Having read the posting on the visitors board where the guest said we all looked idiots going around the ring I just wondered why people do show? 

I go because I love my dogs and it gives me chance to spend quality time with them.  It has also given me a chance to talk to like minded people who share my love of dogs. If I am honest I am also very competative and love the challenge.  Plus its the only excercise my husband gets when he shows :)

Why do you do it?

I go because I enjoy meeting up with people in my breed and other friends.  It's amazing how many people are anti-show people although it's alright for them to go flyballing, agility, etc. etc.  Yes showing wasn't something that a dog was designed originally to do but was flyballing ?

I think that it's brilliant that there are so many diverse things that we can do with our dogs and I sometimes feel annoyed that certain quarters, especialy in my breed think that show people aren't interested in their dogs !  My dogs come first and foremost in my life and if they didn't enjoy it I wouldn't take them, but they love going to the shows too.

I go becasue I love meeting people with similar interests and I love having a 'doggy day out'.I like the competition and the boys love it too
Archer

I enjoy meeting like minded people too and the dogs enjoy it too :)
Its a hobby we can both share :)

One of the4 things I love about showing in conformation rather than the other competitive forms of dogh activities is that oen can do as little or as much as one likes so it can fit into your life (or you can fit your life around it) more easily than other activities.

Yes there is a definite skill to handling a dog well, but most anyone can learn to show sufficiently well to allow their dog a fair chance.

Now with all the other activities oen needs to spend an awful lot of time with ongoing training to improve ones performance.  Yes practice will make a good dog look great, but a good dog shoudl get recognised in the breed ring despite shortcomings in handling, at least in the breed ring where it matters.

With some of the doggy activities one also has to be very fit and able bodied.  there are few breeds (GSDs probably the main exception) where most people cannot show their own dog.

I also am proud of my dogs and want others who are proud of theirs to see and compare them.

The main reason is socialising with others who are as mad about dogs as me.  None of my family fit that bill and you can see the glazed looks on their faces when I open my mouth :D

Because I can!!! :D  I just love spending the time with the dogs, its something to take me away from the real life of school!  It's a great excuse to have afew dogs and It's something I enjoy.  I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy it!  It's nice that you can win something, and if you don't the journy home is intyresting with everyone slagging the judging off (mind you only done in the car!!! :D )

Plus I think poncing round the ring like an idiot is cool!!!! :D lol

Only time I ever get to see other Maremmas or Smooth Collies! Enjoy meeting friends, seeing good dogs and having a day out with mine. It is nice to win but as long as the judging is sane I'm happy.

Janet

Got to agree about other people not sharing your interest who are not fellow showers.  My friends look at me totally blank as much as to say what a anorak but I dont care because I am one :):):)  When Tigger got her first ticket I wanted to tell the world and nobody outside of my dally mates quite understood the magnitude of what we had achieved.  I always thought she was wonderful and finally found someone who agreed.  It took us weeks to come down to earth :)

I do it because the dogs & me love it :) Just got back from a limit show LOL I won a class of one & was 4th from4 in the other but my dogs loved it & have added a few more female canine hearts to their collection :D

Best of all we had a special every ticket wins a prize tombola for the funds to pay for the three pets of a british family, who lost everything in Phuket,to go through quarentine  & raised an amazing £125 !!!!! Dog people never fail to amaze me in their willingness to help others

Jozi won our first CC at our club show,a dn I just fell apart and actually burst into teard on the lapels of her sires owner, and that isn't me at all :D

I almost forgot that I ahd t6o go back in the ring to challenge the dog for BIS (he won, but I didn't care) and to challenge the Reserve Best dog for RBIS (we won but didn't care at all).  Haven't had anything to compare since. :D

I love showing my dogs, I love the atmosphere at the shows,where you are amongst like minded people, where the main topic of conversation is dogs, The adrenaline rush when your dog wins is amazing, no other feeling like it, can only liken it to winning the lottery, I have made many, many friends all over the country from showing my dogs, people I would never had known otherwise, through the internet, I have joined many dog groups, where I have made even more friends, Dog lovers are in my mind the best kinda people to know, not just in my chosen breed, I have friends in all breeds, I have learnt more from talking to others, than any book could ever tell you.

Charm

I do it because I love meeting people and chatting to people who don't say "right enough dog talk now" I also do it because I spend so much time on grooming my girls and keeping them looking as good as I possibly can, that it seems pointless for just the Locals to see them on their daily walk. I also think my dogs are the best thing since sliced bread whether they come first or last (the latter seems to be the case more often than not) :D :D :D My OH and I both share a passion for dogs and we will quite happily chat dogs all the way and back to and from shows. The dogs see the showbag come out and they are bouncing off the wall with excitement as they really love their days out. My older girl hates being in the ring, but she loves going to shows and meeting other dogs.

because I think my dogs fit the breed standard, ok maybe not perfectly but pretty close.  So I am an out and out 'my dog is better than the rest' person, but on saying that if they don't win it's not my dogs fault but the judges (not that I'd EVER say that at a show).  Truth be told I have pet dogs that I show and who do extremely well for me and that's the way I'm happy to keep it.

To be honest, I show because I like to compete and I like to win!! Anyone hwo says they don't mind losing is lying :D, well I would be because because I do mind! My dogs are the best, in my eyes even though I know their faults, and when the judge doesn't agree it does knock you.  Like today...won't talk about that though ;) The poor dogs had to listen to me rant all the way home!!!
I also love spending time with Kayla, Chloe loves the time to herself at home with my parents, although she came today to get away from the pup!!! She enjoys the shows, she loves meeting the other dogs, I like talking to like minded people, although its taken a while for me to find people who are nice at shows-but believe me they are out there :D!!!!! I also love the atmosphere, suppose thats the competitor in me coming out again! And to top it off, I love driving, a big bonus of you show!!!
I have learnt so much since I started showing Chloe in July and Kayla in October and hopefully when me and Idõ get in the ring I hope I will learn loads more with the help of his breeder and other people within the breed, I'd say I've learned more in these last 7/8 months about dogs, breeding, showing and vizslas than in all the 6 years that we 'just' owned Chloe because we hardly, if ever, saw any other vizslas and certainly didn't know anyone in the breed.
I like learning, its something I'm genuinely interested in, and all in all its FUN, ot at least its MEANT to be :D!!!!!!!
Emily