I am thinking about showing my puppy when she is older...but I don't want to get into the serious competitive stuff, far too intimidating :-). Is there a level of showing for amateurs that is fun, and where do I start to learn what is required ( basic stuff like does the dog walk on my left or rigtht..yes really that basic !) etc? Thanks

You'll probably find that if you give your location someone on the forum will know of a ring craft club in your area which is the best way to start :)

In the spring and summer months there are generally lots of Companion Dog Shows which are entered on the day and just a fun day out for dogs and handlers - many of which will never have been to other shows before.

Beyond that, there are Limit shows (restricted to members but you can join on the entry form for usually £1 or £2) and Open shows.  If you do find a local ring craft they wil be able to advise you what's on and when :)  Also you could subscribe to one of the weekly dog papers such as Dog World or Our Dogs which list most of the up and coming events.

Good luck with it - it's a fun hobby - just don;t take things too seriously ;)

HTH, regards Teri

well thats explained something -I wondered what ringcraft was.  I am in Cheltenham, so do  I try to find ringcraft classes now or go to puppy training and then move on ?

Hi again - you could do both :)  

I like ring craft clubs for socialising as much as anything else - they're less intense than regular training classes and give youngsters the opportunity to meet dogs of all ages, shapes, colours and sizes so IMO, providing it's a well run club, they are even more effective than puppy training classes.  If you're not so confident in yourself about basic training with your puppy, then you may feel happier doing the puppy course first and then follow up with the ring craft :)

HTH, regards Teri

You are very well placed for many Open shows held at Three counties showgrund and cheltenham too. 

You can show at all levels and still keep it from taking over your life.

There are those who show every weekend, then thare are those like me who do a show a month, maybe two in Summer months.

My youngest bitch hasn't been to a show since October.  I have only been to one a month sicne then, and nothjing this month and just Crufts in March, club next at the end of April.  From may to September probably do two a month.

I love the Companuion shows, but sadly have nothign that is eligible for thse at the moment.

For showing your dog needs to be comfortable walking on either side of you, because in the ring you keep the dog between yourself and the judge. When the judge wants to see a side-view of your dog moving, he'll stand to one side of the ring and you trot your dog past him. At the end you turn round and trot back again. So the dog needs to change sides at the turn, to always be on the side facing the judge. :)

I know how you feel. I want to show mine but the dog people I've met put me off.They say you have to show each weekend and are very intensive and tell me my dogs have all these faullts even though they don't know the breed and stuff like I better get thick skinned if I want to show because it is all back biting and so on ... it just put me right off because I wanted to find someting I enjoy with my dogs.#

lol... so I trained them in obediance and now all I get is 'no chance' and my son trained our pup and joined YKC and all we get from dog show folk is if he competes they will pull him to bits cos he's not one of the in crowd.   So I plan to visit crufts this year ans see if dog folk are the monsters they are made out to be! 

It is very sad if it is all true... nd also very sad if it's not because people should be encouraging to new folk and not mean and trying to put them off.

I jave a family and mostly we like to go out as a family with the dogs to different places and have a good time with the kids and the dogs... but we also want to show because I love grooming my dogs and keeping them in good condition and training them.

We showed them once in a companion show and out of 20 one came 2nd and one 5th and tat was nice... but sadly the companion shows don't actually mean anything because it is not against a set standard and is a huge mix of dogs. It is more just practice and for socisalising but when you put a lot of work into your dogs it was rewarding but confusing really as is nice to do well in them but is also at the same time not meaningful .

It would be good if like you say there is something specific to ease new people into showing.

so I trained them in obediance and now all I get is 'no chance' and my son trained our pup and joined YKC and all we get from dog show folk is if he competes they will pull him to bits cos he's not one of the in crowd

Which obedience shows did you go to ? I'm amazed obedience people have told you no chance as they are famous for being welcoming & helpful. I know lots of obedience folks & have been involved in obedience since the late 1950's. Yes there are cliques because you get them wherever there are people, but they are in the minority. I know there are several people on here that do obedience & Michelled has taken her dog to C only last year & everyone I know was really chuffed & happy for her. I'm not competing at present but I do run an obedience show & judge & I know other people that do the same & we fall over backwards to get new people into the sport.

We have obedience YKC classes at our show & I always ensure we get an understanding & experienced judge as the YKC is the future of obedience. I'm off to Crufts on at least two days one to watch the dog obedience & the other to cheer on England in the World Cup & also to cheer on the Swiss who have a gorgeous Cairn Ob Ch called Speedy taking part & he's a little star

If you want to compete in obedience it's worth joining the Newbies E group on Yahoo via the http://.www.ObedienceUK.com website. There's lots of other new people to obedience on it as well as a few experienced people to give advise

Oops nearly forgot Labmad & her lab who've just statred in Obedience & have won out if Pre Beginners last year & Beginners as wel

Everyonne has to start somewhere in the world of dogs Breed can be quite "bitchy" but obedience isn't believe me. Nothing gives me more pleasure when judging the lower classes than to give a "newby"a win or good placing

Thanks so much and for the link! I will look that up later.

Oh Tenaj you poor thing!!! You must have met some truly awful people!  Not all exhibitors are like this.  I'm not going to lie to you and say there aren't people like that because unfortunately there are quite a few -  but honestly, there are some truly lovely people that show their dogs very successfully! 
As for pointing out your dogs faults - all dogs have faults (to a lesser or greater degree).  Its hard when people tell you that the most beautiful and gorgeous dog (in your eyes) isn't going to do well at showing because it has a fault or two but that doesn't alter the fact that the dog is a wonderful "person" and a joy to live with and that's what matters :)  Not all dogs match their standard enough to be shown successfully - we've all had them and loved them to bits.  So like you said if you don't do well at showing then you could try something else :)
As for having to show every weekend - rubbish!!  You show when you like... once a week - once a month - once a year!
I'm so sorry that your first experience of show people has been so dreadful - but we're not all ogres - honest!! :D

I must admit that the impression I get from reading some of the threads on here, does make me feel that I would feel like a wallflower at someone else's party !! Heaven help me if I ever wanted to consider breeding from my bitch :-) . I am so nervous now that I am starting to doubt if I will take my pup to any classes for anything for fear of making a mistake.  Shame because of all the dogs that I have owneed she is without doubt the brightest and would benefit from  stimulation

I only began to show my girls last year a complete novice I started ringcraft classes then entered a few companion shows they loved it ..so did we we.... went to a few Ch shows asked around got a bit of advice we had stayed in touch with our breeders so I contacted them and we meet up at shows.
I then entered a few small open shows ..not really knowing  what I was doing but people were very helpful and I felt generous with thier knowledge and willing to show me the way ...
Of course this was in my breed and it may be different depending on your breed ...I really dont know. I have heard the odd comment around the ring about lameness etc: but no-one outright nasty  ...not yet anyway!!

plus we qualified for crufts in our first Ch show and got a first at Mid Counties ....its a wonderful feeling

I think you should go for it...we have made lots of friends during this past year .

Tenjay I don't know what breed you are in but this isn't the norm for show or obedience people!

Everyone's got to start somewhere.  Sometimes new people who had dogs that maybe are not champion standard seem to think that Champ. Shows are where they should start but many of us oldies (I'm only in my mid. 30's)  didn't event hink of entering Champ. Shows until we'd done our few years learning, at limit, companionship and open shows!

I go out for a fun day.  Enjoy the time with my dogs and if I don't get anywhere I'm not bothered.

Hope that you get to some shows where people are more friendly, I'm sure you will .

Please don't worry about making mistakes - we all do that, even when we've been showing for donkey's years (Brainless did a classic fairly recently!) - you never stop learning. Ringcraft is very, very relaxed, and I'm sure the people will all be helpful to you, and to be honest I've found that ringcraft classes have been far more use in general than 'training' classes, which I've found to be far stricter and more serious. Showdogs are meant to be happy and confident and relaxed, and the classes reflect this. Go on, give it a go! You don't have to actually enter any shows if you don't want to! :)

Please don't be put off, we are newbies and have only been showing for 8 months.  We've met off putting people like you have and at first i used to take everything to heart but there's loads of nice people as well which make it worth while.
We only show when we feel like it and also when work permits, some months it can 3 times and sometimes (like now), last show was January next one is March.
Honest you can have a good time and if you go to ringcraft you'll probably find many people you know from there in the shows so you'll have a friendly face :-)

I've only been showing 3 years, I just got chucked in at the deep end by having a good dog! I still make loads of mistakes, we all do. (What did Brainless do, I'm curious??) I go to both ringcraft and pet obedience (Good Citizen). The only thing is I try not to let the dog sit in the heelwork after doing heelwork as that would be bad in the ring. Once they know the stand thoroughly I will teach them to sit on command, but not as an automatic end to walking. I probably would show every weekend if I had enough dogs / money / time, but that's just my addiction. You just enter what shows you feel like. If you only want fun, not the stress of the Champ shows, stick to open and companion shows, they're much more relaxed! Have fun and keep us posted. :-)

I assumed that after the judge had selected five dogs that he had gestured me to leave.  It was large class of 11 and I was stood nearly last, but he was in fact shortlisting. 

I grabbed the dog for the next class off his owner who took the other one for a wee, but on going in the ring with the Open dog I realised that they were still judging Limit and the judge had shortlisted us, but now I had wrong dog, and it was too late as my friend had disappered with the Limit class dog.

I was mortified as what a waste of the entry fee. :(

Oh dear Brainless, how awful for you! Sometimes they really don't make it clear what they are doing, or who they are waving at! I wouldn't particularly have expected pulling out with 11, or at least only pulling 5 out! :-(

Oh no! That'd be so me to do that! What an awful shame!

Oh thanks so much those who replied to me... that's very encouraging.  It was people in training class not in dog shows who made those comments. I've only been to some fun shows with my dogs so far and won an assortment of competitions like best trick and fancey dress and some light obediance ( ...where a dog in the final line-up bit my dog! lol! Maybe I am not so lucky in who I meet!  )  ...

I'm going to watch one day at Crufts and look forward to seeing the dogs and meeting enthusiastic dog people and spending way too much money on dog stuff I don't really need!

A lot of non-faces are very snipey about how facey the judging is. In some cases, yes you can see that the judge is being facey, but in a lot of cases, the faces have become well known by breeding and showing lots of very good dogs, so their dogs are usually pretty good! I'm showing my Cavalier at Crufts on Saturday, come and say hi if you're around that day! Then I'm going back on Sunday to watch my gundog friends and spend money!! :-)

I'm going to watch Crufts on the Saturday so I will see the Cavaliers! I should be going to watch the pastoral breeds though on Thursday but I need to have my daughter home from school to look after our dogs and my son off school to come to Crufts. We will have to bribe our daughter heavily... lol... more expense!  Anyway I've been warned they being my first trip to Crufts that my brain will be mush after one or two hours wanting to rush round like a frantic lunatic look at everything because there is so much to see.  I wpouldb love to go to watch each day ideally... but I couldn't drag myself away from my own dogs for so long.

Yes... I've heard the snipey comments about how each show is judged... I think even down to compamion shows too many people grump about the judge and the 'in-crowd' if their dog is not winning. I guess this is why we are all dog fans and not peolpe fans! Dogs just win over your heart.... they never complain and are always grateful.  They are what this is what it's all about. I find my interest in dogs is becomming very addictive.

Crufts is like no other dog show out there (at least in the UK, that's all I've ever seen!). You will spend too much and be exhausted, but it'll be great fun! Come and say hi, I'll be the dopey woman losing all her show stuff while her OH looks utterly bored with the whole business! :-)