How and where to start showing

[AmandaA]

hi everyone i have 2 new puppies at the moment and my 10 year old daughter would like to try showing 1 of them.
at what age can you start showing and do you know of where i can get dates of shows near us (nottingham) so we can take a look to make sure this is what she wants. she has started grooming and caring for them and is a big help with the other dogs all 6. the hard part for me is the showing side training and grooming i can do and can show her how to hand strip. any advice thanks   

[Jane S]

Puppies have to be 6 months old to enter shows but you can take them to ringcraft classes as soon as their vaccination program is finished. Ringcraft classes are usually held weekly and are great for socialising pups and also for teaching newbies the basics of what to do in the ring. I think we have other members in the Notts area who could perhaps recommend a class to you (luvly?) or you could try contacting the Kennel Club and ask them for a list of registered ringcraft clubs in your area. You'll find schedules for local shows are often available at ringcraft or you can check out the downloadable show diary on the KC website (only goes up to October at the moment though): http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/download/3200/showdiary.pdf

[AnnieM]

Depends which side of Nottingham you are, we go to a ringcraft at Palterton, just off J29 M1 and there is also one in Hasland, again not far from J29, but in the opposite direction towards Chesterfield.  Sorry if they are no use to you, but they are the only ones I know of. 

[Penelope]

Our son started off with fun and companion dog shows.  He gradually learned more and more by watching the older kids and now he is pretty good (he won at Discover Dogs, thereby qualifying Suki for Crufts 2 years ago!)
Maybe you could go to a few fun and companion shows?
We are starting ringcraft next week with Harriet who will be 6 weeks old, and I have a feeling he will want to show her when the time comes.....
Good luck, and enjoy it.

[AmandaA]

Thanks every one we are at j25, but i will get intouch with the kennel club for more info.Good luck with the showing of your puppies to.
Its finding the fun shows where are they advertised?  

[JaspersMum]

Meg and my son both started at the fun shows, both in fun classes for the dogs and child/junior handling.  Meg is going into her first Junior Handling class at an open show tomorrow.

There are a few young members on here who have offered a lot of advice and thankfully, she has two of them at the show tomorrow to help her along 

You could also join them in the Young Kennel Club, it isn't expensive and they run training weeks and the like although we haven't been to any 

[AmandaA]

Meg and my son both started at the fun shows, both in fun classes for the dogs and child/junior handling.  Meg is going into her first Junior Handling class at an open show tomorrow.

There are a few young members on here who have offered a lot of advice and thankfully, she has two of them at the show tomorrow to help her along 

You could also join them in the Young Kennel Club, it isn't expensive and they run training weeks and the like although we haven't been to any 

I thought of doing the young kennel club for her. we took her to crufts this year and she loved it. she was watching the young kennel club class i should have got the info then but we was not going to have any more dogs, well not just yet. good look with the show tomorrow.   

[Cob-Web]

I thought of doing the young kennel club for her. we took her to crufts this year and she loved it. she was watching the young kennel club class i should have got the info then but we was not going to have any more dogs, well not just yet. good look with the show tomorrow.   

YKC is excellent - imo, really good value for money    Lil'bit has been a member for a couple of years, and has been devouring the regular magazines and packs that she gets sent (and the tickets to various events  )
She will be old enough to start going to the training weekends next year.......so I have swallowed my pride and bought a tent so that we can go along 

[AmandaA]

I thought of doing the young kennel club for her. we took her to crufts this year and she loved it. she was watching the young kennel club class i should have got the info then but we was not going to have any more dogs, well not just yet. good look with the show tomorrow.   

YKC is excellent - imo, really good value for money    Lil'bit has been a member for a couple of years, and has been devouring the regular magazines and packs that she gets sent (and the tickets to various events  )
She will be old enough to start going to the training weekends next year.......so I have swallowed my pride and bought a tent so that we can go along 

COOL Lucy will love all that, i will try them torrow but i think no one will be their. 

[JaspersMum]

It's £12 a year, no need to ring, you can sign up on line here http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/215

As Rachel says, you also get free tickets including free entry to Crufts 

[AmandaA]

I have just had a quick flick on the kennel club that is cheep, i forget you can do thing on-line I'm still in the stone age LOL
Its just what she needs thanks every one.  

[JaspersMum]

Are there any Ring craft classes near you (we struggled to find one near enough that didn't clash with other activities) - would help give her hands on advice and you would be likely to hear of local shows through them too. http://www.bestofbreeds.com/clubcorner/dogs/ringcraftclubs.htm

That said, Meg (now nearly 14) picked up a lot from watching others at shows, the very first one we went too we met a cocker owner who shows a lot and he took us under his wing too...

If she wants to do Junior Handling, Meg is currently reading "Junior Handling the White way" but the website is excellent too http://www.juniorhandling.co.uk/ book can be bought through the website and is signed by the author.

Hope she has lots of fun as well as wins

[AmandaA]

I will try that web site some time today thanks jenny. not sure about ring craft around us but going to ask the kennel club for a list. 

[AnnieM]

There are a couple of ringcraft's in Nottingham on this site http://www.bestofbreeds.com/clubcorner/dogs/ringcraftclubs.htm that is where I found ours.

[AmandaA]

Hi everyone just filled in Lucys YCK form online so she is now a member and looking forward to getting started thats for your help.