# Teach me about getting started ?



## SarahAndKiju (Jan 26, 2015)

My name is Sarah, and I will be getting an orange sable pomeranian soon. I was wondering what the in's and out's of shows are and how i would go about preparing for a show dog when my dogs at a young age. 

Im not exceptionally educated about shows and their categories, and ive tried using google to help but it all is confusing to me. 

If you could please help me or direct me to a thread or place that can i would appreciate it a lot


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

The place to start is through your breeder. If your breeder isn't showing, run! Find a breeder that does show and is willing to mentor you instead.


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## trainingjunkie (Feb 10, 2010)

Welcome to dog ownership!

Your question is really very broad, so narrowing it might get you better help!

There are many ways to show dogs! Most people are familiar with Westminster's dog show, which is conformation. There, the dogs are evaluated for their conformation and movement and are being compared to their breed standard.

There is also agility, where dogs are run through obstacle courses and judged on time and accuracy.

There is obedience, which judges dogs on the accuracy of their performance on heeling, recalls, retrieves, and things like that.

There is rally, where people perform obedience "tricks" at stations and heel from one station to another.

There is nosework, where dog's locate scents.

There is BarnHunt, where dogs locate rats.

There is tracking, where dogs follow tracks.

There is freestyle, where dog and handler perform choreographed routines.

Lots and lots of super fun things to do with your dog in the dog show world! Many, many things to chose from! I think there is nearly something for everyone.

Let us know what things appeal to you most so we can chime in with more information! Good luck with your new pup!


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## SarahAndKiju (Jan 26, 2015)

I would most definitely be interested in agility and/or obedience. Sorry for not clearing that up, but then again im not familiar with the categories so thank you for explaining them  if i were to train in agility what would i need as far as courses or whatnot? And should i teach my dog certain commands for obedience?


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

First thing I would do is familiarize myself with either or both sports you're interested in, by attending trials or fun matches and just spectating. See in-person if it's something you might enjoy. You don't have to wait to do this, it's something you could do at any time, even now before you get your puppy.

Agility and obedience take an average of about two years worth of training and preparation to be able to compete. Agility in particular requires you to wait until the dog has physically matured, in order to allow joints and bones to properly absorb the physical nature and impact of the sport. You could enroll in foundation/prep classes earlier though, say at six months of age, but you can't use the actual equipment/jumps until the dog has finished growing.

Obedience, on the other hand, will still take about two years to prepare for the Novice level, but there aren't really any jumps or demands on the dog's joints until you reach Open which would probably be about an additional year or so down the road anyway.

It might be beneficial if you were to obtain a copy of the official rulebooks for each sport and study them from cover to cover, as well. They're generally available online, or you can order hard copies from CKC / AKC. And by the way, there are many different organizations besides the aforementioned that you can compete in ie: UKC, NAMBR etc. Here is a site that lists some of the agility organizations .. http://www.skylineagility.org/flavors.html

Here are two links to wiki that may be of help .. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obedience_training
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_agility


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## SarahAndKiju (Jan 26, 2015)

Ill look around locally to see if theres any shows coming up, and ill definitely attend them, thank you for that idea  
I will definitely read over All the links you provided me (thank you for those!) and try to find the rule books and fead those over as well.

Thank you so much for your reply it was very helpful and i appreciate it !

Sorry i somehow missed your reply, but i will talk to my breeder about this also


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## ForTheLoveOfDogs (Jun 3, 2007)

A good place to start is also a good puppy class (when you get your puppy of course!). You want to start building the foundations of learning from the very beginning. I was lucky enough to get an instructor that also does agility, so he taught me extra things to teach my puppy to prepare for agility classes. I loved my puppy class because it wasn't just about learning basic commands and socializing with other puppies. We also socialized to people, handling (ear/feet etc touching etc), strange objects, odd surfaces and the beginnings of grooming. Make sure you ask about what the class is about and the methods they use (make sure they are positive). 

There are so many fun possibilities. Agility is a lot of fun but is hard on the body. You'll also want to learn more about Canine Conditioning. I recommend >this< facebook group to learn more (if you have fb that is). There are exercises you can do with your puppy.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

Ah, "show" is usually conformation.

To add to the discussion, you should find out if your breeder health tests their dogs. Different breeds are at risk for different genetic diseases/conditions, so you want to know now whether or not your puppy is getting the best chance possible to be able to participate in agility.


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