Showing

When you think of or begin showing your dog the show world can be a very confusing place! The best place to begin is to purchase a copy of the Kennel Club Show Regulations Booklet and to look up your Breed Standard on the Kennel Club site.

There is much I could add here about showing but I won’t I will simply try to a-z what you can expect at an Open Show and a Championship Show in regards to how things work. This is written purely from my own experience (albeit limited) and point of view so please do not take what I say as the given but research yourself as I cannot be held responsible for an inaccuracies. At a later date I hope to add information on suitable show leads, equipment etc and the places where you can purchase them.

• Find the show you wish to enter and print a schedule and entry form.
• Decide on the class(es) you wish to enter and fill out and copy your entry form. Note: Some entries are online not paper. When entering it is best to order a catalogue as this will show every entry that day and you can look up your dogs classes and see how many others are entered, who they are and what your dogs number will be on the day. In advance of the show you will need to purchase a ‘ring clip’ or an ‘armband’ as on the day of the show you will be given a cardboard number corresponding to your dogs number in the catalogue and this needs to be worn in the ring.
• Take your entry form to the post office so you can get proof of postage, this will be needed in case something goes amiss with your entry on the way to the Show Secretary.
• On the day of the show arrive prepared and in good time for show opening / your class
• Look for the secretarys desk as this is normally where you will also normally find the catalogues, if you have ordered on in advance then you give them your name and they give you your catalogue but if not then there is normally a limited amount available on the day at a slightly higher purchase cost.
• Then look for the showground map (normally displayed on a wall near the secretary) as this will show what ring your breed is in (sometimes with approximate times) and where you can find that ring.
• Be at your ring in good time and wait for your class to be called by the show stewards.
• Enter the ring and go to the steward, tell the steward your number (the one you looked up earlier in the catalogue) and he will hand you a piece of card with your number on to clip into your ‘ring clip’ or ‘armband’.
• The steward will then let everyone in the class know where they should stand etc. You should stand your dog in their show stand whilst awaiting further direction. Often judges will ask exhibitors to do a circuit all together before commencing individual judging, this is sometimes also done at the end of the class before awards are announced.
• If you are first to be judge the judge will direct you as to where to stand and then you set your dog into their show stand. The judge will likely ask how old your dog and begin to ‘go over’ your dog. ‘Going over’ the dog is the judge using his hands on the dog to assess angulation etc. When finished he/she will then direct you as to what movement they would like to see i.e ask you to move your dog in a trot once up and down or complete a circuit of the ring or move in a triangle.
• Be aware that if you are second etc then you need to move your dog into the space the last dog was stood in before the dog before you finishes its movement as the judge will want to turn straight around and commence judging your dog.
• When the last dog is being moved you should be stacking your dog once more in its show stand so that you are perfectly ready for the judge to cast his eye down the line. When every dog has been seen the judge may ask for more movement to aid his decision.
• When the judge has made his decision he will direct the ring steward to have place cards ready and will then point to the dogs one by one that he wishes to be awarded places i.e he will point to the first dog as the winner of first place and continue down to 5th place.
• Be aware that sometimes once lined up 1st to 5th a judge may change his mind and move the line up round so that 1st may switch with 2nd etc and the decision is only final once the steward begins to call the winners out.
• If you have won 1st place you will need to stack your dog for the judge to write a critique and sometimes the steward will also ask 2nd place to stack their dog for a critique but this is rare at Open shows.
• Be sure to congratulate the other winners in your class whatever position you finished in.
• If you win your class (and have not entered and come 2nd or below in those classes  in other classes) then be aware that you will need to stay as all unbeaten dogs will be called into the ring to compete again so the judge can then chose a Reserve Best of Breed and a Best of Breed for the day, judging will more more or less the same as it was for the initial class but is unlikely to be as lengthy.
• Win or lose, remember that we all take the best dog home on the day!

•  Find the show you wish to enter and print a schedule and entry form
• Decide on the class(es) you wish to enter and fill out and copy your entry form. Note: Some entries are online not paper
• Take your entry form to the post office so you can get proof of postage, this will be needed in case something goes amiss with your entry on the way to the Show Secretary.
• Await your show passes, car park passes and dog exit paperwork. This is sometimes now online for you to download but this will have been made clear at the time of entry. If it does not arrive at least a week before the show and no late announcements have been made then contact the Show Secretary or entry company (such as Fosse Data, Higham Press) for assistance.
• Upon arrival at the showground you will be directed as to where to park your car. Ensure your carpark pass is on display as this makes life easier for parking stewards.
• On the day of the show arrive prepared and in good time for show opening / your class
• With your tickets you will most likely have a small showground map so head straight for the catalogue collection desk and collect your catalogue which will tell you all you need to know about your dogs number, class entry etc.
• Next head to your tent number. The tents are full of ‘benches’ these are wooden benches with green wood slats separating each dog from the next, you need to locate the bench with the number that matches your dogs number in the show catalogue (there are two bench cards on each bench, one remains in place and the other is the number you wear on your ringclip when entering the ring) and this is where you ‘bench’ your dog ie. where it stays when it is not being shown.

•  Once settled then it is best to locate your ring.
• The show will start at the time that was alloted on the show schedule unless announced otherwise, although rare, sometimes show starts can be delayed if an accident has occured on a road leading to the grounds causing large numbers of exhibitors to be late.
• Be aware of when you are due in the ring and be ringside in good time for your class start time, it is easy to miss your class!
• Enter the ring and go to the steward where he/she will check off your number/dog.
• The steward will then let everyone in the class know where they should stand etc. You should stand your dog in their show stand whilst awaiting further direction. Often judges will ask exhibitors to do a circuit all together before commencing individual judging, this is sometimes also done at the end of the class before awards are announced.
• If you are first to be judge the judge will direct you as to where to stand and then you set your dog into their show stand. The judge will likely ask how old your dog and begin to ‘go over’ your dog. ‘Going over’ the dog is the judge using his hands on the dog to assess angulation etc. When finished he/she will then direct you as to what movement they would like to see i.e ask you to move your dog in a trot once up and down or complete a circuit of the ring or move in a triangle.
• Be aware that if you are second etc then you need to move your dog into the space the last dog was stood in before the dog before you finishes its movement as the judge will want to turn straight around and commence judging your dog.
• When the last dog is being moved you should be stacking your dog once more in its show stand so that you are perfectly ready for the judge to cast his eye down the line. When every dog has been seen the judge may ask for more movement to aid his decision.
• When the judge has made his decision he will direct the ring steward to have place cards ready and will then point to the dogs one by one that he wishes to be awarded places i.e he will point to the first dog as the winner of first place and continue down to 5th place.
• Be aware that sometimes once lined up 1st to 5th a judge may change his mind and move the line up round so that 1st may switch with 2nd etc and the decision is only final once the steward begins to call the winners out.
• If you have won 1st place you will need to stack your dog for the judge to write a critique and sometimes the steward will also ask 2nd place to stack their dog for a critique but this is rare at Open shows.
• Be sure to congratulate the other winners in your class whatever position you finished in.
• If you win your class (and have not entered and come 2nd or below in those classes  in other classes) then be aware that you will need to stay as all unbeaten dogs will be called into the ring to compete again. If you are at a show where CC’s (Challenge Certificates) are being awarded then the competion will be to decide the winner of the Reserve CC and the actual CC.
• If your dog wins the actuall CC then they will need to be prepared to compete for Best of Breed. This is where the Dog CC winner and Bitch CC winner go head to head for Best of Breed.
• If your dog wins the Best of Breed award then be aware that they will then need to go on to compete for the Group awards ie. Gundog group. This will not be till later in the day and will be against all other Best of Breed winners in your group that day.
• If your are fortunate enough to win the Group 1 position then you will need to compete for Best in Show, this can sometimes mean returning to the show the following day or day after that as most Championship All Breed shows are run over 2/3 days.