Searching For Your First Show Dog

Click here to read the complete article
268 – The Annual, 2025-26

By William Given

She watched the two-day spectacle of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on television. She was mesmerized by the bond the dogs shared with their handlers and the pageantry of it all. She was absolutely certain this was the sport for her, and she was young enough that she could compete for many years to come. Knowing only that she needed a purebred dog, she went to the pet store at the mall and fell in love with a Standard Longhaired Dachshund. She waited patiently for him to become six months old and entered him in what was to be their first dog show.

My wife and I happened to be standing ringside when she approached my wife, excusing herself and touching my wife on her arm. She told my wife that she thought she could do it, but she was too afraid. She asked my wife to take her dog into the ring. My wife handed me the lead and said, “Please.” He was in a puppy class of one and took first place, then defeated the Open class Miniature for Winners. He followed that with Best of Winners for his first two points. Great start, right?

While attempting to get the win picture taken, the photographer asked me several times to move the dog this way and that way so he could get a good picture. Then the woman handling the dog that took Best of Variety said loudly, “That is the best picture you are going to get; he is knuckled over and should have been disqualified.”

Now, one does not have to appreciate the manner in which a truth is presented in order to understand the significance. That same professional handler spent the next couple of months helping my new friend find a true show-quality dog.

I share this anecdote with you to illustrate a point. That point being that we all come to this sport with varying degrees of knowledge. And, that our acquired and accumulated knowledge is based on life experiences, different access to necessary information, and different methods of learning. We do, however, have a few things in common. We all share a love of dogs, a passion for the sport, and we all want to win. Winning means finding the best quality dog we can find.

Where does one begin?

Click here to read the complete article
268 – The Annual, 2025-26

Short URL: https://caninechronicle.com/?p=346969

Posted by AnthonyA on Jan 5 2026. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.