# To show a dog?



## Harley & Dakotas Mum (Jun 11, 2005)

Ok, so I'm sitting here tonight looking at my darling angels & tossing around the idea of talking to Dakota's breeder about showing her..... I love them both, but Harley is not exactly close to standard, plus hes neutered, so I'm thinking about Dakota only at this stage. NOT that I want to show her .... but .... 

I was watching Dakota sleep (one of my favourite past-times) & my train of thought went like this .......

Oh my, isn't she just darling ..... I wonder.......... is she show-worthy? I could always call Barry (her breeder) & discuss it I suppose ......... he could help me, he shows, he could perhaps recommend a handler etc, etc .... (really stretch the imagination here ....)

Which lead to ........ OK, really stretching the imagination here ...... what if she got her Ch ...?? Would I breed her ...... ah, very swiftly ...... Heck NO! I do NOT have the experience!!! Nor would I ever dream of it!!!

Which lead to ..... so, why would you show a dog (any breed I guess) if you had no intention of breeding them .......... ?????

Is there a point? I've kind of blabbed in circles here, but, I guess what I mean to say is .... what is the main reason to show a dog? Is it to gain Ch to breed & better the line?? Sorry, sounds like an ignorant question I know....

Ok, I'm not articulating well, but I mean, If you wanted to show a dog for fun, without wanting to breed, are there such ways to do it? ..... No, not really is there?????


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

This is a totally ignorant answer, but I don't see why you couldn't show a dog you had no intention of breeding. I would think the biggest reason not to would be the expense involved. I think most show breeders admit that they have more money going out than coming in even with selling puppies, but at least that gives you a bit of income to invest back into your hobby.


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## arko (Dec 4, 2006)

perhaps just to know that your dog is a show worthy dog?


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## HappyB (Feb 28, 2005)

Threre are some people who do show just for the fun of it. I know of one person now who is showing Maltese with no intent to breed. She just enjoys the sport. She has a group she enjoys visiting with at shows, and considers it a hobby.
I have a Westie girl who is a champion that I did not breed, even though I am one of the owners of a male who was #1 for two years, and would be a perfect sire for the litter. My reason was that I love having a Westie, but one is enough, and I knew that if I had pups I would want to keep at least one of them. As it is, Kelsey thinks she is a Maltese except when she is outside acting like a terrier should.


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## charmypoo (Sep 11, 2004)

I agree with all of the above. Some people show for fun and not sure if they want to breed. 

I have been told why show if you aren't going to breed? Showing is to prove the quality of your dogs for breeding - no? It seems many people have no intention of breeding but will always get sucked into it. I guess the appeal of cute little puppies is so great


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## HappyB (Feb 28, 2005)

> I agree with all of the above. Some people show for fun and not sure if they want to breed.
> 
> I have been told why show if you aren't going to breed? Showing is to prove the quality of your dogs for breeding - no? It seems many people have no intention of breeding but will always get sucked into it. I guess the appeal of cute little puppies is so great
> 
> ...



One reason some people do end up breeding is that a number of breeders are now requiring a pup back from the first breeding as part of the "price" , and "encourage" them to breed. Personally, I don't agree with it, but it is becoming more and more common.


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## Cathy (Mar 19, 2006)

I'm one of those who has decided to show and see where it takes me. I haven't eliminated breeding from my future but did not get into showing for the sole purpose of breeding. I'm having a ball at handling classes even though I have a very stubborn and challenging girl. Even the handler who is teaching the class tells me that I have a very tough dog to train. Yet, she's a beautiful girl worthy of her championship so I persevere. Right now we're both having a lot of fun and that's what I wanted - a fun hobby. Handling/show training isn't nearly as easy as it looks so for me this is the challenge that I needed. When we finally hit the shows in 3 months hopefully all this work pays off. I sure don't want to look like a ditz in the ring!









Cathy A


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## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

> Ok, so I'm sitting here tonight looking at my darling angels & tossing around the idea of talking to Dakota's breeder about showing her..... I love them both, but Harley is not exactly close to standard, plus hes neutered, so I'm thinking about Dakota only at this stage. NOT that I want to show her .... but ....
> 
> I was watching Dakota sleep (one of my favourite past-times) & my train of thought went like this .......
> 
> ...


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## Harley & Dakotas Mum (Jun 11, 2005)

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. I'm not sure that she would even be able to be shown really - there's nothing like a mother's love! LOL I'm fully aware that just because I think she's perfect, doesn't mean others will!

I will do some more thinking & maybe talk to her breeder. Either way, I need to decide pretty quick - she's booked in to be spayed in the middle of February, so I need to make up my mind before then!

Thanks again.


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

One thing to consider is - are the AKC papers OPEN. If not, you cannot show or breed. Personally, I don't see why anyone would want to spend so much money to finish a dog if there is no intention to breed unless the breeder is trying to finish as many as possible pups from a certain dog. But, having said that, I have seen a few, over the years, show a tiny or two and drag them around for quite some time to finally acquire their championship.


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## Harley & Dakotas Mum (Jun 11, 2005)

> One thing to consider is - are the AKC papers OPEN. If not, you cannot show or breed. Personally, I don't see why anyone would want to spend so much money to finish a dog if there is no intention to breed unless the breeder is trying to finish as many as possible pups from a certain dog. But, having said that, I have seen a few, over the years, show a tiny or two and drag them around for quite some time to finally acquire their championship.[/B]


Thanks Brit, I have only just started thinking about it & so I think it's just a bit of a pipe dream at this stage - our rules are a little different to yours, I just found this site which is interesting - I'm not sure if it is the same for you guys in the US?

A Beginners Guide ...

I guess an 'Open Show' would be what would apply to me if I decide to go down this road ......


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

you know what they can both do?? rally-o!! its basically training your dog to do obedience competitions. we put sprite and ellie into a pre-novice category and they had to(without treats!) heel, automatically sit, do a left turn, right turn, turn around, stand still, sit for 30 seconds and do a down for 2 min. something like that. 

it was A LOT of fun! we didnt do anything that is in rally-o, but we took a few classes of it and it was a lot of fun. 

i think what you want is to do something to show accomplishments of your baby. right? cuz thats what i wanted to do.







lol. 

AND they dont have to be intact.


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## Harley & Dakotas Mum (Jun 11, 2005)

> you know what they can both do?? rally-o!! its basically training your dog to do obedience competitions. we put sprite and ellie into a pre-novice category and they had to(without treats!) heel, automatically sit, do a left turn, right turn, turn around, stand still, sit for 30 seconds and do a down for 2 min. something like that.
> 
> it was A LOT of fun! we didnt do anything that is in rally-o, but we took a few classes of it and it was a lot of fun.
> 
> ...



Cathy, that sounds like great fun! I will look into what we have available here ... we have next to nothing available compared to you guys









Thanks for the suggestion!


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

> > index.php?act=findpost&pid=309945
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

OH, I keep forgetting where you are. I'm sure you have different rules and of course not AKC...lol.


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## bellaratamaltese (May 24, 2006)

Haha! You sound like me! It surely wasn't that long ago that I was looking at Lucy, who had just been cut into a puppy cut, thinking 'hmm... I wonder if she has what it takes..." So I asked Faye for advice and she told me that from pics, Lucy looked nice. I think I can say that things pretty much snowballed from there, LOL! Good luck and remember... you can always postpone a spay appt!


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

try contacting some dog trainers and see if they know about what sites to go to that show competitions in parks. THEY HAND OUT RIBBONS AND TROPHIES! sprite won third place and ellie won fourth. and then the other competition...sprite was disqualified(got up during the down) and ellie could have moved on to the next level. 

you dont have to have a dog trainer to do it. just call them to see if there are any clubs or parks that are having competitions. we also tried some agility...but it's bad for their knees anyway.


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## Harley & Dakotas Mum (Jun 11, 2005)

> try contacting some dog trainers and see if they know about what sites to go to that show competitions in parks. THEY HAND OUT RIBBONS AND TROPHIES! sprite won third place and ellie won fourth. and then the other competition...sprite was disqualified(got up during the down) and ellie could have moved on to the next level.
> 
> you dont have to have a dog trainer to do it. just call them to see if there are any clubs or parks that are having competitions. we also tried some agility...but it's bad for their knees anyway.[/B]


Way to go Sprite & Ellie!














I'm definately going to look into this ... have started looking already, but getting frustrated at the lack of clubs around here .... I might talk to Dakota's breeder still & see if he knows of any clubs around ... thanks again Cathy!


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## Tina (Aug 6, 2006)

There are quite a few USA breeders who put champions on their dogs to sell them as champions. They put the champion on them and off to the vet to be neutered/spayed and then sold. 

Showing dogs is like any sport, some people are in it for competition. Some are in it for a hobby, just get a dog and show it to its championship. It can be fun and enjoyable.

I thought the same way as some of you guys, why would you put all that money into a dog you were just going to spay/neuter. It used to get to me showing against these people, knowing what they were doing.









I just wanted to get my championship to show my dog was worth breeding. They take the points away from a similar dog just to prove they can. Sometimes its not the dog winning the points but the other end of the lead. 

I still keep trying. Coat care is the biggest thing that holds me back from winning, but I am getting better.


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## Harley & Dakotas Mum (Jun 11, 2005)

> There are quite a few USA breeders who put champions on their dogs to sell them as champions. They put the champion on them and off to the vet to be neutered/spayed and then sold.
> 
> Showing dogs is like any sport, some people are in it for competition. Some are in it for a hobby, just get a dog and show it to its championship. It can be fun and enjoyable.
> 
> ...



Thank you Tina, I never really looked at it from that angle - I guess if one doesn't want to breed, then it only adds to the competition of those who do - difficult really, I guess in one way its good to have the competition, however on the other hand, it somehow doesnt seem fair .... very good food for thought, thank you!


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

have you tried calling dog trainers? i'd ask if they knew of a website to go to. or maybe do a couple of classes...they sometimes teach fun stuff. make sure they do positive training only.


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## Harley & Dakotas Mum (Jun 11, 2005)

> have you tried calling dog trainers? i'd ask if they knew of a website to go to. or maybe do a couple of classes...they sometimes teach fun stuff. make sure they do positive training only.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Not yet, but I plan to on Tuesday when the holidays are over







Thanks again Cathy, great suggestion!


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## Sassy&Alyssa (Aug 29, 2006)

Although your not a breeder, you don't have to have a point to show your Maltese. Breeders only show their dogs so they can get titles in the dog world and become known. If you really want to get into showing be prepared for lots of traveling(only if you do win) and grooming. You can take classes if your dog is not trained in the show ring, as mentioned. Good luck with this!


EDITED TO ADD: If you don't want to do comformation, but get your dog titled you can do dog sports too. I'd love to get into agility myself, but Sassy is to arthritic to do that anymore.


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## my baby (Aug 22, 2006)

Sounds to me like great fun!! Go Dakota Go!!!







Ithink it will be a fun think to do as a hobby!!! Put off the spay/neuter... because you dont want to regret it later!! Let us know how you get on, what ever you decide!!


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## lorraine (Jun 24, 2006)

> I guess an 'Open Show' would be what would apply to me if I decide to go down this road ......[/B]


That's what I thought when I read your first post or even an Exemption show (if you have such things). Non-Champion shows are ideal for getting the hang of things and other exhibitors seem less pressured to win. I started that way but... beware... if your dog starts attracting attention and is still entire there could be pressure on you to go the Championship route. I was forced down that road and disliked it intensely - somehow the air was just too charged with $/£ signs for me and people who wanted "mating privileges" would not take "NO" for an answer. 

I "finished" my Rough Collie and Cavalier then went straight to obedience, agility and free-style/dance. Much more fun







which, for me, was what it was all about in the first place AND they got a foo cercifikates as well









Good luck.


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