and thank gawd it was only an open show, and I didn't take the plunge and enter any champ shows!!  Went in the ring, got given my number, but forgot my pin thingy, so out I ran to get it, and quickly pinned my number on.  Haven't done much in the way of triangles, and almost ran out of the ring, didn't do a very good job at standing my pup at all, I was all fingers and thumbs.  Luckily there were only 2 in the class, us included, so it was all over in 10 minutes. Came out of the ring to find my number on upside down :)  And then finally I breathed a sigh of relief that we'd conquered our first show! Well, perhaps conquered is the wrong word, more like struggled through our first show ;)  Next 2 shows are companion shows - I feel the need for some fun, no pressure, and I think it will be just up our street. Those 2 shows will give us lots of chances to practive before our breed show in June. 

So just wanted to say to all those who are newbies like me, and there are a fair few on this board....  you honestly can't do worse than I did, but at the end of the day, nobody laughed at us, in fact it was just the opposite, they were all very encouraging :)

Ah love it!

Well everyone has to start somewhere :-D

Hiya, look forward to seeing you at the LHCBC open show in June
I'll have 4 of my girls out so no doubt I'll be red faced running to and from the car
Just remember to bring some sun cream for yourself ;) As there's nothing worse than going to a dog show and getting burnt.
Catering is fab at the show so don't worry if you forget your lunch
Kirstine :)

bless you.

i was just as bad in the beinning and i am still learning at every show and i have only been showing for just over a year!!

You will find that most people are very nice and well encouge new people and answer questions without making you feel daft (at open shows at least) as at champ shows after judgeing is best as people tend to be a little busy before hand.

Hi Kirstine, it would be great to put a face to the name after all these years on the UKB mailing list! We'll be in minor puppy, so if you see us, come over and introduce yourself! :)

LOL, don't worry we have all gone into the ring without a number or with the wrong one on, tried to go into the wrong class and confuse the steward, did that at the National, and even have the wrong dog. Good job people don't laugh I would be earning a good living as a comedian if they did.

Once came out of the ring, poured the water from the dog bowl over my dog because he was hot, put him back in the car, removed the show collar and replaced it with an anti bark collar only to realise when I walked back into the hall that the judge wanted him in the challenge, so I found myself taking a wet dog back into the ring and forgot to remove the bark collar, we did not win :-)

Hey, we've all been there!  Best I did at a Champ. show.  Put Dylans show collar on only to find once in the ring that I'd forgotten to remove his other collar!!  Oops!

I'm in puppy bitch, junior, limit & open with my crew :)

PM me and I'll give you my details and we can meet up and quell your nerves.
Nicky your girls breeder is lovely so I'm sure she calm your nerves too.

Kirstine

i can top that.

At my 2nd show i took my then puppy newf  in to the group ring still wearing his slobber bib!!!

i have my first show on 7th june joboxer, and im starting to feel dread...my pup stands beautifully in ringcraft but i know the wee horror will do no such thing when it matters!haha. its an open show, but then the following wknd we have borders union, oh dear...
nice to know everyone feels this way at first.

The winner of Open dog at Manchester champ show in our breed did that, but the judge was Terry Thorne and that would never make a difference to such a judge.  There are some lovely judges who no matter how esteemed always put you at yoru ease and have time and pateince for the nervous or novice exhibitor and exhibit.

I've got a good one - at my first show I'd entered both my American cocker and Cavalier puppies who are almost the same age. Arrived to find to my horror that both breeds were scheduled first in their rings! Luckily my Cav's breeder was with me and spoke to the stewards, there were only 2 in the cocker's class so they agreed to wait a few minutes in the Cav ring - of course then the cocker judge took hours getting started so my friend had to throw her own Cav puppy at the steward and gallop round the ring with my puppy, and then when I was finally done with the cocker I had to throw him in his cage and charge into the Cav ring to take over!! The cocker was last (as he always has been at open shows since lol) and the Cav was 3rd, beating my friend's puppy who was his litter sister, she's never let me forget it!

My first show was an open one and we did ok to get placed, the worst show i've done is the breed open show, everyone was pretty much there and i was shaking so much, that was a real nerve racking experience and i have another one coming up this time a champ show.
I only started showing in Feb/ March this year and did our first champ show in April and got qualified for Crufts.. I didn't even realise this was the case until someone asked me why i wasn't happy and calling my friends and family...

I have learnt so much from other exhibitors and people at ring craft, though they all have their ideas about what i need to be doing and its all very conflicting at times. I have done a trial and error stage and still going through it to be honest to find the best way to show my dog off at the best of our ability..

I have to say i am loving this and unless my dog doesn't enjoy it i won't be stopping soon..

Good luck

Oh yes, we qualified at my 2nd Champ show and I had to ask the people next to me in the line up if that qualified us as I wasn't sure! When I rang his breeder you could almost hear her shrieking from Norfolk to where we were in Stafford without the phone!

Oooo Im gonna be starting showing for the first time soon as well and Im so excited already but also dreading it! lol

A few years ago I was late for a stakes class at a champ show due to breed judging.  Ran to the ring and steward told me where to stand.  Judge went over my dog and other late comers joined me in the ring. The steward then told me that he couldn't find my number as recorded as having entered.  It then became apparent that I was in the DOG class and not the BITCH.  I was so red faced but I believe the judge was just as embarrassed as he should have noticed that my dog (bitch) had two things missing!!

JoBoxer,
Well done for getting through it, it will get better, it's a skill you will both learn together.  Just remember anyone who laughs, it's because they probably had the same happen to them :-p  Most exhibitors will try to help and are very kind to newbies, because even the best of them had to start right at the beginning :)

First time I went to a show with my dog, the dog went round the ring on one leg, jumping about like a lunatic, and my daughter was shouting from the ringside "loose lead mam, loose lead" :-D (they are shown on a loose lead, and to be fair MY end of the lead was loose!)  people in other rings stopped to watch and laugh!  I couldn't remember how old my dog was, and had to check 3 times about the triangle because by then I was so nervous my ears weren't working.  The breeder and a few friends had turned up to see the dog and encourage me, and said it was the best laugh they'd had in years!   Next show the judge asked me if I could peel my dog off the ceiling!!  She was laughing as she said it!   We were unplaced in any open shows until the pup was 18 months old!

Don't ask me why I didn't just give up, I suppose I just felt it couldn't get any worse, and at least we were giving people a good laugh, thank goodness we both got better eventually.

One thing I was recommended, give the dog a couple of drops of RESCUE REMEDY on the morning of the show.  I took  half a bottle of the stuff myself and felt a lot calmer - I could even remember my name afterwards! :)

Good Luck with your dog and remember, even the most experienced show judge can be shown up by their best dog - I've seen it happen and the judge said it stops him getting too big for his boots :-D

I love hearing the stories about other people's fun in the ring! Another time I was showing my friend's dog for a laugh, we knew she would act up but the judge had already given my boy a CC the year before so I couldn't take him under her at an open show, it's frowned on in my breed anyway. Well all my friend's dogs are obsessed with her and won't do anything for anyone else, so I was trying to show this mad bitch who dragged behind me all the way up one way and then charged off in the other direction looking for her mum! The judge was trying to give me a fair chance and kept asking me to take her up and down again, but she and me & my friend were all just crying with laughter by the end of it.

I also remember this friend falling over the dog in an adult handing class (she came last!) and another friend in the Best in Show ring concentrating so much on her dog that she walked straight into the judge while moving her dog! :-D

Our first show was a disaster.   It was held in a leisure centre on a super polished floor with the mats on top.  Needless to say me and the pup ended in a heap on the floor after slipping.  A tanoy kept going off also which scared all the pups and nerves frazelled by that stage I made a complete mess of things - stacked her incorrectly.  You have to look on the bright side really - things could only improve from their (couldn't get any worse).

> Luckily there were only 2 in the class, us included, so it was all over in 10 minutes. Came out of the ring to find my number on upside down

I was at that show JoBoxer and probably saw you BUT you didn't stand out as being any different than anyone else..... you must have blended right in..... I didn't see any crazy newbie, that's for sure :-) 

Thanks Toolz, I really appreciate that - it all felt a real mess, so it's really nice to know that maybe, just maybe, it didn't show as much as I thought it had :)

It's great to read all these posts, and it's a brilliant reminder that no matter what happens, it's a laugh, if nothing else!

LOL

I always think if they're laughing at me, someone else is getting a rest! :-D

JoBoxer,
Just have fun and one day it will all come together, you won't even notice at first, but suddenly you'll feel OK, the dog will be behaving, you'll be helping the newbies and you'll wonder if you dreamed it all  :-D

The day it stops being a laugh/fun and becomes deadly serious is the day to stop IMO ;)

LOL, what a scream great stories, i will be a newbie to showing hopefully next year.....can't wait, but know i will be a nervous wreck :) but these stories have really made me laugh, i will be back on here reporting my mishaps I'm sure!!!! :) :) JoBoxer well done to you though :)

Hi we were at that show too with our Boxer, as Toolz said i didn't see any newbie,well done. :)

What lovely posts I have visions of peeling dogs off ceilings and one with a slobber napkin - fantastic. I too hope to show in the future and your lovely posts make me more determined - especially the bitch in the dog ring it should be obvious really!! You all sound such nice people!!

Hey Jo, I've been showing my boxer for a year now and still feel out of control !!!!  Difference is I'm just starting to enjoy it :0)
Probabally see you around. What your boxer called? I'll look out for you.

Have you joined your regional Boxer Club yet? most of them hold rallies on a regular basis, they can be really helpful as you have people at all levels of experience and they are usually very happy to help
If you are interested, the British Boxer club have a 'Fun Working Day' (late Aug/ early Sept) in Leics. I can make sure you get details if you would like to come along ALL Boxers welcome and in the afternoon we run a Companion show for All breeds.

Hi Marion, yes, I'm a member of the London & Home counties club, and have been going to rally since before I got my pup. In fact, it's rally tomorrow night - I really look forward to those nights, it's such good fun, and it's a really lovely sociable night out :)  Thanks for the info - I'll bear that in mind and see where my planning is - I don't like to take advantage of my mum, who gets the pleasure of my 3 sons every time I decide to have some 'me and Lola' time ;) If I remember rightly, I'm going to Richmond at the beginning of Sept, so it would depend on how close it is to that date... sadly I can't get away with escaping every single weekend, though I do my best LOL

Hi Aimibobs, she's Haygina Rather Charming.  Yours?  How did you find your first year of showing yours? Did you start from when he/she was a pup? Any handling tips? Questions questions! :)

Hi their, i want to start showing my girl when she's fit. she's just had her first pup , we wanted to keep a bitch of the litter to show from a pup but she only had 2 boys and sadly one died ,
i dont think i'll breed from her again although it's been great and i so look forward to seeing her boy grow i think he's gonna be great he's got a very good pedigree and's looking quit the MAN! already at only 6 days old. we'd love to keep the boy but we also have a male rottie of 2 years old and would be a bit worried (even tho he's a soppy as the day is long and very well socialized he has the cats runs rings round him ands a good sport) i dont want to take the chance of having 2 dominate males my boys already a dominate male but he knows he's place in our pack even with the kids, but to have a male EBT as an adult in two years time i dont want to be having to rehome any of them case they do fight,
i really have NO idea where to start at ALL!! much less where to go when it comes to showing plz any advice on how to start ! of corse i will be taking it slow as my girls just become a mummy so we need to get her in shape first, and im in no rush to jump in any ring with her, any help advice plz xx

" Hi Aimibobs, she's Haygina Rather Charming.  Yours?  How did you find your first year of showing yours? Did you start from when he/she was a pup? Any handling tips? Questions questions! "
Hiya Jo, I hava a 19 month old smart brindle & white bitch by Ch. Lust in the Dust called Maggie "Andsum Afternoon Delight at Heybotts." She is litter sister to Andsum Sky Blue Pink who was Mancunian Pup of the year 2008.
I've found it quite hard showing. I am a complete novice and have been told on numerous occasions (nicey though) that my handling lets me down!! Maggie is a handful and thinks she's "it" all the time. I've mastered her stack now and that has taken a year, now its the moving that we are concentrating on. She's hoovers the floor, tries to get in the other rings to "get" the small breeds if they have a class next to the boxer ring and generally is a real monkey. I've had her since she was 7 weeks old but I think it was a case of the blind leading the blind. We have had very good advise/tips from her breeder and other boxer showing friends but I think its all down to experience. You can take on board lots of tips but carrying them out is another matter !! I havent any handling tips for you apart from the tip I will always remember (as Maggie has rather naughty ears and sometimes they fly) of "fix the ears and loose the bait" when the judge comes to look at her head and mouth - I chant it over and over in my head!!. Another good tip is buy a big mirror and set up in front so you can see what your dog looks like - and to see if you are "faffing" too much - something that I used to do but trained myself out of.
I can only do 1 show per month and havent been placed so far at a champ show but done well at open shows with 3 best of breeds.
I have bred a litter from my other girly and kept a boy called Digger by Ch. Koppernox Mickey Finn to show so I hope he turns out nice. He's the opposite of Maggie. Not good to stack but very good on the move. He's only 13 weeks today though
Good luck and will probabally see you around. We are doing Blackpool champ show next.