Choose a Realistic Goal
to enter a show, know your dog’s strengths and weakness, and
then do some research.
Moving to the south end of the lead, take a good look at the
It’s a waste of money and your many hours of grooming and
economic reality of your dog. Is your goal a realistic one for
conditioning to bring a lovely breed representative to a forthe animal you are showing? You could empty your checking
eign judge whose homeland does not accept your dog’s color!
account and max out the credit cards if your goal is a BIS
Lesson learned the hard way. Before entering a show, find out
and your dog is just an average representative of the breed.
the judge’s background and preferences in your breed. Start a
In some breeds, average might be enough for a championlittle black book or a digital spreadsheet and keep a record of
ship title; in others it won’t cut it. But for an owner-handled
judges. Make notes from the comments of friends and record
Best in Show, you better have an outstanding dog. It can be
your own experiences and observations with judges. Add to
done, and I’ve known a number of owner-handlers who have
this, research on a particular judge from
done it with the right dog, one of them
Internet sources, such as AKC, InfoDog,
the weekend I was finishing this article.
ShowDays and Google. The latter is a
Take an honest look at your dog and
Not only do
good source of photos of past winners
ask yourself, do you have realistic exunrealistic goals
under that judge, which can give you
pectations for this animal?
drain your financial
some clues as to what the judge looks
Not only do unrealistic goals drain
for in the ring.
your financial resources, they also
resources, they also
With each entry being $30 or more,
drain your time, energy and emodrain your time,
most of the people I know, myself intions. You need to stay healthy, both
energy and emotions. cluded, have become far more particuphysically and mentally, to show your
lar about who they show to. I’m willing
dog. I think it is easier for a pro to asto spend 15 to 20 minutes to research
sess a dog’s potential than an ownera particular judge to save myself a $30 entry fee, three hours
handler, as most don’t have as deep an emotional bond with
driving time and $20 in gas to lose to an inferior exhibit, judged
the dog. Wise owner-handlers use that emotional bond to their
by someone who has only judged maybe a total of 20 entries in
advantage; however, that is food for thought for another time.
my breed in the last five years. Nor am I willing to pay for the
privilege of showing to a judge who no longer enjoys judging
Research Judges
dogs and is merely there to collect a fee; one who examines
Owner-handlers in 2016 need to invent their own crystal balls.
my dog with a heavy hand, or is grumpy or just plain nasty.
This s port is known to be unpredictable, but there are ways to
So I pick and choose my judges carefully, thinking nothing of
tip the odds in your favor. As owner-handlers, we need to arm
skipping shows in a cluster that I can commute to. I do fewer
ourselves with the information needed to make smart deciclusters that require overnight stays unless all days of the clussions on where to spend our entry dollars. Before you decide
ter have judges I’m willing to show to.
Owner-handlers
who are
realistic, prepare
themselves well
and are picky
about what
shows they enter
can achieve their
goals without a
lot of financial
or emotional
sacrifices.
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Look for Entry Deals
The premium list can be a great source of moneysaving information. Check to see if there are any
breaks for Puppy and Bred-by classes if you have a
dog that is eligible to be shown in those classes. As
the average dog show entry is $30, even a $4 savings
will buy a gallon of gas. In some breeds it is possible
to finish a dog from the puppy classes, and if you are
lucky enough to find enough shows that have reduced
entries, you’ll see real savings.
I’m willing to pay for the convenience of doing my
entries online, but the old-fashioned way of filling out
the form, writing a check, and mailing or turning it in
to the superintendent is far less costly. You can easily
do the entry form on your computer through InfoDog
and print, or print and fill out by hand by going to
Downloadable Forms on the AKC website.
DogsinReview.com
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8/16/16 7:16 AM