Want To Start With Dog
Shows? Show Small Dogs!
by: Blake Kritzberg
The lights,
the ring, the glamour! Ever think you might
like to become involved with showing dogs?
If so, then starting with "toy" or small
dogs can offer a great way to enter into
this hobby with fewer demands on your time
and space than a larger breed might involve.
The purpose of
a dog show is to compare all entered dogs of
a specific breed against a pre-established,
written breed standard of perfection. The
winners, or Best of Breed dogs, then compete
against each other for Best in Group within
one of the seven basic groups to which their
breed has been assigned (the Herding Group,
Hound Group, Non-Sporting Group, Sporting
Group, Terrier Group, Toy Group or Working
Group). The winner of each group then goes
on to compete for the coveted Best In Show
title and hopefully, earn more points toward
a Championship.
As a new
entrant to the world of dog shows, you'll
find there are advantages to showing small
dogs over larger dogs.
Sitting Pretty
First, small
show dogs generally take less time and
effort to bathe and blow dry before a show.
You may think this detail almost
inconsequential, but after you attend a
number of shows it becomes more important.
Small show dogs are also easier to lift in
and out of a tub, and require less water,
soap and conditioner. With the exception of
long-coated breeds, less dog equals less
hair, which equals less drying time. As a
result, it's possible to thoroughly bathe
and groom six toy-sized show dogs, like
Chihuahuas, in the time it takes to groom
one large Standard Poodle show dog!
Git Along,
Little Doggies
Secondly,
showing small or toy dogs means you can show
more dogs because they take up far less
space. Each small show dog requires a small
traveling crate, but crates of that size are
light to transport and simple to store.
Small show dogs also require the use of
grooming tables, but as long as they get
along, two small show dogs can share one
table.
Easy Does It
The third
factor is, showing small dogs requires less
physicality on the part of the person
handling them. You'll seldom see small show
dog handlers huffing and puffing as they
race around the ring. Instead, small show
dogs work harder to cover ground and keep up
with the handler, whereas large show dogs
cover ground in great strides, requiring the
handler to work to keep up. In addition,
"setting up" a small dog for viewing is a
simple physical task, whereas a larger dog
can involve much more effort.
As you can
see, showing small dogs enjoys a bit of an
advantage over showing large dogs. As a
result, you may find that showing small dogs
makes a very rewarding start to a downright
addictive hobby that you and your mini champ
can enjoy together for years.
