hi just wondering if theirs anymore champ shows in scotland met friend yest hes professial dog handler he was showing deerhounds and dachy at show yest ,he said to get out to champ shows and get hector quilyfed for crufts also hector breeder has said same been told to do pg in pointer classes as newbie to showing i do not now where and when champ shows are got told off for not entering skc

gundog breeds association Scotland - royal highland show ground Novemeber 12th schedule and online entry here ::
http://www.highampress.co.uk/download.asp

K

Hi groveclydpoint, if you are new to showing and you are handling your dog in a postgrad class (am I right in thinking this is what you mean, he is not a puppy?) then get yourself to as many ringcraft classes as you can in the meantime to develop your confidence and handling skills.

Have a look at past entries at champ shows and see what kind of numbers of dogs you are likely to be competing against--I don't know pointers but at PG the competition is likely to be quite robust.

You can find some champ shows on Higham Press and more on Fosse Data:

http://www.highampress.co.uk
http://www.fossedata.co.uk

Both of them also store information on entries at these shows from previous years which is useful. Also, it's a lot cheaper to get your practice in during open shows--there may be many more of these near you and by the time you go to the champ shows you will have a far better idea of your and your dogs strengths and weaknesses. You could be one of those really gifted people who seem to manage beautifully on their own, in which case my congratulations! but if you are at all like me a good ringcraft class is really important. I qualified my dog as a junior at the breed champ show and it was said to me by someone I have great respect for that the dog qualified in spite of me. Even with a lot of ringcraft under my belt between then and Crufts it was not enough to make the cut in a very large and very strong PG class. He's qualified again this year but I have a much better idea of just how hard it really is to do well at this level.  Good luck and enjoy it all!

thank u am doing ring craft every tues and doing lot reschearch yes it will be pg ,iv decdeied that when it comes to champ shows am going to get my freind to show hector i do not feel am ready but hector is my freind has handled hector at ring craft etc mr m is experined and pro dog handler infact hector goes beter for mr m am confidant to handle hector at open level but not champ,

hector 4yr ,sorry forgot to add his age been doing pg and pointer open

I can see that getting your friend to handle Hector makes sense for now if you want to get him qualified, but keep plugging away, it is such a good feeling when you do well yourself with him. Try to get down for Midland Counties or LKA, there is a section on the forum where people can offer and ask to share lifts so if travel is a problem that may help.

i handled hector at bakewell show few weeks back got 3rd out of 5 i was crying with delight am more use to showing horses so showing pointer new for me we have done 5 shows my confidance is getting stronger with every show same with hector,if hector is luckly to go to crufts mr m taking him and handling would love to do more shows in england but i have 11mnth old son so hopfuly do more in england next year when he is bit older

got 3rd out of 5 i was crying with delight

:) :) :) know the feeling! The first time we won anything (and there haven't been many of those!!!) I got a fairly tart "Yes..YOU madam...!!!" All the very best for the future with Hector, maybe your son will get into junior handling!!!!

You should go along to the Scottish Kennel Club show At Ingliston on Sunday 28th August to see the pointer classes there. There are 70 pointers entered, making 85 entries :-) You're too late to enter Hector but it would be good experience for you to go and watch :-)

yes were going to to skc show for look my friend showing deerhounds on sund as well ,was saying to my husband to day we should go along and have look and see what champ shows like and chat to pointer people and have look around trade stands my only worry is benching not sure what hector will be like getting benched ,we enjoey watching other classes at shows and see what other breeds are like was very sad yest as the lady that was suposed to judge golden retrivers dead saddly they got all goldens in ring and had min silance thought that was lovely thing to do

> we should go along and have look and see what champ shows like and chat to pointer people and have look around trade stands my only worry is benching not sure what hector will be like getting benched

I'm not sure if I've understood you correctly but you cannot take Hector to SKC if you haven't already entered him (entries are now closed).  Also don't forget that even if he is entered at a benched show there is no need to leave him on the bench alone, in fact it's preferable not to :)

sorry i ment i am worryed about benching hector and champ shows we do in futer ,iv got tie up chain for my horse so going to use that for benching

There is no need to bench your dog if you don't want to. I only use the benches if I want to sit down inside if the weather is bad, otherwise the dogs are with us sat ringside or walking around.

You can buy suitable chains for benching at most champ shows.  The best ones are those that have a couple of extra rings along the chain so that you can adjust the length to suit your dog.

There is an interesting discussion developing about benching at champ shows here 

o right never new that i was told by pointer lady that dog had to be benched and i could not walk him around,
we would prob stay in tent if its wet or too hot as i have 11mnth old son with me

Driffield champ show is in September, its at the race course and isn't too far for Scottish exhibitors (compared to most champ shows anyway)
The entries have been extended till this Monday go to http://www.highampress.co.uk/

:) Enjoy & best of luck