A question for people who show in conformation?

Question

The last weekend of October I will entering Bindi in her first, and my first ever AKC conformation show.

I'm getting nervous with the show only a few weeks away.

What should I bring? What should brush up on with Bindi before the show? Do the judges give a little instruction to newbies?

I guess I'm just not sure what to expect, and any tips anyone has from experience would be great.

We've been working on stacking.

Unfortunately I haven't seen any fun matches in my area.

I've read books.

I would have liked to have attended a show or two before this, but they were all at least 4 hours drive.

I know I'm jumping in head first, but I'm good at doing that.

Answer 1

No the Judges do not give newbies any instructions. Find some fun matches now. Find some fun matches at shows before you go in the ring. Find out what kind of collar that is used in your breed, and also what color lead is preferred in your breed. Have you worked with her on stacking her? You will not have much time in the ring to set her up and stack her for the judge to go over her. Our obeidence club also offers conformation classes on another night. Do you have any club near you that offers conformation classes?

Answer 2

This is exciting.....I've been where you are and it's okay to be nervous....but you will have fun. No, judges do not give any instructions except what they want you to do in the ring. They also don't really care if you are a newbie....they will have the same expectations from you as they would someone who's experienced.

How old is Bindi? If she is a puppy, judges are more forgiving when a puppy breaks a stack or gets excited when the judge approaches them. If he is in the open class..the judge will expect you to be prepared. Practice stacking and have different people go over her.

As far as what to bring, just make sure you have bait, lead, water, crate if you are going to stay a while, grooming supplies, grooming table. Anything that you would need when showing him.

Good luck....this is an exciting time. I discontinued showing all together after my second son was born in the summer of '99, so I've been out of the loop for several years....but I remember it being a fun and rewarding experience. Would love to hear how Bindi does!

Answer 3

How exciting for you both. We haven't done an AKC show in a while, have been getting our feet wet in UKC again after nearly 20 years, as our boy is registered in both. We always try to arrive plenty early - give yourself time to walk off the butterflys, watch breeds ahead of you. We were lucky enough at our first show back to be the only dog in our class, so we did get some input and pointers from the judge, but that is not the norm. I would try to hit a conformation class or two if you can prior to the show, I know our local dog club and obedience club both offer them for about $5 per session. We bring food, water, crate, brushes, spit rags, leash, collar, and toy for the dog, food, water, chairs, for ourselves. If its outdoors, don't forget sun protection. I always stick a copy of vaccinations, microchip info, and pedigree in the car just in case. If you can't find a conformation class, I would brush up on stacking, stand for exam by strangers, walking around the ring with distractions- you will probably have to recruit some extra dogs and people to help you out. Other than that, just have fun, and remember that this is a learning experience.

Answer 4

my biggest problem with my dog in the AKC ring was getting her to be still when the judge approached her, she would stack up fine, but when the judge came near her backend started wiggling all the way to the front, she wouldn't move out of the stack, because she knew better, but she would do the rotten wiggle for a pet. So, we got 4th ..ha ha...the judge said because she was like that she had to put us back, otherwise we would have been "up" farther.

Soooo, I took her to the busiest places, I could with lots of people and had her stacked up, asked strangers (curious onlooker ones, anyway) if they could help me, by pretending to look at my dog, after a while, (took A WHILE!), she realized she wasn't getting a pet and stopped wiggling her tail end all the way forward. We did much better after that in the ring. So, if your dog is a People person, then condition her to ignore other people and dogs before you get in the ring, also, practice turning with her watching you.

No, instructions and frequent looks of disgust from other handlers, they can be so catty. Just remember, they were there once too, and the only thing that can go wrong, is that you fall down...LOL, did that once, but you get up and just keep on movin. (raining, wet field, running in circles...ha ha!.) Now I wear CLEATS!, black ones, they work great... If you shoes are slippy get some, you will notice, most people do not have fancy shoes or heels, lots of nice black tennis shoes, at least at the working dog shows...At AKC men wear dress shoes...
Good luck and have fun, also wear a color that your dog will contrast against. My dogs are black, so I will wear a light color so they show up....

Answer 5

Expect ZIPPO instruction from the judge!!!! They are not there to offer you help, they are there to get their job done in an efficient manner. Newbies tend to hold things up and that can really annoy judges and other handlers.

If you don't really know what to bring or what to expect, you should have taken some handling classes or at least attended a lot of shows as a spectator first. Learn where people go when they get there. Where they set up the grooming table.

At least make sure you get there early enough to watch the judge you will be having. You can get an idea on what ring pattern he/she is using and what their procedure is so you will look less like a Newbie. If you are in the first group that morning....God help you!!!!

Answer 6

Jess, if you can write to me we can work on any specific issues.
We have all been there! One positive thing you can do is take your dog to a crowded area, such as a park, and practice the patterns and stacking and stops..Get her 'fun' up..so that this is all great fun for her..And get her concentrating on you, amid a lot of distraction,

If you can get one other person to help, preferably not a family member that lives with you, practicing the 'stop' in front of the judge is helpful. It really impresses the judge if a dog makes a good clean, square stop, and looks at the judge with the 'I'm the best' attitude, bright eyed and expecting..
Get another person to stand, while you approach rapidly, stop suddenly right in front of them, and the person smiles and gives a yummy treat..( without much speaking) Then your dog will expect that from the judge, and it looks really good, like she is charming the judge...

Answer 7

Go to the AKC website and search for Breed DVDs.

Select your breed, pay for expedited processing. Watch and learn what the judges are looking for:

Conformity (to the breed standard), Condition (is he an exceptional representation of the standard), Presentation (show me).

Tony Ancheta

PS. You wrote: "I would have liked to have attended a show or two before this, but they were all at least 4 hours drive."

Tony comments: I laughed when I read that. If you get into this and find that you have a winning dog ... you will understand that any Dog Show in the US is as close as your nearest airport - and your complaint, then, will be: why does it take AVIS so long to get the pre-paid van delivered curbside.

Answer 8

Have fun,,, there is a learning curve to showing dogs, and you are not exempt.
Everyone of us were in your shoes at some point, and surprise-surprise, we all survived.
Most newbies take everything including the kitchen sink to their first show and then don't use any of it.
Go to the ring that you will be showing in and watch. Then go practice what the judge is having people do with your dog.