seeing as my name was mentioned in another thread about showing and enjoying it I thought I'd make this post :)

I wasn't going to show my pup when I got her. I'd heard all the tales about the bad sportsmanship from other exhibitors etc. However I realised that if lots of the people on here who show are nice and normal there must be some good things about it ;)

To date I have met up in person with about a dozen of the regular posters on here and been encouraged by them and MANY more every step of the way and I've made some very good friends.

Me and Phoe have a great time at our ringcraft class we go to and through that I've met many more who also encourage and wish us luck. I've met more breeds of dogs in the last 6 months than I'd met in person in my lifetime before.

Phoebies breeder has been very supportive and has attended shows with me ( her showing Phoebies mum ) and introduced me to people in the breed.

Now I'd heard that the world of Golden Retriever showing can be very facey - In my case I've not yet found that but then again I am not a threat to them so hard to tell. I take people as I find them to me - not what other people say they are. What I do know is that many people I've seen at shows acknowledge me at the next show. I've stood in the ring with people who have chatted and been pleasant. OK I don't know what they say about me and Phoebie behind my back if anything but if we are getting a reaction from them then that's a good thing - shows we're being noticed ( maybe as a possible threat for the future) :D

I am a great believer in life is what you make it to an extent. I walk round with a smile on my face and if someone doesn't smile back then it's their loss not mine ;) If people look inviting then I say hello and talk if encouraged. If they don't want to talk then I pick up on that and go on my way after saying "Morning" or whatever. I don't force myself on people but I don't keep my eyes on the floor either.

People have said there is an apprenticeship you go through and I'm sure they are right. The more you're seen about the more you become part of the furniture and no longer a "newbie" . I've had complete strangers come up to me at shows who are looking for a pup and want to know where mine came from and do I have any advice. That's good - I can warn of things to look out for re health checks etc. I've had others ask me about Phoebies breeding and offer encouragement.

I am not dismissing the bitchiness that is there in some and I'm not saying everything is perfect in the world of showing but I go along , do my own thing and enjoy my day. When I start to win at champ shows ;) I may see another side but I don't intend trying to get in with the "inner circle". I'll go along and be placed and for every person who is unhappy about it there will be 10 who are pleased for me :D

I have had some great days out and as long as me and Phoebie enjoy it then what more could I ask for? Well OK maybe some placings at major shows ( or even surviving the cut to the shortlist lol) but our time will come :D

For anyone thinking of showing but worried about the horror stories they've heard - give it a go - you never know you may be bitten by the bug too :D If you find it's not your cup of tea then fine but at least you'll have made the decision for yourself :)

Sara :)

I am not dismissing things that have happened to others and I am disgusted that grown ups can act in such a way but I am trying to point out some of the good things.

Very well said Sara !! :D

I too had no intentions of showing when I bought my blue girl 3 years ago, and go usshered into showing, starting off with the exemption shows...which i thoroughly enjoyed, and learnt the ropes from there and ringcraft classes.

I am sure (in fact I know), that some people have critiscized (sp?) starr as she was not bought as a show dog, and people have said that because she was bought as a pet that I shouln't show her, but hey, we all have to start off somewhere, and how many of us have bought a dog as a pet, then got interested in showing, and used the dog we had. Luckily for me I have bought my second girl from a well known breeder who is successfully placed near enough everytime she goes out. Although I yet have not had that pleasure (at champ show level !!), although at the general open shows "India" is holding her own...

There is a lot of competitiveness in showing, I suppose like any sport, and I feel sometimes it can get a bit out of hand. But at the end of the day, my dogs are pets first and show dogs second, we go out have a good day, and I go home with my 2 mad dogs !!!

To me, showing is FUN and if we get a good placing or win a trophy, then that is an added bonus.

IMO

Natasha

Well said Sara ....I bought Hudson with the intention of showing but I hadnt ever done it before ...I have met some lovely people whilst at shows , there is back biting etc but you get that in ALL walks of life ..you simply have to let people get on with it.

I have even managed to get hubby interested now ..he takes Hudson into the ring for me :D

My first show in June and I met Jackie and JackieH as well as Sara ...have since met some more champdoggers :) We havent had a win at a Champ show yet but the excitement of being there amongst the great and the good is lovely :)

Melody

Reading your posts makes me remember how it was when I first started, must admit I enjoy my showing in a somewhat different way now. I love the rapore you can build up with your dog, the satifaction you feel when you know they have shown well despite your efforts and even better when you both get it right. That magical moment when it all comes together and your efforts are rewarded and even if they are not you know it went well and you cant wait to get back into the ring.

Love to sit at the side of a ring and watch a class being judged and nothing beats seeing the final line up of a good judge, makes your hair stand on end and it does not have to be your own breed. The longer I have been showing the more I enjoy it, and I have only been moderatly succesful, think it is because you learn to appreciate good dogs and get pleasure in being able to look at them. And of course there is the pleasure of being allowed to judge other peoples dogs. Ja:)kie

See I knew it was fun really:D

Excellent thread:)

Its great fun showing especially at the beginning what people have to think is that when it ceases to be fun you may as well pack up and go home,I still remember the first rosette I ever won in fact I still have it:) I ran to the phone box and phoned all my friends (no mobiles then) my advice to anyone is enjoy it and remember we always take the best dog home :) but always look and learn and never ever think you know it all because we learn all the time.

Have been told that if you are still showing after 2 years then you are hooked, not much hope for you and me Mattie. ja:)kie

I have been showing now for 3 years and i am definately hooked., but it has been a huge learning curve for me, and still is :D

But I have always said, as soon as my dogs stop enjoying showing, thats when they will "retire" from the ring !! :D

I suppose 25 years of showing means we are hooked then??????

If you're not hooked by now, how long will it take :D
LynnT

Longdog are you sure it's not become a habit, know the feeling it's Saturday so why am I still at home at 8 oc in the morrning. :)

And the same on a Sunday!!
Whats a lay in at the weekend??

Whats a lay in anyway, with dogs in the house, it's a case of it's light why aren't you all up. The fact that they go to sleep when it gets dark and we stay up watching TV does not seem to enter their heads. Stupid dogs! ;)

This is a lovely thread! :D I was even inspired to pick up a couple of schedules at training last night for early in the new year when Abby can be shown. :)
LynnT

Good for you Lynn :D

The next step is filling them in !!!! :D :D

Nat

well said sarah.............!
l love to show my babie...win or loose dont matter!
its great fun, a little nerve racking at first!!:D

Good post Sara ....

I have been showing/interested in Dog Showing for about 7 years now. I used to go up with a friend and help her with her dogs and take the odd one or two into the ring. From this I got hooked and this is when I bought my first dog Sebastian. He was my first ever dog and spoilt rotten.

When I started ringcraft with him I was told that I shouldn't show him as he has a light coloured nose and eyes (he is an Orange Roan and he should have a dark brown nose and eyes and the judges would not place him). I didn't take any notice of these people and carried on with my training etc.

We didn't enter any shows until he was around 9/10 months, unfortunately we didn't have any competition in our first few Shows but when we did have competition we were never placed last we were either 2nd or 3rd in our Breed class and the same in the AV Gundog Classes in Guernsey and Jersey Open Shows.

I think some people are all to quick to say that your dog isn't Show quality and that you shouldn't bother showing him. The writes up that he received were really great and not one of the judges picked up on his faults.

He is currently retired at the moment due to a thyroid condition but I would love to show him in Veteran.

Sebastian got me hooked on Showing so I then got Bart who has done very well in deed winning Reserve in the Gundog Group on a number of occassions and Best of Breeds along the way.

Both Sebastian and Bart were bred in Guernsey so not top kennels or anything but they have given the imported dogs over here a good run for there money !!!

With travelling over to the UK and enjoying the Champ Show Scene I then decided that I wanted a really top pedigree dog and that's my little Douglas. I was everso lucky with him, my breeder picked him out for me and ran him on until he was nearly 5 months old. He has already done everything I wanted and much more by winning Best Puppy in Show and qualified for Crufts 2003, Best Junior and Best Novice in Show and 2 x Best of Breeds and Group 2 and 4 at under 13 months old. Now we are aiming for our Best in Show :D :D And of course winning a class at a Champ Show :D :D

At the end of the day they are my pets and doing well at the Shows is a great bonus and achievement with all the work that goes into preparing a Cocker for the Show Ring ...

JMT

Dessie

I have now been showing for 5 years, first with my Whippet and also now with Italian Greyhounds, and I was hooked after the first time we got placed!
My Whippet, Alfie, is my first Whippet, and first showdog, and he has done better than I could ever have dreamed of- 2 x 1sts and a 2nd at Crufts, many firsts at Champ shows, Best in show and RBIS at open shows.
I have never experienced any animosity from anyone in the breed, and have made some really good friends among the 'novices' who started about the same time as me, as well as some 'old timers' in the breed.
I do agree that, especially in numerically large breeds, you have to 'serve your apprenticeship' in the breed, and think that in most cases, the long-established breeders do actually have the best dogs, and I did say IN MOST CASES!
But showing is after all, only a hobby- you certainly won't make money at it! And when any hobby ceases to be enjoyable, give it up and find another hobby!
Liz

Hello all.
This is a very good thread for me cos its just what im pondering at the moment.I get my pup in 4 weeks time,a Newfoundland.I have been really interested in the breed for longer than i can remember and now that the kids are of school age i feel ill have more time to devote to the dog ive allways wanted.
As a family dog she will foremost be a loving pet......but i have more and more been drawn to showwing.I know next to nothing about it , but see it as a way to join a world of people that love dogs!im not talking about the lady at the bottom of the road who walks her mutt 5 am each morning and night and feeds it tip bits under the table~ but people like me that love the way a dog looks,acts...even smells! that cant stop thinking about the breed and bore all your friend with "little known breed facts!".
Im going to my first EVER dog show next Sat ( discover dogs at Earls court). I will be dogless when i go , hubby and two kids in tow...no idea what to expect but still ive been excitedly telling everyone at work!none of whom are interested!
So to me , showing , i hope , will be about being around like minded people.Whether i suceed...or even make it to any shows remains to be seen...but im desperate to find some kindred spirits out there........all beit they are the dogs!
Zoe