You see them on TV all of the time; people showing dogs in shows. But who are those people? Are they lunatics or fanatics? The dog people have a favorite joke about themselves. They say you don’t have to be crazy to enjoy shows, but it certainly helps! This is because they actually go through many hardships and disappointments but still enjoy it and call it fun. It is one of the fascinating peculiarities of the dog game that the people who are thrown together in the pursuit of this sport are from so many different walks of life: dentists, carpenters, teachers, bankers, housewives, farmers, musicians, engineers, artists, industrialists, young and old, rich and poor, etc. All have the same desire-to take home a blue ribbon.

Perhaps you wonder why they show dogs. You may even be interested in showing your dog as well. However, the the day may come when…

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Do not talk to the judge, or attempt to talk to him, while you are waiting for the dog show class to begin. Even if you have met the judge socially this is no time for a cozy chat. Don’t strike up a conversation with the steward or with anyone sitting on the ringside – be ready to start.

While waiting in the ring for the class to begin it is a good idea not to let your dog get in a sloppy position. Frequently a judge’s eye will roam over the waiting entries, and it is to your dog’s advantage if he looks well at this moment. However, it is not necessary that your dog be in a show pose, unless the judge is actually making an attempt to judge the dogs while he is waiting.

This is important. It doesn’t matter which of the breeds you may be showing, never…

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To “make a Champion,” or, more correctly, become a Champion of Record, a dog must win a total of fifteen points. These fifteen points must include two major shows and be won under at least three different judges. A major show is a three, four, or five-point show, and since the maximum number that can be won is five, it must take even a top winning dog at least three shows to finish his championship.

Insisting that a dog win two major shows convinces us that the dog is capable of winning at shows where, because enough dogs are entered, you can reasonably expect to find an entry representative of the breed. Points are awarded to the dog who goes Winners Dog and to the bitch who goes Winners Bitch – and to these two only.

There are five regular classes in each sex in each breed: Puppy, Novice, Bred…

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If you get a crate with a door with vertical bars, be sure they are close enough together so that the dog cannot chew in between them or get his teeth around the bars. Be sure the fastener for the door is a good one – it has been found that window locks make good fasteners – and it is wise to have a hasp on the door as well. If the crate is a well made one, these things will be incorporated.

The wooden crate may be painted or, preferably, varnished with a good grade of spar varnish. Remember the crate should be washed out after every trip whether or not it has been soiled.

The first few times a dog rides to a show in a crate it is wise to line the floor of the crate with newspapers and then tear some newspapers in strips on top of the…

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Talking of equipment quite naturally leads to a discussion of crates. A tack crate, with one or two drawers, would have all of your tools stored in the drawers ready to go at a moment’s notice when a part of a dog show. It is not at all necessary for you to take your dog to a show in a crate or to have a tack crate; the majority of dog-show goers do not use crates. If your dog rides well in the back seat of your car or even on the front seat next to you, and you enjoy having him there and wish to take him to the shows that way, you will find at least nine tenths of the exhibitors doing it the same way.

If, however, you feel you would like to carry your dog to the shows in a crate, or if you haven’t yet made…

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As someone who wants to raise their puppy to become a winning show dog there are several things that you should be doing while waiting for your puppy to grow up. Let’s take just a little time right now and discuss how to do some of these things.

Let’s start with the lead-breaking of your puppy since it is so important to the attractive stylish gait of a show dog. Let’s assume that when you bought him he had never been on a lead. There are many methods advocated by dog enthusiasts. Some allow the young puppy to drag a lead for a few days so he won’t object to it. Some folks attach a light weight to a short lead around the puppy’s neck and let him carry it around so that he will learn to hold his head up high. Some use the reward method giving the dog a…

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