I am now the proud owner of a 3 yr old Cocker Spaniel and have been told by the previous owner he is trained in Ring Craft and has won a couple of shows. I would like to try showing him myself but after months of searching are unable to find a dog show in the East Anglia area suitable for an owner with absolutly no experience in dog shows or any idea what goes on. Can anyone let me know of a novice dog show which i can give a go. Thank you.

Hello Guest

Look in your local papers , vets and pet shop window (or even the dog papers - Dog World and Our Dogs) for EXEMPTION shows. These are small , local shows ideal for a novice. As well as pedigree classes they usually have novelty classes too.

Good Luck

:)

Melody

Hi Guest, I would advise that you find out where your nearest ringcraft classes are, you will need to learn how to handle the dog for showing, if he has been trained in ringcraft it will make it easier for you to learn, ask the breeder which classes she went to, or if you say which area you live in, someone here on the site will know of a class near you. Good luck.

If you want to progress to Open Shows you will need to register the bitch in your name. Have you been given the papers for her. You can enter exemption show with out registering her in your name, the only problem may be that most of the exemption show take place during the Summer months. Jackie

Hi, as suggested you need to buy Dog world or Our dogs - both have web sites too. Most shows are advertised in them and Open shows need to be entered about a month beforehand. Not all newsagents have them on the shelf and sometimes need to be ordered for you - depends where you live. If you go to www.apdt.co.uk you may be able to find ringcraft classes in your area. Open shows go on all year round, but as has been said not many exemption shows in winter. The ringcraft classess often put on a monthly "dog match" where a pair of dogs are judged, the winner goes through to the next round until a winner is found - its a "knock out" competetion - good practise for the real thing, the result should not be taken too seriously, its just for practice really! The KC publish a show diary each year, it wont be long before the 2003 is out, in fact it maybe already, this will list all the Open and Ch shows. Good luck.

St. Clements Dog Training Club ~ Ringcraft.
Wednesdays at 7.30 - 10.00pm.
Tilney All Saints Village Hall,
Tilney All Saints
near Kings Lynn.
Contact Tony
01945 463473