hi all,reading all the posts nothing seems straight forward in the dog showing world!! my boys 6mths in may.
been checking dates for shows,attending ringcraft etc. not sure where to start, not may open show classes for his breed
been looking at champ shows for him to. any advice appreciated:) conflicting advice on where to start for a newbie?
some people say just go for it if hes not entered then you never know, then others stay dont enter champ shows
help, advice needed thanks

I can see no reason why you should not enter a championship show if you wish but you may feel better if you start with open shows even if you go into the AVNSC or AV puppy. No need to rush get yourself and your puppy used to the show world as you are comfortable when you go to a championship show as they are an expensive way to learn the ropes.

I actually much prefer champ shows - they are usually not so crowded.

I prefer Champ shows too. Open shows are usually crowded and noisy. I like that you have a place for your dog to rest at champ shows (benching) that you get passes with information on times, rings and numbers of dogs entered etc before you get there. Also there is the added extra of lots of stalls to wander round before or after judging :-)  IMO the only advantage of open shows are they can be more local and they are cheaper.
Paula x

I'm another for champ shows.  At least you have the chance of a decent judge and a proper age/breed class.  The Kennel Club website has a list of dog classes including ringcraft classes.  You should have a look and see if you can find one near you. Best places to go for advice and encouragement.

> IMO the only advantage of open shows are they can be more local and they are cheaper.
>

Also of course there are more breeds and if your already in dogs and have a wide circle of doggy contacts then they are enjoyable.

Have to say as my closest Open shows are an hour away and often as far as champ shows, so the fuel outlay (often the main cost) is the same,a nd I have cut my showing down as a result I too enter only champ shows trying to stick to once a month and maybe twice in the height of the season, as I know that in my numerically small breed at least I will have competition.  it isn't just CC's that attract (how many of us realistically expect to win one at a given show) as I do the non CC champ shows for my breed in my catchment (120 miles one way) area.

Last year I entered only one Open show for Nordic breeds (so a special one) and the breed club open show.

Personally if your not attending a local ring craft where you get to know people then an Open show can be very lonely, as there may be no-one else in your breed or that you know, or that may take an interest in you.
At least at a champ show people will readily see your new to the breed benches (unless your in a breed with huge numbers of exhibitors) and there is bound to be someone who will try to make you feel at ease in your breed.

I do think the reason that the Open shows are loosing support is that they are often no longer linked to local canine societies that run regular events attracting a core of members.

A lady who I tried to persuade to show tried a local open show in Scotland and spent the whole day hanging around bored to tears with no-one to talk to.  Fortunately she had entered a breed club show and couldn't believe the difference, and has continued, arranging to go to shows that other exhibitors were going to in order to have a friendly face.

yes too late to edit but Breed open shows are the exception to my preference for Champ shows. I will usually travel a fair distance for them as they are in support of the breed clubs... and ours give out nice trophies :-) lol
Paula xx

I'd say a LOT hinges on the breed. If you have a popular breed, it can be EXTREMELY daunting to turn up at a championship show and find there are 35 entries in your class! When I showed Goldens and Cavaliers I could only get to championship shows easily as I did not have a car, and there were local champshows but not many open ones. It was very offputting indeed, to stand in a ring for an hour or more and then not get placed.  Whereas at an open show it may be 5 in the class even for a popular breed. For a more rare breed you may only have one or two in your class at a championship show, and none at open shows.  What breed is it?

Think most would prefer to do a champ show but they are an expensive way to learn your trade and if we do not support judges at open shows we will only have judges at champ shows in future who have been fast tracked by the KC not those who have spent years judging the breed at open shows to learn as much as possible about the breed and judging it.

I love open shows and I have found when I started in either of my breeds there were people willing to take me under their wing, show me the way and offer advice and they still do.
Once you start with Ringcraft you'll soon start knowing people and then before you know it chatting to a multitude of different people at local shows!
We now sometimes organise picnic's etc!
Far less bitching goes on there and while some take it very seriously the pressure isnt always there, unlike a ch show!!
I like supporting my local open shows within an hours drive :-)

I love open shows as well, and am lucky enough  to live within 40 mins drive of Newark showground so I try my best to always support my breed classes when clubs have put them on, as otherwise they will be lost. It's just like suejaw says, you get to know people, even if not in your own breed and it's very relaxed. It's also a very cheap day out compared to a championship show. We probably show 50/50 championship and open shows.

but that's the point you need to already know people (train at a ring-craft) for Open shows to be enjoyable, unless your the kind of person who will talk to everyone, (like me) otherwise they van be lonely and confusing if you know no-one and your in a small breed and there is no-one else there with your breed.

It's not the place to make your first doggy contacts or see any representative sample/number of your own breed.

In a numerically small breed a good compromise would e to enter when your breed has classes without CC's at a champ show.

When I had a ring-craft within easy reach I really enjoyed cheering on and seeing how my fellows did at the Open shows, now that I don't attend a ring craft class having gone to some Open shows in 2009 with a puppy I still found a few friends from years before, but poor hubby was bored rigid.

At champ shows he can at least wander around the trade stands, in the open air as he suffers from tinnitus and can't stay in a dog show hall with the noise for long, so I have given up entering the local Open shows which are in sports halls with inadequate matting and rings for my dogs.  The better venues, Malvern and Bath and West are as far as most champ shows for us.

To the original poster. 

If your considering entering champ shows have a look at Higham Press and fossedata show results for last year for the shows your interested in and see how many entries the classes your likely to enter had.  That will give you an idea of the level of competition.

but that's the point you need to already know people (train at a ring-craft) for Open shows to be enjoyable

Not at all. I've lost count of the number of people that just start talking, can be in breeds totally different to your own, recent examples for us include Chihuahuas and Great Danes whose owner struck up a conversation. Then the next time you see them you say hello, ask how they are, have they been to any other shows etc, and in no time at all you know people in loads of breeds just because they happened to share a ring with you once.

At championship shows however, I was showing for 12 years without anyone ever really talking to me and had I not switched breed would have given up altogether.

Brainless is very gregarious, I am the opposite but had no trouble talking to people at open shows. Mind you I have an advantage our breed owners are for the most part very happy to welcome newcomers and the dogs themselves are convinced everyone loves them and for the most part they do.

To OP I would say go to a show near to you without the dog and spend a few hours walking about and talking to people, tell them you are new and ask them to show you the ropes, 98% will be happy to do so, 1% will talk your head off and the other 1% will snub you - just like anywhere else really.

That is what I have found as Nova says I am very gregarious and strike up conversations with everyone, bus stops, shops, stakes classes at shows, but many newcomers are not as bold to just dive in and the whole thing puts them off.

As a teen I went all around the country to Rabbit shows, stayed to the end to help dismantle, stewarded etc, and got to know and be known by people all over the country resulting in offers of lifts to shows, got adopted by several 'couples' who had me stay over to be able to get to shows where the trains didn't get me there early enough etc.

A lady who joined our Breed Face book page had joined the club, came to a club show, felt out of her depth and never attempted to come again as no-one seemed to take an interest in her (could well have been that as the venue often has several events no-one realised she was interested in the breed and meeting owners), she didn't rejoin or ever come to another event.

Now that we have this feedback I think there are moves to make it easier for new people to find a person to welcome them, maybe name tags for committee, or a photo etc.

It's so easy if your like us to forget for some people a new situation and a hall full of strangers is very daunting.  Never gave it a thought until hubby pointed it out to me that he felt like a spare wheel most fo teh time.  Having something for the OH's and kids to see and do is vital if we are to attract couples and families to our sport.  Stand alone Open shows jsut don't cut it, but oens run along other events are really good.