Dog Shows

Dog shows are a kind of beauty contest for dogs. This beauty of a dog lies in its purity of breed, good health, clean coat and intelligence.

All over world, various dog shows are conducted to judge these essential qualities in a dog.

Dog shows are a kind of beauty contest for dogs. Knowledge about various qualities of each pure breed of a dog is necessary to prepare a dog for the show.

Various breeds of dog differ in their morphological conformation.

The beauty of a dog lies in its purity of breed, good health, clean coat and intelligence. The kennel clubs have formulated a class rule of dog as per their specifications.

Registration of Dog for Shows

Before a dog can be shown at any dog show held under Kennel Club (KC) rules it must be registered at the particular Kennel Club.

The pet owner must enter in the registered form, accompanying all schedules in respect of dog shows, the particulars of the dog be proposed to show.

Without registration a pet or change of ownership may lead to disqualification, and may have even more serious problems.

Dog lovers should have a copy of rules and regulations of KCI, which may help them during the shows.

Conformation Shows

Conformation shows, also referred to as breed shows, are a kind of dog show in which a judge familiar with a specific dog breed evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs conform to the established breed type for their breed, as described in a breed’s individual breed standard.

A conformation dog show is not a comparison of one dog to another but a comparison of each dog to a judge’s mental image of the ideal breed type as outlined in the individual breed’s breed standard.

Dog show judges attempt to identify dogs who epitomize the published standards for each breed. This can be challenging, because some judgments must necessarily be subjective.

As an example, what exactly entails a “full coat” or a “cheerful attitude”, descriptions found in breed standards, can only be learned through experience with the breed that has that particular requirement.

Specialty Show

A specialty show is a dog show which reviews a single breed, unlike other dog shows, particularly conformation shows, which are generally referred to as “all-breed” because they are open to all breeds recognized by the sponsoring kennel club.

A specialty show may be regional or national. A “Best in Show” win at a national specialty show is tremendously prestigious, indicating that the winning dog or bitch triumphed at a contest which attracted entries from the most serious fanciers of that breed in the country or continent. Some specialty shows attract international entries.

Examples of specialty shows include:

• The regional specialty shows and the national specialty show sponsored by the Golden Retriever Club of America.
• The regional specialty shows and the national specialty show sponsored by the German Wire haired Pointer Club of America.
• National Specialty Show by American Maltese Association.
• Border Terrier Show results in the U.K.

Obedience Trial

An obedience trial is a dog sport in which a dog must perfectly execute a predefined set of tasks when directed to do so by his handler.

According the American Kennel Club (AKC) obedience regulations, The basic objective of obedience trials, however, is to recognize dogs that have been trained to behave in the home, in public places, and in the presence of other dogs, in a manner that will reflect credit on the sport of obedience at all times and under all conditions.

Training a dog to participate in AKC obedience trials increases a dog’s understanding and reliability in responding to commands such as “sit”, “down”, “stay”, “come”, and “heel.”

At a trial, the dog and handler will perform various predefined obedience exercises, which will be evaluated and scored by a judge.

The dog must demonstrate basic proficiency in order to receive a passing score (170 points out of a possible 200, and at least 50 % of the points allocated to each exercise).

A handler may choose to train for higher degrees of accuracy and style in order to receive more points.

For example, on a recall, to receive a perfect score the dog must come at a trot or run directly to the handler, without sniffing or veering to one side, and sit straight in front of the handler, not at an angle or off to one side or the other.

The dog and handler teams with the four highest scores in a given class will receive placement ribbons, and sometimes additional prizes.

All dogs that receive a passing score earn a “leg” to wards an obedience title. When a dog has accumulated the requisite number of legs for a given title, the AKC will issue a certificate to the dog’s owner recognizing that accomplishment.

Dog Agility

Dog agility is a dog sport in which a handler directs a dog through an obstacle course in a race for both time and accuracy.

Dogs run off-leash with no food or toys as incentives, and the handler can touch neither dog nor obstacles.

Consequently the handler’s controls are limited to voice, movement, and various body signals, requiring exceptional training of the animal and coordination of the handler.

Field Trial

A field trial is a competitive event at which hunting dogs compete against one another.

There are field trials for retrievers, pointing dogs and flushing dogs. Field trials are usually organised by kennel clubs or other gun dog organizations.

Field trials are generally considered more competitive than hunt tests in that success at a field trial requires a higher level of training than success at a hunt test requires.

For example, in Retriever Field Trials, dogs retrieve over longer distances with a more complex path than a Retriever Hunt Test would generally provide. Field trial dogs must be “finished” in order to enter. Their purpose is also different as they exist mainly for breeders, while hunting tests are made for users.

Sheep Dog Trial

A Sheepdog trial (also herding event, stock dog trial or simply dog trial) is a competitive dog sport in which herding dog breeds move sheep around a field, fences, gates, or enclosures as directed by their handlers.

Such events are particularly associated with hill farming areas, where sheep range widely on largely unfenced land.

These trials take place in the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Chile, Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and other farming nations.

Tracking Trial

A Tracking trial is an event to encourage dogs to make use of their strongest facility, the ability to follow a scent trail.

The competition emulates the finding of a lost person or article in a situation where the performance of the dog can be fairly assessed.

Because of this, the tracks laid are straight-forward, not the wanderings that may characterise a lost person nor do they include deliberate attempts by the track layer to deceive the dog.