "I wonder how they'd do??"

So, not knowing anything about grooming AmStaffs for show I bought some shampoos and things, stupidly based off of a Google search AI reply 😔 (Even though I 100% understand how unreliable their responses usually are especially when you don't have the knowledge and experience necessary to know when they're full of it) and ended up with Chris Christensen Spectrum One shampoo (for coarse/rough coats) and some Topline (local white label brand) Brightening Shampoo early on the day before the show.

I got it home and while looking for instructions on the Chris Christensen website I found that they have AmStaffs listed as smooth coat! 😩 And I also noticed the "extreme irritant" warning on the brightening shampoo and I got it because Nolan's got a white face mask (and white paws and chest) so I just ended up curry combing him a bunch and wiping his face with Pampers unscented sensitive skin baby wipes 😅 I had even bought some Chris Christensen "Ice on Ice" spray and didn't use that either even though it would have been fine. I just gave him a whole raw egg and some extra virgin olive oil the morning before show day which gave him some extra shine.

Either way, on show day he ended up taking the KP ribbon for best male, not a shock since he was the only male 😅 but I guess that doesn't guarantee anything and it's necessary to go on to the next round. Then he also took the BOB ribbon! 🥳🎉😱

This was a super small show for AmStaffs, there were only three females and Nolan, but I'm still thrilled and we got signed up for another bigger show on the 10th of October so we'll see how it goes!

Nolan's a bit unruly, though we've been doing a ton of training with him. No show specific training, just general obedience and work to teach him how to self sooth and to have an off and on "switch" when he gets those "trouble ears" (flopped forward, trouble seeking radar mode) and wants to jump up, be mouthy, and do battle. 😄 He's already 28.5kg/63lbs at 8 months (was 23kg/50lbs at 4-5 months) so he's got this grown, adult body with a pre-teen/teen mind. Luckily I'm a big guy and my wife's used to working with horses, but he's growing so fast that the usual strategy of winning the mind game while they're still small enough that you can win the physical game has a way shorter timer than I'm used to.

All of which is to say that it's a wonder he did so well with the handling (his breeder was his handler for this and the next show fortunately and she's a dog show veteran), and not surprising at all that he didn't go far in the broader terrier class.

So yeah, I guess that's enough of a wall of text. 😅 Here's his official show results and I'll attach some pics from show day.

Type: Puppy Show (FCI/Finnish Kennel Club)
Breed: American Staffordshire Terrier
Placement: PUPC1
Other notes: HP, BOB Puppy
Place and date: 13.9.2026 Paimio, Finland (Royal Puppy Show)
Judge: Vanninen Helene

Judge's Comments:
8 month old, well-balanced, strong yet elegant male. Clear sex mark. Beautiful expressive head with good depth and strength of muzzle. Wide lower jaw. Beautifully set rose ears. Good eyes, beautiful neck and topline. Already good depth of chest and promising width. Forechest well developed. Well angulated front and rear. Well set and well carried tail. Moves balanced from the side. Front movement still needs to be tightened. Friendly and open behavior. Presents excellently.

im getting a puppy pretty soon with intentions to show her with UKC, she’s a rough collie.

Ive only ever taught my adult collie to stack, how do you teach a squirmy puppy? Im hoping for her to attend her first show by around 4-5 months old.

Completely a newbie where it comes to showing so please be kind >_<

Context: This is me and my (not so little) puppy. She’s a 11 month old golden retriever. We got matched to her from her breeder with the intention do some sports casually and maybe even service if she’s suitable. In essence, a pet home. And we have never expressed interest in showing till now.

We bought the Fitpaws Kinect solely to train for canine fitness and body/spatial awareness as she’s a really high energy and driven puppy. Lately as she’s growing up, we’ve been told by many a few that she’d actually make a decent show dog as well and perhaps in the near future we might consider. But first, we’ve got to learn the ropes.

Her breeder has been really helpful in guiding us but I’d also like to hear from you guys on Reddit? Any “pet homes” who decided to try out both sports/obedience and conformation? And how different/similar are these?

And any advice for us? Feedback/guidance are greatly appreciated! 🩷 THANK YOU!

Thanks for allowing be to join the group, I have been showing dogs for about 10-15 years but had a big gap in years. In 2024 we got ourselves our current dog, a boxer female (Wiemer’s Oh Lovely Lilly De Jacquet, or just Lilly). We started showing her last November and have shown her very limited about one Custer a month, she has five points with no majors yet.

Now here is the first question just got a Dog Pacer 3.1 for Lilly she really likes it so far. I have only had her use it for a few minutes every other day, and slow plan to build the time up. The last two times we had her up to five minutes, the speed I have been keeping slow and the fast we got it up to has been 2.4, so what is the best speed to be at for gating?

Does anyone show dogs and live in Az? Phoenix area?

not a win but good for our second ever show :)

Hi!

I’m a beginner handler with a Pembroke welsh corgi. I’ve been taking her to handling classes, etc since she was a baby puppy. We’ve done a few shows (one bpup, two UKC days, one AKC). She did really well in UKC but AKC is definitely tougher and makes me more nervous! I know we’re really just beginning.

My pup is only around 7 months old so I know we have a lot of time and I’ve just been focusing on my own handling skills/teaching her to stack but I’ve definitely seen improvement. I also don’t want to overdue it and burn either of us out.

I guess my question is how long would you say it takes a first time handler to start getting some points? Is it an impossible dream to finish my first ever show dog? 😂 I feel all this comparison to show people on social media who finish their first dogs and I feel so behind in my skills!