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For lovers of dogs, dog shows can be a wonderful experience where they get to see some beautiful show dogs competing against each other. The thrill of competition adds to the excitement of the event and it is therefore little wonder that official dog shows, conducted by the American Kennel Club draws nearly two million entries annually. And the popularity seems to be going up. Do not think that the criterion for selection of the winners is merely on the strength of how they look. Show dogs are rated for how well their appearance conforms to a standard and there are other tests of skill, such as obedience and agility trials.

Showing dogs at these shows require a huge amount of preparation and effort. Let us give you some idea of what they're all about. Dog shows are intended to evaluate breeding stock. This is why conforming to the analysts' notion of perfection in terms of appearance and structure is the most important aspect of being show dogs. What they want to judge is the ability of the dog to produce quality puppies that will keep the purebred strain running. This is why the most important dog shows are known as conformation events. There are three types of conformation dog shows - the All-breed shows where each of the 150+ breeds of dogs recognized by the American Kennel Club enters into competition. The specialty shows which feature show dogs of a specific breed or to varieties of a particular breed and group shows where dogs belonging to one of the seven groups delineated by the American Kennel Club take part. At these dog shows, each dog is exhibited in front of the judges and its handling is an extremely important part of the sequence. The handler can be the owner, the dog breeder or a hired professional and there has to be perfect bonding between him and the dog and, as you can imagine, months and years of training has to precede the coming on stage of these two.

Do remember that dog obedience training for show dogs can be an extremely lucrative proposition apart from being an enjoyable experience if you love your dog. There are training classes which specialize in preparing you to be a handler but the best way to attain mastery over this art is to attend as many dog shows as possible to be able to understand the various criteria on which dog shows are judged. In this context, there has been criticism from some quarters that dog shows exhibit and reward dogs whose only asset is that they conform to established breed standards and little else. There is absolutely no premium given to the working abilities of these dogs. It is a moot point but probably it is best to leave the two varieties alone to carry on what they do best. One to work at his task in the fields or at home and one to breed perfect puppies and do little else.

All articles Copyright 2008 Animaroo.com