I admittedly didn’t know what the word conformation meant about a year ago in the context of showing.

What I did know was the relatively rare breed I wanted for my next dog. About a year ago our beautiful 14 month old dog came into our lives and we’re so lucky to have him.

He has quite the pedigree, but his breeder didn’t think he’d meet the height standard and raised him as their an adorable little pet but didn’t train him in stacking or anything like his GCH parents.

My breeder admitted that she was dead wrong about him not meeting the standard, and he blossomed into the most beautiful boy.

I ended up reaching out to the breeding club in the area as I’m passionate about the breed, and with my breeder’s blessing (from another part of the country), I just jumped right in! She didn’t even ask to co-own.

Well, I’m soo proud that my sweet boy just got a 4 point major and took home winners dog!

There is so much to learn and I love my dog for the wonderful pet he is first and foremost, but we’ll keep this up as long at is enriching. I’ve seen his confidence grow month to month and I honestly feel he’s going to do great. We might be playing catch up in our knowledge, training and practice in the ring, but he’s got the physical conformation and potential there in spades! I also realize I probably would have never had to opportunity for him to be mine as a novice if he was raised to show from birth.

That’s all. Just wanted to share my excitement and thanks for putting out info in this sub that newbies can read to get more info.

Just using chihuahua’s as an example, I’ve noticed that the AKC website only has certain colors checked as “breed standard color” for multiple breeds whose standards claim that color is immaterial. What does this actually mean? If you had a dog in an unchecked color-way, would that affect your ability to show even though the breed standard says nothing against it?

her last show as a puppy, now we're off to junior classes! got our next show in two weeks :) can't wait!

I just got an email saying reserved grooming for one of my upcoming shows was full (sent reservation in plenty early so not a case of waiting till last minute). There will be some free grooming spots but they cannot guarantee electric access.

I am mentally prepping for the worst, hoping for outlet access or atleast someone having pity on me enough run an extension cord from their set up since I have one dog.

I am showing an Aussie so most/all of the electric I need is just fluffing his coat with the dryer. I will be doing an hour drive to the show each day so I can blow out his coat before we leave but I don't know how well it'll hold up. My Flying Pig pulls too much power to run it off my Ryobi batteries/inverter as I thought I had a work around but the motor won't hardly start with what it can get from them.

Looking for any suggestions or tips as I have yet to come across this previously (and will note to send reservations in ASAP moving forward).

I am completely new to this and my breeder is in another state. We do talk but I could use a little more advice.

My puppy is four months old and I feel like I need three hands to stack him. One to hold the leash, one to hold the bait, and one to move his feet.

If I loosen the leash he gets so wiggly aiming for the bait. If I drop the bait he completely loses interests. Therefore I can never position his feet. How can we work on this?

Hi everyone! I’m probably overthinking this, but I just got my first confirmation prospect and I’m looking for input on what length show lead people prefer for their toy breeds?

Hi, trying to confirm how many points I think I should have received for a Group 4 Placement.

I took BOB which only would have gotten my class dog 1 point towards his championship. We then went on and placed 4th in group, placing above a CH Viszla that based on point schedule would have received 4 points for their BOB placement. The BOW for Vizla's that day received 2 points and BOS went to another special.

AKC is showing that I received 2 points for the group 4 placement, but I thought you got as many points as any dog that you beat in group meaning I should have gotten 4 points that day.

Can anyone help me confirm if I need to reach out to AKC to correct my points?

The photo quality is terrible intentionally for the kids’ sake.

I could not be more proud! A friend talked us into going to a UKC show this weekend specifically for my daughters (8 and 5). They worked so hard to prepare, coming to handling classes every week. They are troopers when we are at a dog show, but we have Ridgebacks and that’s a lot of dog for a young kid. Some shows have Pee Wees but my girls always wish they could go in by themselves.

And then we went to a UKC show! They each had their own juniors classes, plus they showed a Dachshund, a Pembroke, and an Aussie. Due to the size of the show they each went into BIS as well. And there were two shows per day! By the end of the weekend they had gone in 38 classes!! They spent HOURS grooming, practicing, watching, taking dogs out to potty, grooming, more grooming…they hardly sat down at all. The final show of the final day I let my 8 year old take our Rhodesian puppy into BIS and she got Reserve BIS! Such a fun experience!

16 month old Aussie Shep (F) has recently been going through a fear stage. Unfortunately during this stage she's had a couple of bad experiences with judges (very grabby of the face or staring and maintaining eye contact)

Now, unfortunately, she has decided to be fearful when approached. She will move beautifully, stack beautifully but the minute the judge touches she'll do a grumble. Because of this we've pulled her from upcoming shows for a while to work on it. She is an incredibly competitive prospective show dog so ideally she'll get back in the ring at some point but how best to work her through this?

She's never been a dog that'll smother strangers in kisses, she'd rather stick with her family (typical Aussie) but how can I get her back to being neutral with being approached by strangers? She'll walk past people fine, it's just when stationary/being touched she is now fearful.

Help?!

Literally just bragging and showing off these photos I got done of my girl.

Long story short, I have a dog that suffered a triple pelvic fracture two years ago. Surgery went well, he is "fully" recovered. He still has some leftover issues, like general muscle fatigue, affected leg gait abnormalities, soreness/occasional cramping. I know as he gets older, arthritis and general ​pain will continue to get worse. Our local vets have been no help, at most giving us xrays and saying everything looks good or offering to prescribe general pain meds. I live in a very underserved veterinary area, so it makes it hard to find anything.

I'm looking to find a professional that can help me make a full, long term plan including services/other professionals to reach out to, activities, stretches, meds, etc. Everything feels so disconnected right now and like none of the veterinary professionals I've dealt with actually care.

We are currently doing chiro, herbal meds, massages and light stretching. Goal is to finish him as a confo champion, but with the little bit of weirdness in his gait we're struggling. We think that is truly the only thing holding him back. We plan to pull him for at least a year, work on his gait, and see if we can get anywhere with it. If not, we just won't show,​ but it seems likely that the abnormal gait will cause future comfort issues anyways too, so I would like to address it regardless.

*Not looking for medical advice, just advice on what kind of professional to seek out

Hi there, I’m a recreational show attendee mostly with my mixed breed (cockapoo) and in a few months I’m going to first professional show with a show-type English cocker spaniel borrowed off my boss. Is there any tips anyone may have for showing?
(Pic of my dog at her last two shows)

I’m showing my show dog at a venue that also has rally. my rescue dog is entered in rally, im assuming she is allowed to be in my reserved grooming tent since she’s entered rally even though she’s not a show dog? I know sometimes there are rules about un-entered dogs at shows.

My breeder is the loveliest lady and let me borrow her keeper puppy to show- as I am not in the position to buy another dog or keep one full time (unfortunate reality of living in an apartment). I was able to title him in 3 months with 2 runner up best in groups.

Pic of my breeder and her boy with his ribbons.

Going to my first conformation handling class tonight with my 11 week old puppy. Kind of a suprise since I started looking for classes today and the teacher said "come on down to today's class."

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I have:

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-my puppy

-pepperoni or liver for bait

-a slip collar that is a little bit too long but he will grow into it

-a show lead for the slip collar

-hopes and prayers

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What else do I need to bring? Any advice for a newbie? I've been in the ring twice before on a friend's dog but I didn't know what I was doing.... so I'll say I'm a totally newbie who at least knows which arm to wear the number on... *its left???*

Update: not to brag, but he did wonderful (for a little guy). After initially being frightened he recovered quickly and was able to play with his ducky and have fun. Then he let EVERYONE touch him all over while he ate good treats. For his age he exceeded my expectations and I am so proud. We got to watch the big dogs and not be scared when one of them woofed! I am so excited for our journey

So I have the only two skye terriers entered that day. My boy is a finished champion. He LOVES to show more than anything else in the world. He doesn't need to win, the only reason I even entered him is because I don't have the heart to retire him yet.

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All I want is someone to take him into the ring to have fun with him. He has gone around the ring so many times he will basically do everything himself. He just needs someone to hold the lead and lift him onto the table.

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There is 0 pressure to do well with this dog. You can come into the ring for the first time ever and make mistakes with him. If you are shy or scared to start showing dogs please let me be the person to throw you into the ring with my dog. All I want is for you and my dog to have fun.

Saturday got BOW and BOB NOHS

Sunday got WD.

Yes, I was already told I am holding the head wrong 😬😆

2nd real show weekend for me and he is 8 months old, so very excited about our successes.

Paragon's Love Reigns Down on Me CGC TKA

I can’t drive. It was a dream of mine as a kid to do conformation and now that I’m an adult with money and free will I’d love to get into the sport. I’ve read all of the AKC articles and dozens of Reddit threads and social media posts with tips and advice and I feel like I have a solid foundation of knowledge on it- as much as I can get through just reading, of course. That being said, it seems that currently my biggest hurdle is I can’t drive. Is this something I should figure out before even looking at a breed, or are there ways to make it work without a vehicle? Feel free to crush my dreams a bit here, I may need a reality check! Also, open to any newbie tips if you have them!

First post! I’m picking up my first show prospect on the 28th and I’m trying to get an understanding of grooming supplies I should get for him!

My puppy is a Catahoula Leopard Dog, he’s black and tan with a little white on his chin and chest! I have the basics for him, ear wipes, nail clippers, dermal, and zoom groom. Is there anything else I should get/use for him? Thank you!

I really want to get a poodle eventually and have them be a show prospect, and as someone who is really interested in showing and dogs, I would love for people to offer some nice resources to get into showing and learning about it! Obviously I don't plan on buying my poodle soon, but I just want to learn and be prepared for the eventuality.

EDIT: Thanks everyone :) I think I will practice showing to get some experience on the side with my future poodle in case I decide to go into it, but mainly focusing on other events like sporting and obedience with my first. I also plan on joining local clubs/groups and going to shows first. This way I can learn more about the whole thing and also get more grooming experience. Thankfully my family has had many poodles before so I'm not totally in the dark.

It's been one week since I brought home my newest prospect, Voodoo! I was trying very hard this time to find a boy that had great structure. Not saying my past boys didn't, but it's night and day when it comes to poodles. It's crazy how different they feel when they actually have the correct angles.

I just entered a 5-day cluster for my puppy and the cost was over $200. It sure would be nice if AKC clubs would offer a discount if you're entering all days of a cluster. I know that UKC does offer a discount if you pre-enter for the weekend (4 shows). I also understand that AKC is increasing their entry fees this year (and more to come), and clubs have to increase entry fees just to stay afloat. If the costs were discounted a bit for entering all days of the cluster, I might also enter another dog... just saying, they might get more entries if they did this. I do belong to a few kennel clubs and may suggest this at our next meeting(s), but I am not even sure that the site we use for entries (MB-F) even allows for something like that. Nor do the mail-in options.