hi

just looking for a little advice??....thinking about maybe showing my pup, she is 6 months now..obvioulsy I love her to bits..but I know nothing about showing..never done anything like it before..how hard would it be for her? how much work training will I have to put in, she has been spayed..does this matter?..any info would be great..thanks Kellie

Nothing to stop you showing at all. You should write and tell the Kennel Club that she is spayed before you make any show entries.

As you have no experiencxe you really need to go to ringcraft classes, and tell the trainers that you know nothing about showing.
They will then be able to help you get the idea.  I beleive that your breed are normally stacked (held in postion with your hand hoding the muzzle and other hand the tail, and you put their feet in the right places by hand).  With luck ther should be some stacked breeds at the club whose owners can show you how to do it.

I would then buy one of the Canine Weeklies Dog World or Our Dogs, they can sometimes be found at large Newsagents, but most people subscribe or get their Newsagent to order it weekly.  I would order both for a month and decide which one appeals to you most in editiorail content, as they will both have show results and Judges Critiques abnd shwo adverts.

She is already old enough to be shown, so I would get some entries off to some Opejn shows as soon as you start at Ringcraft if she is already a confident sort, but wait until you see how her training goes if she is not.

A list of Ringcraft training classes can be obtained from the Kennel Club, or if you say where you are board mebers may know of one near you. :D

I would also go to a couple of shows on your own first so as you can see what it is like, and with luck make some aquaintances in your breed or other HPR or Gundog exhibitors.

Hi Brainless, thanks for this..she is beautiful..but then again I bet all mums think their baby is THE prettiest..the breeder we got her from said to not ignore the possibility of showing her as she was suitable etc..I wouldnt want to do it too much..more for a bit of fun really and also to meet other dogs and go to the shows, she is a little shy at the mo at her puppy classes..very confident at home though..we are based in Leeds if anyone knows of a ringcraft class nearby..she is a ponsonby pup thanks Kellie

We have never shown before we got gus - and if we can do it anyone can :D
Good luck - you will never know until you try it :)

yeah thats what I keep thinking, her mum and dad are both show dogs too..is it hard? what kind of dog is Gus? I dont think I want to be too serious about it..

Its one of those things you will either love or hate . You do tend to get bitten by the bug and if you dont get picked you think "Well there's always the next time ...".
Showing itself isnt hard - but you do need to practise at Ringcraft and its more nerve wracking than you would imagine but when you get a win /place its a brilliant feeling .
But like I say if you never have a go , you will never know :)
It doesnt make your dog any better or worse whether you win or not -but you have nothing to lose
(Gus is a Staffy by the way.)

yes I think I might have already been bitten by the bug..always trying to find shows to go to but was gutted that we wouldnt be able to take her unless she was entered!..it would spoil the fun if we couldnt take her with us!..could just be a nice hobby and give her an opportunity to speak to other Vizslas..trying to see if there is a local Ringcraft....

Hi there

I bought my girl as a pet, however decided that I would like to show her when she was the grand old age of 18 months. I took her to ringcraft classes and asked for an honest appraisal of her from another person in my breed. He told me there was no reason I shouldn't show her as she was good enough. I spoke to my breeder and told her I was thinking about showing too and she said to let her know when my first show was and she'd come along and give me her opinion. So after much hard work and many frustrating moments we entered our first open show. I arived on the day to find my breeder had entered two of her dogs (How terrified was I) Her boy had recently been given his first CC and as it was an open class we were in at the same time. I tried to get fairly near the front as my girl wasn't fab at standing for any length of time. We did our bit and my breeder seemed very pleased with how she went. There were 8 in the class and waiting in the final line-up was horrible. Anyway to cut a long story short we went on to win the class and take best of breed.

So there you go give it a shot you might like it.

Alli