Does anyone here breed and show dogs?

[EltonJohn]

For the future I'm trying to make a decision into whether or not to enter into this "sport". I know that it is not a decision to be taken lightly, and I am researching all aspects of breeding and showing dogs.

If you raise and show dogs why? How did you first get involved? How much work is involved? What are the pros and cons of breeding and showing dogs.

Thanks

 

[Boo'sMom]

Check with DianeSchlicht.....


me...I seem to have a problem keeping track of the one dog I have....LOL

 

[dianeschlicht]

I do. We have been breeding and exhibiting Airedale Terriers for 26 years. It is a fun hobby that has taken us all around the country, but you have to have a real love and concern for your breed, almost to the point of fanaticism.

We got started because I had read a book about a young handicapped woman who overcame some life problems by getting involved in the sport of dogs. I thought is sounded interesting and fun.

I had always had horsed growing up, but DH didn't care for horses. We bought a little "mutt" when we were first married, but I always wanted an Airedale because it had been my favorite dog that we had while growing up.

For my 27th Birthday, I got my Airedale and started getting involved with the local breed club because I was interested in showing. It didn't take me long to figure out I didn't have a good enough speciman, so I went out more educated and bought a better one.

The rest is history. We have breed dozens of champions and have produced many dogs with other titles like obedience and hunting and agility titles.

The fun of all this is showing them ourselves. It satisfys a need to do something artistic as well as intereacting with the dogs and people.

 

[EltonJohn]

Hi Diane,

Do you have any books or websites (well, beside AKC and the Kennel Club of course) to recommend?

Why is showing dogs considered a "sport" by some breeders?

diane

 

[mamajoan]

Diane.. another ? if you please.

We have scotties.. odd sized scotties .. really one is tiny at 12 pounds, the other is huge..38 pounds.. not really fat.. just really big..
they are not aloof and have pretty well rounded personalities as far as dogs go. They have been spayed/neutered...

I have always liked Airdales. I find them energetic and beautiful.
I had wanted to adopt one from a Purebreed Rescue. I called the agency when one was available for adoption. It was a 2 year old male, with few bad habits.. no formal training.
The woman refused to consider my application due to our scotties.
She said "I would Never place any other dog with a Scottie, as Scottie would not get along with the Airdale..no way, no how...

I tried to ? her response but she would NOT budge...

Can you tell me something about Airdales that would cause them not to get along with a Scottie?

I have come to find that this woman will only place Scotties with Scotties... she definately is biased but I would appreciate anything that you can think of...
Thanks,
Joan

Elton I think that raising and showing purebreed dogs is honorable and fascinating. Expensive too.. I have heard....
Have fun!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Showing dogs is a sport because it is a competition. Granted, the competition is on the conformation of the dog, but there is a lot of nuance to how the dog is handles as well.

The best place to start would be the AKC web site. The next thing to do would be to go to the national parent club of the breed you are interested in. For example, The Airedale Terrier Club of America can be accessed through the AKC web site. All breeds who are part of the AKC registry will have a parent club site accessible through the AKC.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Mamajoan,
A lot of people who are involved in rescue have a (treading lightly) "attitude" about certain things. Hers evedently is that terrier breeds should not be mixed. I find that a male and female usually get along great. Two males might have problems if there is a cycling female in the mix, but I find the male Airedales to be much more easy going than the females. I can run all the boys together, but I have to be careful which girls get together. If you don't have a scrappy scottie ( and some of them are), I don't see that it would be any problem. The problem might be that the rescue dog is not socialized enough. Often that is why they end up in rescue. Sometimes so called "breeders" don't screen buyers and someone ends up with a dog they aren't prepared to train and socialize. Those are often the dogs that end up in rescue.
Do all of you realize how hard it has been to talk about "dogs" and "*****es" without using those terms??? LOL, I just got by with the plural! What is second nature to me might offend some folks on the DIS!

 

[mamajoan]

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain what the rescue lady did not want to take the time to do. You..I understand!


I like how you used the term "scrappy"! That sure does describe some scotties I have met.

Jack and Bridget.. are silly dogs.. Bridget is more fierce than Jack.. as she thinks she is a tough little scottie.. witch....

The worst thing I can say about my scotties is that they are

{Cat people cover your ears..} they are known "CAT MURDERERS"

sad but true..
Thanks for all the info.. and like I said before.

Boy oh boy.. do I like the look of an Airedale!

 

[doxdogy]

You can also search the AKC website for Breed clubs in your area. Also you can check infodog.com for dog shows in your area. That is a good place to learn about dog shows. We have a few handlers in our area that give classes on handling. We use to show our dachshunds, but have been out of it for a few years. I hope to get started soon. I did try showing my boy Simon one time. But, he thought it was time to play when we went in the ring. So, we had to use a handler. Then we had one that absolutely HATED dog shows. She would sit in the ring and refuse to move. Showing dogs is fun competition and I still love going to dog shows and watching the dachshunds compete.

 

[fklhou]

We raise and show bearded colies and are co-owners on a couple of Pettie Bassett Griffon Vedeeens (PBGV). There is a picture of one of our beardies on my signature line. Boss is two points away from his AKC championship.

Showing can be very expensive. My wife has a Excursion that she travels with all across the country. I am amazed at how many miles she puts on that vehicle. In addition in some breeds, you are not going to get the dog into the top ten or five of the breed without using a handler. Some judges will put a known handler with an average or poor dog over a better dog shown by an owner who is not as well knowned. There is a joke that some handlers can wini with an iguana on a lead with some judges.

The way the AKC rankings work is very interesting. Basically, the champion dogs pick up points for each dog in their breed they defeat if they win best of breed and points for each dog defeated if your dog places in the group. One of our beardies was number 5 in the country for a while last year.

Breeding is a very interesting expierence. We are expecting our first set of puppies on March 17 from one of our *****es and the father of Boss. Lessa was the number one herding beardie in the country last year with High in trial at two shows and a reserver high in trial. The vet bills on a good breeding can run up very quickly and you have to make sure you have a vet who knows what they are doing.

Finally, please understand that this is mainly my DD and my wife's sport. I have fun at shows watching them compete. My other job is walking the beardies every night. One thing about a herding dog is that they do not let me forget about the walk and can herd me toward the door when it is time for the walk.

Have fun.

 

[EltonJohn]

Originally posted by mamajoan
they are not aloof and have pretty well rounded personalities as far as dogs go.

I have always liked Airdales. I find them energetic and beautiful.
I had wanted to adopt one from a Purebreed Rescue. I called the agency when one was available for adoption. It was a 2 year old male, with few bad habits.. no formal training.
The woman refused to consider my application due to our scotties.
She said "I would Never place any other dog with a Scottie, as Scottie would not get along with the Airdale..no way, no how...

I tried to ? her response but she would NOT budge...

Can you tell me something about Airdales that would cause them not to get along with a Scottie?

I have come to find that this woman will only place Scotties with Scotties... she definately is biased but I would appreciate anything that you can think of...
Thanks,
Joan

Elton I think that raising and showing purebreed dogs is honorable and fascinating. Expensive too.. I have heard....
Have fun!

In general, the Scottish Terrier tends to be aloof and reserved.

From the AKC website:

"The Scottish Terrier, while loving and gentle with people, can be aggressive with other dogs. .. "

"The Scottie is a playful puppy who grows into a dignified adult. He is likely to become attached to one person and lead a life of quiet dignity dedicated to that companion. Despite his sometime reserved nature, the Scottie remains a true terrier."

http://www.akc.org/breeds/recbreeds/breeds_s.cfm
http://www.akc.org/breeds/recbreeds/scotty.cfm

Now, I can't be sure, but these traits might have an influence in her decision not to grant you an Airedale.

Only you know if your Scotties can get along with dogs; did she ever meet your dogs by any chance?

diane

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I also show my dogs, but I do not breed. I have collies, only 3 which is small for showing standards. LOL I started out showing about 11 years ago because I was taking my collie to an obedience class and the instructor told me to try it. We started in obedience and earned numerous advanced obedience titles over the years. We have also done agility and have also earned numerous advanced titles also. I teach agility classes also. I now have a 9 month old pup who is "show" material, meaning confirmation material. So we tried our hand in this a couple times in the puppy classes. Confirmation is very political. Alot is not what your dog actually looks like or how it moves but as one poster put it who is on the end of the leash. Alot of people hire handlers but that can get VERY expensive. And depending on the breed, you're talking hours of grooming for maybe 10 minutes in the ring. We had a good time the few times we did it though. My pup didn't get "dumped"(coming in last) even with me(an unknown in confirmation standards) handling her. Many of my friends have been showing in confirmation for years and do well but it takes a long time, alot of money, time and thick skin to become known. We'll continue to show in confirmation when the pup gets a little older and grows some coat. I know she can get her CH, so we will pursue it. And I'm also going to train her to show in agility. That my true love. No favorites in that sport. You either do it or you don't. Good Luck to you! Any questions feel free to ask.

 

[EltonJohn]

Originally posted by roliepolieoliefan
Confirmation is very political. Alot is not what your dog actually looks like or how it moves but as one poster put it who is on the end of the leash.

That is really . Is not the point of showing dogs to get the best dogs to breed, and thus better the breed itself?

And I'm also going to train her to show in agility. That my true love. No favorites in that sport. You either do it or you don't. Good Luck to you! Any questions feel free to ask.

I think I would love to get into agility and lure coursing some day. That sounds like a lot of fun. Confirmation just sounds a little <i>boring</i>.

I also found the Mixed Breed Dog Club of America. They have a really neat website, and it looks like a neat organization.
http://www.mbdca.org/

diane

 

[dianeschlicht]

That is really . Is not the point of showing dogs to get the best dogs to breed, and thus better the breed itself?

That is why it is so discouraging for newcomers. I don't really believe it is as political as some newbies think. I think the nuance of how well you handle the dog in conformation, has a lot to do with it. Also, because dogs have been getting better, you have to have a pretty good one to finish it these days. I have been an owner/ handler for 26 years, and sometimes there are some judges who I know will be political, but I just don't waste my money entering under them.

 

[dianeschlicht]

BTW, dogs don't get shown in confIrmation. They get shown in confOrmation. LOL! We don't confirm them.

 

[airhead]

I don't know if you caught any of my dog training posts here,I am training my Dobie for obedience competition. We LOVE it!!
Be ready to devote lots of time to trainingand travelling to matches. You have to love it,there's no shortcuts. I train with 2 different clubs and EVERY day on my own. Atleast one weekend day is for show&go's(informal matches to practice for the real thing). I have met some wonderful people and I have met some
jerks. Competition does something to some people...
I have learned so much about training and dogs in the last year,plus best of all,I get to spend that time with my dog! To see your dog look at you like you are the only thing that matters,is just awsome! Attention training is key,we practice constantly.
I know people who did conformation with their dog,and are now training for obedience. There's so many activities to do
with your dog. In addition to obedience training,me and my girl are doing rally-o. This is lots of fun! There's also agility, flyball, tracking,even dancing!!!
There are probably informal matches going on in your area, every weekend. If you need help finding them,come here to the DIS and we'll help ya!!
Good luck and remember,whatever activity you decide to do,HAVE FUN!!!!!!


airhead(front and finish!)

 

[goofy4tink]

You know....after watching and talking to my golden's breeders, I don't think I would ever take up breeding. Showing, yes. There are so many things to consider to breed correctly. Then you have to really know your stuff. I used to frequent the golden boards over on aol, and man....do they go nuts if you mention recreational breeding!! We go to shows and have a ball. We love to follow my pup's siblings/mom progress in the ring. But, breed? Nope, not me. I'm leaving that to the pro's. And while I'm here, let me say a big thank-you to all of you responsible breeders out there. Thanks for making your particular breed better.

 

[EltonJohn]

Originally posted by dianeschlicht
BTW, dogs don't get shown in confIrmation. They get shown in confOrmation. LOL! We don't confirm them.

You mean that you don't take them to the Church as an adolescent for them to profess thier faith


diane

 

[fklhou]

We sent one of our beardies down to the San Antonio show yesterday. The breeder in Dallas really wanted our older dog down in San Antonio for the weekend. My wife is planning to take the puppy to see if we can finish him and our daughters are entered in junior showmanshp.

In addition to conformantion, there are also herding competitions, agility trials, tracking competitions, flyball and obidience competitions.

If you have not seen the movie, best in show, go see it. We saw it with a handler we use and my wife and the handler were matching up stereotypes from the movie with people on the show circuti.