My daughter would love to show 1 of our puppies but I haven't got the faintest idea where to start, I have never showed before and have only had dogs as pets so I am looking for some advise please.

I'm assuming your puppy is KC registered, because only registered dogs can be shown at other than companion shows.

If you contact the Kennel Club they will be able to tell you where your nearest ringcraft classes are held, to teach you and the pup what to do in the ring. Different breeds are handled in different ways. What breed is yours?

Well to start off with you need to find out how your dog stands and start practicing, go to ringcraft training classes, you will find alot of help there :D

As the others have said...go to ring craft.This will teach you what is expected of you and your dog in the ring.
I would then suggest you go along to a couple of shows and watch...and talk to exhibitors.
Details of shows are in the national dog papers...'Our dogs' and 'Dog world'
Have a look at www.prodogs.co.uk ...it will explain a bit more
Archer

Hi Sadie,

Can I ask did you tell the breeder you were thinking of showing?  Reason I ask is if you let a breeder know when booking a puppy that you are looking for a show puppy they can select what they think is most suitable without any guarantee but with more prospect possibly than it's siblings. If they don't know they can often ask someone else to look at them for you, perhaps a stud dog owner etc.

Anyway, the hardest thing about showing a westie is the grooming , You could join the breed club and find out about grooming seminars they may hold over the year. You could contact a few exhibitors local to you and ask if they could teach you or show you how to hand strip the pups.  Most may charge a grooming fee because it is time consuming but for you it would be worth it in the long run.  Find a local ring craft class and take the puppy along and they will show you what to do.

I think probably most important of all is to get to as many shows as you can and sit at the ringside glued to the judging, watch all the dogs, see how they are trimmed, presented, handled.   I don't meant one or 2 but anyone you can get to.

I personally feel for me the biggest things I have learned over the last couple of years is from sitting at that ringside and watching.

Hi Sadie, I have been going to shows for 2 years now, every single irish show, to see if I was committed enought before gettin my own show dog, and also to help me decide on a breed!! Watching shows and doing ring craft classes is the best way to learn, I have been handling shelties for  a friend for the last year also, and the confidence comes with practice!!!Best of luck!
Carol :)

we thought we'd just give showing *a go* to see how we liked it - two years later we're completely addicted :D