As many people do in the dog sport world, we found ourselves stumbling upon one of the many sports. We had made a post in a local Facebook group asking if anyone knew about some upcoming dog classes that we could take. Someone on there had recommended a local kennel club offering conformation classes, so we signed up. Is this the first sport I would recommend someone enter the sport dog world from…. definitely not but we learned a lot quickly. We learned a lot about how AKC runs their event, the attitudes in the AKC dog show world and many other things. One of the hardest things to get over was the many different personalities and opinions in the dog world. Opinions on anything and everything from crating, to breeding and everything in between. What I did learn quickly was that we are all trying to do our best for our dogs, current and future. Once you understand that, people become a little more understandable.
From starting in the show ring, we have expanded into Fast CAT, Barn Hunt, Dock Diving, Scent Work and many other activities and there are many more that we are wanting to explore. One thing is for sure; you will never be bored with dog sports. If you don’t like one, try another, there are plenty to try and at least one will stick with you! I would recommend starting with something that is a little more beginner friendly than conformation, not saying that you can’t make it in that world but there are a lot of people out there that would get nervous in the big show dog world. Starting in something easier and working your way up can be a great approach. Fast CAT is a great place to start because many of the people that bring their dogs are not looking for anything but happiness with their canines. This sport is also where you are competing against yourself and your dog’s past runs, meaning that people here are not too competitive and do not see you as competition. Later in the game you can compare dogs’ scores with those of the same breed but you can worry about that after your first few events.
We have been continuing our conformation classes since we enjoy them and we have learned a lot! If you ever get the chance to go to one, you should take it up! Going to your first dog show will give you a unique perspective on what it takes to not only show but make and breed
With this new blog, I am hoping to get more information out there to all the pet parents that have never stepped into the dog sport world, to make them feel more comfortable in these spaces. I will try to post all the things that I have learned from people that have been in the business longer than I have. The reason I decided to put this all together is because most of the information in the dog world is by word of mouth. It was so hard to find the door to the dog sport speak-easy that I wanted to leave the door cracked for the people behind me. I’ll be posting about dog sports, dog anatomy, events, resources and many other things so check back if you are interested in anything dogs!
- Chasing the Scandal
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