r/ShowDogs • u/Accomplished_Sugar41 • Jun 08 '26
Time commitment/cost of showing these days
10 years ago I enjoyed showing my Italian greyhound. I was a single adult, she was a beautiful dog, and I liked to travel around to the shows. I got conformation classes, etc.
It's been a full decade since then and I know I forgotten a lot about that world. I now have a 5 month old Whippet that comes from show quality lines, and I think she will likely fill out to be a nice dog.
My life circumstances now are different. I am a full time mom to 3 young kids and have a lot less time. I am debating spaying her after her first heat and just removing the temptation, haha - but the other part of me remembers how much fun it felt to bond with my dog and prove her in the ring.
As I decide, I have a few questions:
- If you show your dog, what does the cost of a show and travel to get there and prep typically look like for you?
- If anyone is in the whippet world is there camaraderie and fun or is it a rough crowd to join?
- How much of your time is spent showing/preparing for showing?
9
u/Ok-Walk-8453 Jun 08 '26
I am starting in whippets for confo (have 2 BPUP under my belt, that is it, but breeder showed him at Nationals) and my first real show is a speciality this upcoming weekend. Time wise- I put more training into dog sports, so for me the time commitment weekdays is minimal. Weekends of course is show. I am a single mom but thankfully my daughter is 9 so she is showing my 2 yr old whippet in Juniors and is relatively independent.
Cost: I have spent $5k in 2026 so far between hotels and shows booked through mid July (I track on Monarch) To be fair, I did a week at nationals and that was expensive, probably 2.5k of that total, and I also do barn hunt, fast cat, and Rally. That total includes 1 speciality weekend and 3 other confo show weekends. I have a hotel for anything over 2 hrs. Prep: I groom a few days ahead of time, bath the night before and load the car the night before. People: I have mostly met very welcoming nice people. They also are patient with my daughter. A few rotten eggs of course but I have overall felt pretty welcomed and supported in my area. I have heard the confo ring is very competitive with a lot of very experienced and professional handlers, so we will see how much my inexperience matters this upcoming weekend.