CANINE GOOD CITIZEN
A good place to start showing is American Kennel Club's program,
Canine Good Citizen. Dogs, like you need to be good citizens and just like
people they aren't born with good manners, they learn them. Chihuahuas need
to learn when it is ok to bounce around and when it's not. They need to stop
barking when asked. They need to learn not to jump up on your friends.
They need to learn to come when called, which in some cases might protect
them from running out into the road or towards an unfriendly dog. A Canine
Good Citizen chihuahua is a joy to live with.
There are 10 short exercises that you will need to teach your chihuahua in
order that he/she can receive a official CGC title for AKC:
1. Accepting A Friendly Stranger
2. Sitting Politely For Petting
3. Appearance And Grooming
4. Walking On A Loose Lead
5. Walking Through A Crowd
6. Sit, Down and Stan On Command
7. Coming When Called
8. Reaction To Another Dog
9. Reaction To Distractions
10.Supervised Separation
CONFORMATION
A Dog Show is kind of like a "beauty" contest. It is a place
where one can take their chihuahua and have a judge evaluate how their chihuahua
conforms to the breed standard. The chihuahua breed standard is a detailed
description of what the ideal chihuahua should look like and is approved
by AKC's board of directors. Your chihuahua must be at least 6 months old
to compete. In the show ring a few of the things a judge will be looking
for in your chihuahua is:
1. It's general appearance
2. It's expression
3. It's structure according to the AKC chihuahua standard
4. How it moves
5. How it performs
FIVE LEVELS OF COMPETITION
FIRST LEVEL: The Chihuahuas are separated by gender (male
and female) and variety (smoothcoats and longcoats) in the following classes:
6-9 puppy, 9-12 puppy, 12-18 months, Novice, Bred By Exhibitor, American
Bred and Open.
SECOND LEVEL: All class winners then go into the Winners class for bitches
or Winners class for dogs. From all the male class winners one is selected
to be the WINNER DOG. From all the female class winners one is selected to
be the WINNER BITCH. Those two winners are the only ones that receive AKC
points.
THIRD LEVEL: At this level the competition becomes stiffer than ever. Now
the class winners will compete against AKC champions for Best Of Variety,
Best Opposite Sex and Best Of Winners. If the Best Of Variety is a
male....the Best Of Opposite Sex has to be a female. Then the judge chooses
between the Winners male and Winners female for Best Of Winners.
FOURTH LEVEL: As you read earlier there are 7 GROUPS. Both the Best of Variety
Smoothcoat and the Best of Variety Longcoat will now compete against all
the dogs in the TOY Group. At the conclusion of this judging, the judge will
award four Group Placements. The Toy winning the Group I goes on to the next
level of competition.
FIFTH LEVEL: This is the last level and the most exciting! Now the 7 dogs
that received a Group I will compete against each other. The first
place winner at this level is awarded BEST IN SHOW!!!
RIBBONS
BLUE
- first place
RED - second place
YELLOW - third place
WHITE - fourth place
PURPLE - Winners Dog And Winners Bitch
and highly coveted!
PURPLE and WHITE
- Reserve Winners and runners-up
BLUE and WHITE
- Best of Winners; the better of the Winners Dog and Winners Bitch
winners.
PURPLE and
YELLOW - awarded to the dog judged "Best
of Breed" and allows advancement to the Group competition.
RED and WHITE
- Best of Opposite Sex
RED
WHITE and
BLUE - It is given to the ultimate award
winner, the Best In Show.
Assuming you have bought your first AKC "show" prospect,
the first order of business would be to visit a dog show and see if showing
is something you'd like to be involved with. Showing dogs has been a great
family sport for us, but it can be very costly and time consuming, so be
prepared. If you do not wish to handle your dog yourself, or have a friend
or family member do it, you may contact a professional handler, who charges
a fee for showing your dog.The breeder you buy your "show" prospect should
be able to help you understand how to train your puppy for show, what leashes
to use and now to socialize your puppy. Next you will need to find out where
the dog shows are to be held. Here are a few that will get you started. Click
each one and look at their upcoming shows.
SHOW SUPERINTENDENTS
When visiting the dog shows, you can approach the people
of the breed you are interested in AFTER they are finished grooming and showing
the dogs. Some have been known to be quite short with you if you approach
them while they are either preparing their dogs or about to enter the
ring. There is plenty of time to talk to them. In the meantime just politely
ask what time they will be showing the breed you are interested in and what
ring number. If they look too busy, you can ask someone where the Superintendent
Desk is. The Superintendent will be more than happy to give you the times
and ring numbers.
However tempting, do not pet a dog without asking for permission first. The
dog may have just been groomed in preparation for being judged. If you bring
a baby stroller to a dog show, be careful that you do not run over any dog's
tail, and that your child does not grab or poke the dogs it can reach. Avoid
having them near ring entrances, which are especially crowded. Some shows
prohibit baby strollers.
Legend's Safely Thru The Storm
Sire: Ch Legend's In The Beginning
Dam: Legend's Put A Lid On It
Breeder Owner: Barbara & Rick Davis
Judge: Ms Neena L Van Camp
Pictured is her first win, a 4 pt major.
On the 2nd day she got a 5 pt major, by going
by going BOS over a champion.
DRESS FOR THE HANDLER
When showing your dog you want to wear something that will
compliment your dog. Something that will draw the judge to the beauty of
your dog and bring the best out in your dog. If you have a light colored
dog, wear dark clothes. If you have a dark dog, wear light clothes. If you
have a spotted dog, you might want to wear solid colors.
WHAT TO BRING
You will need to bring your leads, crate to transport your
dog to and from ringside, exercise pen, water, water bowl, bait, napkin (doggie
accidents do happen in the ring) grooming tools (brush, comb and thinning
shears to name a few), grooming table, pen (to mark your catalog) and
folding chair.
GETTING TO THE SHOW
Go to http://www.mapquest.com and get proper the directions
to the show. Allow plenty of time for getting lost or driving around trying
to find a parking place. Also bring cash for parking, which can be from $3.00
and up!
WHAT TO DO ONCE PARKED
Set up your exercise pen and allow your chihuahua to do his
*thing* -- sure don't want that to happen in the ring!
After grooming your chihuahua, you might want to put the lead on him and
walk him around the parking area. If time permits take him into the building
and find the ring you will be showing in. This is also a time to get him
accustomed to the sound and excitement. Next you need to get your arm band!
Before showing your dog always make sure the AKC registration number listed
in the catalog is in fact your dogs. Also make sure you dog is listed
in the correct class, the correct variety and the correct sex. If not, go
to the superintendent desk and have it corrected, prior to show time. Mistakes
can be made. Sometimes it's our mistake, sometimes it's the printer of the
catalogs and sometimes it's the superintendent mistake. But the ultimate
mistake will be yours if you do not double check it prior to entering that
ring with the wrong information. Once you enter that ring, changes cannot
be made.
After winning, always check your arm band number in the judges book at the
end of the day. Judges have been known to put the wrong arm band number down
in the judges book too. You can find the judges sheets at the superintendents
desk.
The American Kennel Club requires a dog to obtain a total of 15 points with
two major wins (a major win is worth three points or higher) to become a
champion. The majors must be won under different judges and at least one
other judge must award some of the remaining points - so you need to win
under at least three different judges.
This AKC certificate will be mailed to you from AKC when your chihuahua has
reached his required amount of points.
Which Is Best
For You, Puppy Or Adult?
Two Separate Varieties,
LC and SC
What's Underneath That Bundle
Of Fur?
Copyright Infringement
Warning
A Bit Of Chihuahua
History
So You Want To Breed?
To Tape Or Not To Tape
Getting Around The Dog Shows
Show Training Begins At
Birth
Housebreaking Your
Chihuahua
Is Teacup The Correct
Term?
Chihuahua Growth Chart
Chihuahua Share
Time
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