Hi, I'm after some advice from people who are experienced in showing please?
I am a complete beginner and have found 2 ring craft classes in the local area I can attend but can anyone recommend a book or something that will explain all the terminology and etiquette as the more I read the more confused I get
So far iv learnt I need to begin at open shows so visited fossedata but all the seperate classes seem so confusing...sorry it's probably really obvious but what does av mean and where do I start?
Thank you for any help you can give me

There is some very helpful information here:- http://www.carolake.com/

Also here http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/activities/dog-showing/new-to-dog-showing/

A nice friendly ring craft class will welcome enthusiastic newcomers and be pleased to explain different types of dog shows and the appropriate classes to enter your dog into.

Have fun :)

Go to the ring craft classes you've found. You'll learn so so much from the people there :) They will teach you ring etiquette, moving and you can ask for help re show entry and classes.

Honestly the help I got at ringcraft classes was invaluable :D

What specific questions do you have? (Some times it's easier to target where you need help rather than ask for a general beginners guide to showing ;) )

What dog/s do you have?

Thank you for all the replies...the most confusing thing I find is the abbreviations for everything, was just worried about going to ringcraft with a 100 questions I suppose I just assumed people have some show knowledge that go...whereas iv always had dogs for my whole life but all pets not shown but it's something iv always wanted to do. I'm only wanting to do it as a hobby not really competitively but it all looks so professional even the open puppy classes

Some really good articles right here on this site written by one of our members.
http://www.champdogs.co.uk/blog/an-introduction-to-showing-your-dog
  Aileen has done a 3 part article ~ a really good read.
Enjoy

So what breed are you getting and what support is your breeder giving you ?

Sammy, 99% of the people showing are doing it as a hobby so worry not. You don't say what your breed is but try to use ringcraft class that already has some of your breed. Different breeds are shown slightly different so go to a few shows and watch how they are shown, tell people you are new and want to learn in most cases they will be happy to chat to you.

It's a dogue de Bordeaux we are wanting to get, although I'm only onto waiting list stage so far! I wanted to find out as much as I could before bringing a puppy home :) I remember my late boxers breeder standing her properly like in the show ring when she was 8 weeks old so thought I was best getting a little bit of knowledge about it all before rushing out to buy one and then realising I should have begun training from a really early age :)

Thank you Jackie, iv found a show quite close to me at Newark in March so I'm planning to attend that...are most showers ok with strangers asking questions? Don't want to offend/annoy anyone if that makes sense!

Three books I found both useful and interesting:

Collins Dog Showing: From Beginners to Winners by Robert Killick

Showing Dogs: The Exhibitors' Guide by Juliette Cunliffe

Good Showing: The New Exhibitor's Guide to Dog Showing and the Showring by Peggy Grayson

I also learnt a lot from my breeder who showed me what to enter, how to complete an entry form, and gave me a lot of help and support to best present my dog in the ring (from grooming to stacking)

If you're near Newark, there's lots of open shows there -there will also be one Saturday the 28th of this month. Not all shows will have classes for your intended breed, it varies a lot from show to show. Likewise there will be plenty of people happy to answer questions, others might not be so happy -it's hard to say, depends on how busy people are at the time etc, but I am sure you will find people happy to talk to you. The open shows at Newark tend to be small and friendly!

I didn't see anyone answer your question about AV (but I might have missed it), that stands for Any Variety. And people showing dogs are called exhibitors, not showers.

I'm in Sheffield so not too far from Newark...is the show on 28th on fossedata? Thank you for the AV query...iv got plenty of reading to do thanks to all the links so hopefully will enjoy the show more with a little more understanding :)

Are you going to watch at the show in March? I'm guessing if on a waiting list for a puppy? The min age a puppy can be shown is 6 months at KC shows.

I have a friend with two DDB, you don't see them often at open shows (atleast on my area) so you'll often enter AVNSC (any variety not separately classified - you only enter this if there isn't a breed class for the DDB). I believe the DDB have a breed champ show soon, it might be worth going along to that. I hear lovely things about the DDB show-ers so I'm sure they would be more than happy to answer your questions :)

Yes we don't have a puppy yet...was hoping to gather as much information as possible and go to some shows this year just to watch. Hoping to get a puppy around June/July time so quite a long way off actually taking anything to show. I'm reassured by all the answers though, was so nervous about approaching anyone with all my questions daft as it sounds!

Yes this is the show on the 28th: http://www.fossedata.co.uk/show_schedules/schedule.aspx?id=NEWA_FEB_15

I can feel your excitement Sammy

I can feel your excitement Sammy

Ah that is nice and good luck with the new pup !

I pick my new addition up in two weeks time and will be hopefully showing him if all goes to plan !

I have got a ring craft class sorted so hopefully that will give me the help I will need before entering into my first show ! The lady I have been in contact with seems very nice and I have already  made contact with somebody else who will be attending which is good.

If you are on Facebook try the Ringcraft UK group. Really helpful friendly bunch of people .

It is quite daunting but I am sure that after the first one it won't seems as bad and I will enjoy it !

Yes I just joined that yesterday and that's how iv found my closest ringcraft class, it's so exciting isn't it I'm right jealous you get your baby in 2 weeks bet you can't wait

That is good .

Yes very excited it has been three years in the planning so these last few weeks have been very testing !

Six months will whizz by !

I don't have any knowledge if showing but I know someone who wanted to show but wasn't sure about how to choose show quality puppy. They made sure the breeders they contacted knew they wanted show quality and managed to get a judge of the breed to visit the 2 males in the litter of the breeder they chose to give an opinion of which was likely to make the best complete show dog.

As I said I've no idea about showing so I don't know if this is normal practice but it seemed to make sense. We had no intension of showing our dog but the first thing the vet said on his 10 week check was "Did you buy him to show as the bite isnt right"

When I bought my fcr I told the breeder my hopes and she picked my pup for me. I cant say I would have asked to bring in a judge although I had the benefit of the siresi owner being a judge and she had a say in it. I guess it dependsif the breeder exhibits. Btwi had absolutly no idea what I was doing it was the lovely kind people that I met that helped

Yes I have told the breeders I have contacted so far that I am a total beginner regarding showing but would like to start and needed help choosing, the only lady who replied to me said she would put me on her waiting list and help choose 1. With it being a large breed I'm interested in im more concerned with health tests tbh as will be a pet above anything and Id hate to think id picked the 'prettiest' to then be heart broken 4 years later. As I'm a total beginner it really doesn't worry me if I come last in every single thing entered as long as the puppy is healthy :)

I have found everyone to be so helpful when iv asked questions and I was so nervous! Don't think I'd take anyone as the breeder who I spoke to exhibits herself and has done well so I would trust her judgement to choose :)

Yes the relationship you make with the breeder is key if you want all the help to succeed.
A breeder with a proven track record of selling winners and picking puppies is important...
Dog showing is a social activity and its nice to be friends with your breeder as an ice breaker.