Wanting to show

[kurtlaynevedder]

Hey, I have always wanted to go to a Cairn or Westie dog show but it does not seem like there are any near Louisville Kentucky. I would love to see all the dogs. It would be awesome. So does anyone know of how I can find a show near by.

Also, after taking so much time hand-stripping Annie wanting to give her a show quality coat I would be interested in putting her in a show. Also her temperament is amazing, I have never seen such a happy, free hearted, yet unbelievably well behaved dog. She is only 5 months, so I know there is no way of knowing what her final coat texture will be or what her height and other characteristics will be. She didn't come from a distinguished pedigree or anything. So, I was wondering what are some things to look for at this age to see if Annie would even be able to qualify as a show dog. I know it is unlikely, but it would be fun. No matter what she is still the greatest dog to me, exception of Sketch How do you train a dog to stand and hold their tail up and all that jazz. I know these are dumb questions, but it seems like something that would be really fun for an owner/dog activity.

[kjwarnold]

How about a local terrier club? We don't have a Cairn Terrier club near us at all, but there are terrier clubs in the area who sponsor shows and fun days. When I've gone to fun days, they've been very helpful answering questions and demonstrating things. We don't show our Cairns, but it's fun to watch and learn some things anyway. Our breeder was also helpful in telling us about and demonstrating things about showing and grooming.

[eastofeden]

I would recommend that you go to the AKC (akc.org) website and look up Kennel and or Dog Training clubs in your area. These clubs most likely will be all-breed clubs although you may fine a terrier or breed specific group near your area that would also include you in some of their events.

Most Kennel and Dog Trainng clubs hold classes for confirmation (i.e "show) handling, obedience, rally etc. Attend classes, make friends and find someone to mentor you. I would also recommend volunteering to help out or steward at the shows/events that your local clubs host. Another opportunity to learn alot and make friends.

AKC even offers a limited registration PAL (aka ILP) in which you can register purebred non-AKC dogs and still partipate in companion (i.e Obedience, Rally) & hunt tests (i.e. Earthdog).

[Greg P]

NOOOOOOooooooooo Don't go over to the dark side..........

Only kidding. Good advice in above comments. Showing can be a lot of fun. You might consider having a couple of show breeders evaluate Annie's structure. A lot has to go right to make a good show dog. Conformation is just one of the fun things you can do with your cairn.

Go to the shows, make friends, reach out to the closest breed club. You can find all the AKC shows on www.AKC.org

[kurtlaynevedder]

Ack! Thanks! I went to AKC and there is like 5 shows in Louisville just down the street. They aren't cairn specific but I sure hope that there is a cairn breeder who I can talk to.

[Karen]

You can see if any cairns are entered about a week before the show. If the show is hosted by MBF (look at the Superintendent listed on the AKC website for that show) go to www.infodog.com after entries have closed, about 10 days before the show date. Click on show info, pick the time frame of the show, the dates, then page down to the show name. Click on that and one of the options should be judging program. This will list the # of entries by breed as well as what ring they'll be in and what time. They may have an option called "entries" and that only shows #s of entries, not what time they'll be judged. "Entries" is usually posted first, then the judging program goes up a day or so later. If they're a breed judged at 8am, you might not easily find the breeders at 9am since they'll be done and not at ringside anymore.

You can also check past results of each show on AKC's website under the Events. That will show you how many cairns entered last year's show. It shows if cairns have been there in the past or not. Not a guarantee for this year's entries, but gives you an idea.

Karen

[kurtlaynevedder]

Thanks Karen that helped tremendously. Sadly out of the four years only one Cairn was in any of them:( Hopefully the next (in March!) will have a Cairn in it! fingers crossed