Pro's and Con's of Showing?

I've never shown, but I know most kids that show do 4H and/or junior showmanship.  I know the UKC is probably a better venue for starting (it's a little more laid back, less competitive than AKC).  You would take a junior handling/conformation class at a local training club or kennel club where they teach you how to show the dog.  I believe in the junior rings you are judged on showmanship, not strictly on the dog's conformation. 

 Juniors can also show in obedience, agility, herding, and conformation alongside adults. I've been beaten by a junior!

The pros, for me (I show only in obedience, my dog came from the shelter), have been a huge boost in self confidence for me and my dog. We have a BLAST at dog shows. We work together, as a team, and really understand each other, now.

The cons.... the cost. It's very expensive for me to take a weekend (or better) off of work, drive to another city/state, sometimes stay in a hotel, eat away from home, etc. That's on top of one private and two group classes every week. If you show in more than one sport or venue, the costs increase, due to entry fees and classes.

It's totally worth it, though. Emma is very proud to be a working dog (she really considers this HER job!), and she's a changed dog.  

I would really like to adopt a dog. I'd much rather compete in agility than, say, what they show on television...the breed standard shows...I'm not sure what they're called. What do you do in obedience? For agility do you have to have a purebred, registered dog? Also, is it easy to teach them once they're adults? We don't really want another young puppy...we could go as low as a year or so.

If you're wanting to do AKC, you don't want a mini Aussie.  And if you're thinking about jr's it's good to know that the AKC offers scolarships to jr's.  Here's a link to the akc page:

http://www.akc.org/kids_juniors/index.cfm?nav_area=kids_juniors

Conformation is what they show on tv.

If you don't want a puppy, and you want a very sound performance dog, look at breed rescues, and talk to some responsible breeders. Lots of folks have conformation dogs who are either finished or not quite finishing material that would make fantastic performance dogs.

I do rally obedience, and will start in regular obedience early next year. It's lots of fancy heeling, some jumps, retrieves, twists and turns. It's a *lot* of fun for me and for my dog (who just LOVES her job, and really *needed* that extra stimulation). You can look on the AKC's website under "events" to read a very short bit on obedience and rally. Go to some dog shows and watch the events. Talk to the handlers. Ask about their dogs and where they came from, and about where they go to classes, how they started out, etc. Most folks there will enjoy talking about their dogs:) We're dog nerds, it's what we do!
 

aussiehood

I would really like to adopt a dog. I'd much rather compete in agility than, say, what they show on television...the breed standard shows...I'm not sure what they're called. What do you do in obedience? For agility do you have to have a purebred, registered dog? Also, is it easy to teach them once they're adults? We don't really want another young puppy...we could go as low as a year or so.

Purebred...it depends.  AKC - yes the dog must be an AKC registered purebred or obtain an ILP registration.  For some other venues, you can register a mutt.  In agility, you actually are not allowed to compete until they are adults and most people wait to do training of obstacles until the dog is at least one year old.  Training too much too early is very bad for their joints.

I adopted a 3.5 year old dog and we now do agility, rally, and maybe formal obedience if I can find a class for that.  The person I adopted Kenya from once adopted a dog and earned nearly a dozen various titles after the dog was NINE years old!

Here are some links:

Example of agility

Example of obedience

Example of rally obedience 

Liesje

aussiehood

I would really like to adopt a dog. I'd much rather compete in agility than, say, what they show on television...the breed standard shows...I'm not sure what they're called. What do you do in obedience? For agility do you have to have a purebred, registered dog? Also, is it easy to teach them once they're adults? We don't really want another young puppy...we could go as low as a year or so.

 

Purebred...it depends.  AKC - yes the dog must be an AKC registered purebred or obtain an ILP registration.  For some other venues, you can register a mutt.  In agility, you actually are not allowed to compete until they are adults and most people wait to do training of obstacles until the dog is at least one year old.  Training too much too early is very bad for their joints.

I adopted a 3.5 year old dog and we now do agility, rally, and maybe formal obedience if I can find a class for that.  The person I adopted Kenya from once adopted a dog and earned nearly a dozen various titles after the dog was NINE years old!

Here are some links:

Example of agility

Example of obedience

Example of rally obedience 

I think obedience looks really fun, as well as the agility. I know we have an agility trainer somewhere in our county. It's good to know most people don't start training until a year or over. I'll take a look at some breed rescue groups. Thanks!

There are several venues in which you can compete in:

USDAA (mutts allowed), NADAC (mutts allowed), CPE (mutts allowed), DOCNA (mutts allowed), and of course AKC (purebreds only).

If I'm not mistaken, all of the above organizations only allow dogs of 18 months and older to compete (except for AKC which allowed 15 months if I recall correctly).

A lot of people have started training and earning titles with their senior dogs. In agility, as long as your dog is physically sound, you can train the dog. Which brings me to my other point, when choosing a dog, please be sure your new dog has sound hips and elbows. To ensure this, you can x-ray the dog before you adopt him/her. It may cost a bit more upfront, but it'll save you heartache later on. Other than that, it's just a matter of finding a good trainer and consistently training your pup :) For a list of clubs and trainers:

http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=clubs.search