Well I went to my first confirmation show in Annapolis Sunday.......I learned much........especially the fact that I have much to learn! :grin:
My daughter and I are going to take a handling class! I met a local handler that holds classes! I also learned you can show the tweenies. It's a class called "All American Dachshund", you can show puppies until they are 18 months old, there are no size requirements in puppy. Also the tweenies are popular with the jumiors!
The people were nice and very willing to talk and educate those wanting to learn.
I talked to a dachshund judge and he explained many things.
Gosh, the people who show, many are very serious, showing up in motor homes, traveling the country showing their dogs. My goodness, their tables were full of more beauty products and brushes, than girls in the Miss America pagents! :crazyeyes:
One of the dachsund breeder/show person's brought with her a rescue. The new owners for his forever home, came to the show to pick up the dachshund! When she handed them the dog, everybody close by had tears in their eyes! (The new owners were screened a few weeks ago and they lived in this area, and yes the big boy was neutered) This person does rescue about 3 to 4 dachshunds a year and will take back a puppy anytime, even if the dog has grown to a senior. She only breeds champions and has only 1 or 2 litters, every 3 years!
It was a fun experience! The judge told me if you show regular, it'll cost between $3,000.00 to $6,000.00 a year and that does not count travel expenses! Many people hire handlers and pay them a forutne! It wouldn't be fun to pay someone else to show your dog! The guy that handles that standard poodle they showcased on Animal Planet was there with the big white poodle, "Justin", that did well at westminster last year. Gosh, I never liked poodles, but that dog is beautiful! Anyway, I learned that there is much to learn, before stepping into the show ring and how much it really requires! So, until we take some classes and learn much more before entering Grace, we are happy to watch! I am so glad we didn't just enter. I showed the judge George and Grace's pictures, he says Grace looks like she would be worth showing! Also, a relative of Grace won Best Dachshund! They have the same grandmother in their pedigrees! I thought that was neat!
I saw my first up close in person, English Cream, Long hair standard dachshund! Boy was she beautiful! Lots of handsome wire hairs were there, the dogs were beautiful! I want to be pampered like these people pamper their dogs! :grin:
A beautiful lab won best in show!
Hi there,
Welcome to the wonderful world of dog shows... i show my dachshunds in conformation so if you have any questions feel free to ask away and i will do my best... sounds like you got some good advice at the show :) Warning though dog shows are VERY addictive! :2funny:
Jen & the Crew
Jen is right the dogs shows are really addictive :2funny: The big thing is to keep an eye on the judge and dog and listen carefully to the judge. They don't normally change patterns between classes but there are a couple who have done the same pattern all day and suddenly with a class of one dog will throw in a differnt ring pattern :crazyeyes: It can really throw you , especially when you first start. :doah: I felt like it was make me look like and idot :idiot:. Good luck.
Merion & Zack
It seems to me like some people get caught up in it to the extreme! Even those that seemed very extreme, were very nice to me and helpful! It was shades of de dja vou, hearing them talk about judges, judges favorite breeds and which judges are kind to which breeds. It was the same when my boys were wrestling. We knew the ref's across the nation! They would call certian things and the boys would adjust their match, based on which ref they had! Two of my son's were state champions and one was in the top 5 in the country. So I've traveled for their matches, seems like much of the same thing, only with dogs now! My son says we should go to the shows much first like we did with going to wrestling matches, to scope out the competiors, like we used to do with wrestling! Watch their moves and learn the moves the winners use! I did notice that the handlers with personality and dogs that had personality, seemed to win, more so than those who seemed not so personable! Even though I thought a different dog looked better! I was pleased to see that Grace does look good against the winners at this show! So we will see. First the handlers class and attending more to watch and learn! :angel4: