Dog Shows

Is your dog better than all of the rest? Does he or she ooze a special charisma that is a bit better then your average dog-next-door? If this is the case, you may want to consider entering your dog into a pooch pageant. Dog shows are growing popularity at a shockingly fast rate. It seems as though Hollywood has made the owning of a dog the trendy thing to do. If you flip through any magazine lately, you’ll see a plethora of pictures of famous celebrities with their pups. However, people aren’t just satisfied with owning a dog anymore, they want their dog to be the best. So what does it take for your dog to be the best? Before entering your dog into a dog show, you want to figure out what type of pageant to enter him or her in.

First, there are All-Breed shows. These are typically the shows that you’ll tune into on the television. They include up to 150 breeds of dogs and are very open to new contestants. There will be a set of activities that the dog will have to perform to prove that he or she is not only exquisitely groomed, but they must prove that they are well-behaved as well. Training events and obstacle courses are how this is determined.

Next, there are the Specialty Shows. This type of show is usually reserved for dogs of a specific breed. The breed could have subcategories but most of the dogs are of the same larger breed. For example, a Specialty Show may showcase Poodles but may be broken up into sub-categories such as Standard, Miniature, and Toy. Specialty shows are usually more expensive to enter because the dogs come from breeders and are typically purebred. Therefore, this ups the competition because most of the dogs have been strategically bred.

Lastly, there are Group Shows. Group Shows are interesting because they include dogs from a specific group. A Bulldog group may include both American and English bulldogs, although they are very different in appearance. The idea behind this is to showcase the doggy DNA that has morphed over time to create new beautiful offspring’s of the original standard group.

If you are seriously considering entering your dog into a dog show, you may want to become familiar with the requirements as well, to ensure that your pup will be eligible. All dog show participants must be registered with the American Kennel Club (AKC) and they must be six months or older. Also, your dog’s breed and/or class must be offered at the dog show for which you are entering him or her. Basically, this means that you can’t enter a Greyhound in a Yorkie competition. If it is a breed specific show (such as a Specialty Show or Group Show), then your dog will need to meet the specific requirements written for that breed. Another big thing to keep in mind is that spayed or neutered pets are often not eligible for dog shows because they are typically held to promote breeding.