So you have a dog, great lines championship breeding.  I am wondering how to start showing.  I have read old post's on here and someone advised after just 3 weeks showing her girl had qualified for Crufts.  How do you qualify?  How to get started?  What age does my girl have to be? Any hints and tips would be great.  I will contact her breeder as well and see what she thinks. 

Trouble i have is that she is a Mini Schnauzer, not the easiest of coats to groom for the novice :-0

Any tips and hints would be most grateful

Your first point of contact is your girls breeder, they will be able to advise if your girl is show quality, hopefully if they're near to you they'll also show you how to prepare her coat.

2nd thing to do is join your local ringcraft club, they'll teach you how to show your dog and will probably have lots of open show schedules too. Ringcraft is a social event for you and your dog :-)

Sorry missed the age question - you can show her from 6 months old.

Your best bet is to find ringcraft classes in your area (the KC might be able to help if you ring them), and also join your breed club (if you're not already a member) to get tips from them. Your bitch's breeder should be able to help as well with the specialist details of your breed.

You can start ringcraft classes (brilliant for teaching the dog confidence around other dogs, as well as teaching the owner the ropes) as soon as your bitch has had her vaccinations, and can be entered in shows from the age of 6 months.

Good luck!

Re grooming it really is the breeders help you will need, they may know an experienced exhibitor near you who can help, but please don't go to a groomer with your pup as they will ruin the coat unless they are expert at show grooming of the breed.

Basically to show the pup needs transferring to your name,a nd can be shown from 6 months.

You need to learn how to show, so ringcraft classes for you both.  Hopefully fi you can't find a class though the kennel club contacts here http://www.bestofbreeds.com/clubcorner/dogs/ringcraftclubs.htm may help you find a local one.

Entries for shows close up to two months ahead.

This  site http://www.prodogs.net/ has some useful info for novices as well as contacts for the shows.

You can start going to ringcraft with your pup as soon as her vaccinations are done. Make it fun at this age and do a little practice at home as well but fun is the key word.
At 6 months you can enter shows. You can either start with a few companion shows and then move to Open shows or go straight to the BIG stuff and enter Championship shows.
At championship shows you can qualify for Crufts in two ways dependant on your CC status. If you have CC's in your breed (sorry I don't know) you qualify at a show where CC's are on offer for your breed by being placed in the first, second or third  in classes. If you don't have CC's you can qualify at any championship show if you come in the top 3 in your classes.
Some shows do not have sets of CC's on offer even if you are a CC breed. Its important to remember that at these shows you won't qualify for Crufts. This is why often these shows have lesser entries or they are full of dogs who have already qualified.
Qualifying in 3 weeks is entirely possible. There are plenty of dogs who at just 6 months have entered a champ show and come first. :)

i would start with your breeder who will be invaluable to you and proberly has a lot of knowledge about all things to do with showing.
also i would suggest going to a few open shows first ( without your pup) so you can see it for yourself and people are genenally a lot more forthcoming at open shows.

CC's? Is this champions? Sorry i'm not really stupid, only mildly stupid lol :-D (that is dependent on who you are talking to though).

Unfortunately, i am one of those people who traveled for my girl, so my girls breeder is not very close. I can ring her for advise but its seeing how her coat should be done correctly.  I've looked on the internet for tips, but without seeing how its done, it is proving quite difficult.  I clipped her (i know!!) i wasn't going to show, its coming back though and i'm stripping her again :-). I guess if i go to a show i can get a good idea how it should be done.  I am a fast learner lol.  Ring craft sounds great! i shall look that up straight away......

3 CCs (challenge certificates) under 3 different judges gives the title of Champion.

> Basically to show the pup needs transferring to your name,a nd can be shown from 6 months

What do you mean?  Her KC has been transfered into my name.... Is that the same?  Thank you

So CC's, is that 3 per year? or is it once you have the 3 you are champion for life?  Automatic entry?  Its confusing, but very interesting...

No 3 in total -it can take years to get them and most show dogs of course never do. Once you have the title of Champion it's for life. :)

>So CC's, is that 3 per year?

No, three in total, under different judges, gives the title of Champion, which is for life. (And gives automatic entry to Crufts.)

ahhhhh! now i'm getting there...... Thank you all.  Easy 1) Ring craft 2) ask breeder for hints 3) join breed club, which i was looking at earlier today 4) Enter shows where CC's are on offer for my breed!   Have i got it right?  Admittedly, attaining CC's looks easier than it obviously is lol

Personally I'd start off entering smaller, less formal shows like Open shows before plunging into Champ shows, till I knew the ropes a bit better. ;-)

>Admittedly, attaining CC's looks easier than it obviously is lol

Yes; in some breeds a dog would have to beat over 200 other dogs to win one - including existing champions. It has to be the best dog (or bitch) of its breed at the show - and some breeds have huge entries. Luckily you don't have to actually win a CC to qualify for Crufts - 'just' win the relevant places in particular classes.

Going back through your previous posts, ringcraft classes would probably help Ima with her problems with dogs and children - there are hundreds of dogs and people at shows, so a steady temperament is vital. The classes might be very helpful at getting her used to such things gradually.

Jut to confuse you even more. You can also qualify for life if you get a stud book number.

But most qualify through gaining class placements throughout the year. Its lovely to have automatic qualification and you may have a fab dog on your hands that does it. But if you are a novice at all this I would start on the first rung of the ladder, get some ringcraft in and go to a few open shows and see what happens.
Soon you will have no spare weekends in the summer LOL

> Jut to confuse you even more. You can also qualify for life if you get a stud book number.

What does this mean?  Sorry to be a pest :-) x

I found great difficulty in getting a behaviorist to work with my girl, finally found one, advised of problems and they advised they would send me a vet referral form through email, once my vet had signed we could start a program ......Never received the email, contacted back and the same...correct email and everything.  I have watched her behavior carefully and its not aggression she is a Mini Schnauzer and they are very vocal, she loves Children.  I was worried, only to find she is barking and straining to get to children, not to eat them but because she wishes to play with them.... Anyhow i haven't given up.  I lead walk her now, we live near 3 schools so at 2pm i take her for a walk when it is quiet.  We sit out of sight of a school at PE time, Ima cannot see the children but she can hear them, i then practice with Ima doing the things she loves, sit, down, Bang (which is lie oh your back and pretend to have been shot) whilst giving her lots of treats and praise.  So far so very good.  I can now guide her past everything without any commotion.  I haven't given up on a behaviorist, it is obviously going to take a bit more time to get the right one (they must be very busy!!).  I don't doubt her temperament and i know we will curb this teenage behavior. 

One more thing though as we do have to sort out her issues.... and my local ringcraft now wont accept Ima because of her problems (behaviorist own's said premises and classes :-(...) Thinks we need to solve problems first....So is their a specific time span for showing? In age? She is 10 months now and turning into a fantastic girl.  Her Pedigree is amazing and she only has a couple of ancestors that are not Champions ( i realise this doesn't mean she is perfect, except in my eyes that is)... So i think it would possibly be a waste not to show her, you never know unless you try x

If you have transferred her KC registration to you, then you have put her under your name.

Stud book numbers are awarded following winning certain classes/awards at Championship Shows.  A stud book number qualifies your dog for Crufts for life.  The type of award required to get your stud book number depends on the breed.  In mine, the numbers are awarded if you win CCs, RCCs and 1st or 2nd in Open, or a Junior Warrant (JW).  In Mini Schnauzers, stud book numbers are awarded for CCs, RCCs, JW or 1st/2nd/3rd in the Open Class or 1st in the Limit Class.

Junior Warrants are awards for dogs under eighteen months of age, and are based on wins at Open and Championship Shows.

I'm guessing but does this only apply to dogs!!! not females?? Thanks

Dogs AND bitches!

We didn't get bitten by the showing bug until our bitch was about 11 months old. It doesn't matter when you start but we felt that more allowances are made for them perhaps not standing well when they are still puppies and you're up against dogs and bitches who're well used to the environment and do as is expected thus showing you up when less than perfect the older they get. 

Good luck and hope that any issues can be sorted out soon so you can go to ringcraft and get into some shows soon.

There are some quite good websites that give the ins and outs of showing - trying googling dog shows and see what you get

> What do you mean?  Her KC has been transfered into my name.... Is that the same? 

Yes that is what I meant as so many owners don't transfer the pup into their name, two of mine that actually were entering shows hadn't done it so had to put TAF after their dogs names on the entry forms and get their transfers off PDQ.

I am sure your breeder can advise you of an exhibitor near you who can help you with the coat care and presentation, it will certainly affect your chances in the ring.

At ringcraft you will be able to learn a lot about how everything works show wise.  The Prodogs link I gave you will too

> and my local ringcraft now wont accept Ima because of her problems (behaviorist own's said premises and classes :-(...)

Have you been told that Ring-craft won't take her.  If her issues are just over excitement at the site of dogs and children then ring-craft would be ideal.

The first time you go you need only sit back and watch, the next week I would expect her to be a lot calmer as by being inactive and spectating should be calming.

The nice thing about ringcraft is you can take things entirely at your own and the dogs pace.

Thank you very much for your help. I will be putting it all in to practice.  First step is definitely her Breeder, who is also a judge, so hopefully she can tell me straight away if Ima is good enough and if not will be able to point me in the right direction :-) also direction on how to strip and ensure Ima coat is correct (I've just returned from a long walk to the park, muddy park with Ima and if her breeder could see her now, I'm sure she would shake her head)....

Ring craft sounds great and i am looking forward to this.  Once she has been, clipped ans stripped and is looking her best i shall put a photo of her on, LOL definitely  not at the moment ha x  "Bath time Ima"

Once she has been, clipped ans stripped and is looking her best

Hold tight - no more clipping until an exhibitor has seen her if you're going to show her - it's crucial !! :) :)

> Hold tight - no more clipping until an exhibitor has seen her if you're going to show her - it's crucial !! :-) :-)

Ok, i'll hang fire on that one.... LOL.  Phew says Ima... :-)

It can take 12 months to recover a coat that's been clipped in places where it shouldn't have been.... ;)

True, but hopefully with a coat that's only been clipped once it should recover. And the breeder can still assess the head, movement and conformation. Good luck!