I have been asked to organise a fun show for the village. I don't know where to begin. The powers that be want to keep it a 'fun show' with more novelty classes than pedigree. Any help and advise would be very appreciated. Any ideas for classes?

HI carol, hope some of these might take your fancy-
waggiest tale. fancy dress. best condition. handsomest dog. prettiest bitch. dog most like its owner. best trick. dog the judge would like to take home. Irish brace( two dogs least alike) best family(2 dogs or more)
good luck with your show

Thanks for your ideas Philippa

hello phillipa . Ihave never heard of an IRISHBRACE . can you enlighten me please mari

An Irish Brace is two dogs who look totally different, ie like taking a Great Dane into the ring with a Yorkshire Terrier.

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

Where as in a true 'Brace' the dogs should match as closely as possible, in an Irish Brace they should be as mismatched as you can manage

What I really want to know is why is it called an Irish brace .

Have you not heard all the Irish jokes?

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

yes i have and ive also heard the english ones
take the rough with the smooth

I am quite sure no one on this board came up with the original name and I am also fairly certain no offence was meant by Joan's posting. The Irish are not the only people on this planet who have the p___ taken. What about "Lie back and think of England"? Doesn't that say something about the way English women are percieved? ;) We all know it isn't true! I don't mean to be crude, but I have an Irish heritage and I didn't take any offense at the definition.:)

Quinn

Oh, oh! I think I've just put my foot in it!

now quinn I dont recall in any way sounding offended. only curious ,and if joan tells me, take the rough with the smooth then im sure she wont mind it being said back . recall posting from joan havent you heard the irish jokes ,my reply, yes and the english ones too. so I obviously heard lie back and think of england which im sure wasent funny for the person lying back .Now once again let me make this loud and clear I am not offended by a joke, and what with all the things that are happening in the world right now trivial things like a send up is the least worrying thing on my list of priorities .I had never heard of an irish brace before and Iwanted to know .oh and for the record we do actually have brace classes in Ireland I did not think they were for teeth .oh yes if you thought you had just put your foot in why did you not use the delete button ..all this unpleasentness could be avoided if people did not jump to conclusions.Iguess its a good job we irish do have a good sense of humour .

Hi Marie
The trouble with this form of communication is that you can't hear the tone in peoples voices or see the expression on their faces. My mistake! :) Any yes, the Irish do have a great sense of humour!
Quinn

Ok. Quin ,No bother .Ive done some inquiries and it seems like its actually a Kerry Brace, not an irish brace (youve heard the kerry jokes no doubt )and it supposedly started in ireland, or by some irish person living in england for a laugh.there is actually a kerry joke book .It sold like wildfire ,I bet the person who compiled it is laughing all the way to the bank .mari

I took the TH to a dog rescue charity show in the summer and they had the classes that Philippa suggested, but a few others too. They had Best Paw Shake, a Best Pedigree Class (we woz robbed - the judge didn't know what kind of dog she woz) and TH's personal favourite: the Bring Back Bonio. You have someone sitting a distance away with a packet of bonios, the dog is released by it's owner, has to collect the bonio and return it (intact) to its owner. The winner is either the quickest dog or the one that gets it closest to its owner without eating it.

Grumpy collie ate the bonio as fast as she could and TH sauntered out, collected it and sauntered back with it and handed it over to me. Very well done, but sadly not the quickest dog on the block.

The other type is the sausage and egg retrieve. The dogs have to bring back the sausage uneaten and the egg without breaking it (it isn't cooked). This was hilarious and drew a huge crowd. :D

Did any of them manage it? It would sort out those who enter their obedience trained dogs (who sweeped the bring back bonio).

I have visions of border collies wolfing sausages and raw eggs. Not one to practice at home though!!

It seemed that most dogs did one or the other, but very few managed to do both! The sausage was the real challenge for 90% of the dogs ... even the Ob. dogs :-)

The nice thing with the sausage etc retrive it can be done on the lead, so non-obedence dogs can take part. Mind you the handler has to run!! Jackie H

Oh Carol, the first thing you should do is look for someone to help you both now and on the day and check that the 'powers that be' are getting the needed paperwork from the KC.

Thank you everyone for the help. Do we need K.C. involvement if it is to be a fun show?

Hi Carol,

My husband won the 'Best six legs' category once ( what a terrible sight! trousers rolled up and his hairy white legs sticking out!) - it was Kitty the whippet's lovely tidy four legs that swung it! but try telling the husband that!!!

More seriously, when our Ringcraft did an exemption show they discovered that an unexpected cost was insurance??? not sure what was being insured though (it was held within a church hall) Perhaps ringing the KC would help? Tel: General Enq's 08706 066 750.

Hope you get there.... whereabouts will it be? the board may be able to provide some participants!! ( uh oh! hubby is rolling his trousers up in anticipation!) lol

Rachel :)

for a fun show you dont need kc licence but you must have insurance for your own peace of mind and public liability...good luck

Hi again

Where do I go for insurance and roughly how much will it cost? Sorry to go on but I am a complete novice to this sort of thing

Try Pet Plan Carol :-) I paid £70 for third party cover for 100 people. I wasn't happy about it, but you must have it. If any thing goes wrong, you don't want to be personally liable.

think we got ours for about forty,let you know when I find out which company (awaiting a phone call) edit: yes it was forty pounds with a firm called civertons who advertise in Dog world Ive looked but its not in this week but was in last week ,hope this helps

Also, best pedigree puppy, best mixed breed puppy, best conditioned puppy are classes I've seen. Along with a fancy dress class (was that mentioned already). Also best rescue.

Just a quick note to once again thank everyone for the help they have given me