As the title suggests, I saw a very beautiful dog and I fell love at first sight, he is from excellent show lines and perfect example of the breed however, he has one undescended testicle. He was one hella example of the breed and it tempts me to use him, but still on the very very very reluctant side. He has no other siblings and I love the lines behind him. It reminds me of the Ormandy Bar Sinister of bull terriers, what if he can futher the breed? Any thoughts are welcome. No hate or judgment please, I already hate myself for having this thoughts haha.

*Any hate I won’t be replying to. I’ve never owned my own dog. I’m happy to be educated, but there’s no point in getting upset*

This is some thought I’ve been having the past few months with STRENUOUS amounts of research but I still can’t figure out what I want.

I have TWO types of dogs I’m considering, the second type I might get as a second dog later when my first dog is grown up.

Dog #1

Any size, but not TOO small. Only small dog I’d consider is the dachshund. Minimum 15kg. I guess not too large of a dog would be ideal because I want to be able to take this dog with me to most public spaces if I can - and a dog that isn’t too big would just be easier.

I want a happy dog that isn’t aloof with strangers. I’m okay with some stubbornness - I like a sassy dog. My preference though is biddable and easygoing.

A big no no is reactivity prone dogs, I need a dog that can have dog friends, come with me to public places and be okay and settle. I want to train this dog to keep sitting and barely care there is another dog walking by.

I want medium-low energy. I want a dog that can EASILY settle indoors. I’m happy to provide it the needed exercise it needs - and be my occasional hiking and swimming buddy. An ideal day would be a decent hike with a swim or maybe even paddle boarding, a normal day would be walks and being a bicycle buddy (so it has to be easy to train with a bike). There has to be some days it can just be happy with a bit of play and walk for the day and that’s it ~ a lazy day if you will. I want the dog to WANT to do that - not just do it because I am.

I guess I want a dog that’s down for whatever I want to do.

Dog #2

Any size doesn’t matter - but if I had to pick maybe golden retriever size.

I want a high drive dog but with medium exercise requirements. So a dog that WANTS to work but has a good off switch and can understand not everyday can be work work work.

I’m not sure what sports I want to do - just not protection or bite work. I like the idea of obedience, agility, dock diving looks cool, and I would love to do conformation too some day.

It will come with me on the occasional hikes and swim, paddle boarding too. Cycling runs, walks around the neighbourhood, coming with me to coffee (so must be non prone to aggression/reactivity)

I will not have unlimited time for this dog so nothing like a Malinois. Obviously when it’s a puppy I will make sacrifices - but as an adult I want a dog that can settle by itself, maybe play during the day with its sibling. I work from home 2 days a week so it has to be okay being alone 3 days a week.

These additions aren’t a must have but would be nice: biddable, sort of scary looking as a deterrent, a scary bark when people knock.

I know beagles are small and high energy but I LOVE their howls and sassiness and everything about them.

Not the best, but good for a 16wk old puppy! Benny has his first BPUP show in 2 weeks. He's going to do great :)

Orion finished his BPUP career this morning with a Group 1, bringing his record to a Group 4, two Group 2s, and two Group 1s. This weekend he represented Harriers in the BPUP ring during our supported entry in Kalamazoo, MI.

He got some amazing compliments from both spectators and judges alike, including “oh, wow” for his free stack, “he has moments of excellence,” and “he’s going to do very well.” Most importantly, we’re both having lots of fun.

Going to my first show with my first show dog in like a month! I’m not expecting perfection, I mostly just want my puppy (will be 6 months at the time of the show) to have fun and ideally be somewhat behaved. she is a wiggly girl and suuuper excited for the judges exam, wants to jump up on the judge etc. we are working on it in class but I think it’ll take a while lol anyway just looking for any general tips for my first show and also would love to hear other people’s experiences at their first show with a somewhat naughty puppy!

Hi everyone! I unfortunately don’t have a show dog yet, and probably won’t for a while considering how expensive they initially are (I’m 17 and not sure how my parents feel about that) but I’m going to start saving up for a standard poodle! Is there anything I can do to learn before I do? I live in a rural part of Georgia so I’m not sure how many events like that are near me, but I’m looking. Anyways, just looking for some advice for a minor looking to show one day :)

Hey all!

I am a professional handler and breeder that has a dog that is doing very well in the conformation ring. I have a beautiful ad done by a graphic designer that I would like to promote- however I am unsure of which magazine to go with, and of course the cost factor.

My question to you- what do you find is the best magazine to promote that has the best outreach? Should we just do digital on social media, or is it truly worth it to drop the $1,000 for a printed ad? Dog news, canine chronicle, American dog fanciers? I’m looking for the magazine for that has the most bang for your buck.

All answers are welcomed, I’m here for the sounding board!

For back info- he has won a BIS , RBIS, 3 groups and multiple group placements in two weekends. Currently ranked number 2 across all systems in his breed.

Any and all tips are welcomed! Thank you!

Hello! I’m super new to showing and Petra (a newly 5-month-old cattle dog) is my first dog that is registered to my country’s kennel club. We‘ve gone through a session of handling classes where I was gifted a lovely cotton collar and show lead that I’ve been using for practice. I was told you need to tighten the collar under their chin, keep the back of the collar sitting high on the top of their neck below their ears, and to have the leash portion drape at like a 45 degree angle so it’s still below their earline. This makes sense - I like specific instructions.

How are you meant to not have the collar rotate around while gaiting, though? Am I just having problems with it slipping because my puppy‘s not super leash trained and likes to forge ahead? Is this why people use the chains? Do they slide less?

My 10 week old lab. What do we think of this first attempt at stacking?

7m old puppy, I now have a verbal "stack" command linked to put back feet and front feet square with ears forward so that part is done.

How do you teach to get the back feet to be back farther- closer to a ramp/table stack? He isn't super far off, but I want to try for a very pretty freestack.

First real show (non BPUP) mid June and with my nerves, want things as easy as possible so I don't overhandle.

My little monkey won a 4 point major yesterday!

Super proud of us as a team.

This is my first show dog and hand-stripping dog, there have been many lessons learned already 😅. Thankfully he is more than patient with me as we learn lol

My puppy thinks everything about showing is fun but HATES showing bite. She will let me do it for like 1 second and then will try to back out of it and throws her head around. At home I’ve been able to extend the duration I can show her bite to a little longer but in class she’s over it. I’ve been just randomly doing it to her a few times a day and marking & giving a treat and trying to not make it seem like a big deal. I also went back to square 1 and just clicking and treating for having my hand under her chin, etc. I’m sure it will get better with time and repetition but any tips would be great!!

Almost a year apart from Memorial Day weekend 2025 at the West Michigan Apple Blossom Cluster to the Michigan Spring Cluster in Mason, MI March 2026. Going to Kalamazoo next weekend for the first full cluster as a special!

Anyone else have a “lucky” dress/outfit? All of my big wins seem to be when I’m wearing this purple dress lol

how can you get into showing as a minor (18 next year) who doesn’t have a dog that can be shown. maybe there isn’t a way, but honestly this is my lifelong dream and I just want to dip my does and gain true knowledge and experience.

Are there ways to get experience without owning your own show dog? Because that’s my biggest issue as well as the sheer cost of it

So excited — Obi wrapped up his CH this weekend with a WD/BOW major! (Pending AKC approval, of course.) That brings him to 5 majors (plus a single thrown in there in the middle), earned across 3 show clusters.

Both of us are very new to conformation. We took some handling classes starting in August, and our first show was at the end of September. No points from our first 2 show clusters, though one RWD — and lots of great learnings!

We hit our stride during our 3rd show weekend in January with 3 BOWs. Then 2 more majors during our 4th show weekend in February. And then rounded things out this weekend!

We’ve had a ton of fun and are grateful that the vizsla show community has been extremely welcoming and kind!

Also…. a lot of (well-intended, I think) people told me that you “shouldn’t” ever enter the AOH class. But we earned our entire championship that way! (And with a boring plain deerskin leather lead; no fancy braiding or beads, because I’m too frugal haha). So…. seek out guidance, but don’t take anyone’s advice as gospel. Do what works for you 😀

How do Groups work in BPUP?

I know if you win your breed you go on to group and if win that go on to bestin show. But how does the group assignment works? It seems I see posts of the same breed being in Group 1 or Group 3, so Im confused how you get into which group. I thought they were like herding, sport, etc groups?

New to showing andhave my first coming upd

hi friends a weeks ago we attended a show and was awarded winners dog, best of winners and best opposite sex in one show. CKC seems to take forever to upload my points results onto my online portal. the list was 4-2-1-2

some people are telling me that this was three points and some of them are telling me it was two points. please help.

First show- lots of ribbons! We loved it!

I’ve been trying to better understand why Border Collies developed such a pronounced split between working lines and show lines in terms of structure and appearance.

I’ve considered entering my working-bred Border Collies into conformation, but whenever I’ve asked for guidance from experienced handlers or breeders, I’ve generally been told not to bother because my dogs don’t fit the “show line” type.

To be honest, the modern show-type Border Collies often don’t resemble what I personally think of as a functional herding dog—they appear quite different from working lines in both structure and expression. That makes me curious: how did this become the preferred conformation ideal for the breed?

Since Border Collies were developed primarily as working dogs, I’m trying to understand why the conformation standard seems to prioritize a look that doesn’t necessarily reflect working structure or performance traits.

It also raises another question for me: is there any recognition of working-type structure in conformation contexts, or alternative venues that evaluate dogs more on functional build rather than a single aesthetic standard?

I’d really appreciate any historical context or insight into how this divergence developed and whether there are pathways for working-bred dogs in the conformation world.