Exhibitors' questions
Every question you ask before, during and after a dog show, anywhere in Europe: national clubs, titles, languages, travel. A clear, checked answer.
281 questions
Level 1 : Beginner
The “I'm discovering” path
Your first time at a dog show: here is what you will see.
- What is a dog show?
- Why do people show their dogs?
- What does a judge really look at?
- Beauty, conformity to the standard and behaviour: what is the difference?
- A dog show is not an obedience trial
- What does a show day look like?
- Who does what around the ring?
- The vocabulary every beginner needs to know
- Ring, class, catalogue, number: the illustrated glossary
- The different types of dog shows
- National vs international shows: what's the difference?
- Why are some shows more important than others?
- CAC, CACIB, titles: what do these acronyms mean?
- How does the awards system work?
- Why can my dog be Excellent without winning?
Level 1 : Beginner
Can my dog take part?
Entry conditions, owner, handler and stud book.
- Who can enter a dog in a show?
- Which dogs can take part?
- LOF: what does it mean?
- French or foreign pedigree: how do you find your way around?
- Imported dog: what steps do you need to take?
- Identification: what are the requirements?
- Vaccinations: what to check
- Minimum age to take part
- The different age classes
- Baby class: first steps in the ring
- Puppy class: growing up and discovering the ring
- Junior class: a new step in the ring
- Intermediate class: first steps among the adults
- Open class: it's the adults' turn!
- Champion class: a title in the bag, and the adventure goes on!
- Veteran class: elegance has no age
- Working class: from the field to the ring
- Which class should I choose for my dog?
- Can you change class?
- Is my dog too young?
- Is my dog too old?
- Special cases to know about
Level 1 : Beginner
Entering my first show
A stress-free entry, step by step.
- Entering a dog show: step by step
- Reading an entry form without panicking
- The information you need to enter your dog
- How do you choose the right class?
- The documents to prepare
- Entry fees: how do they work?
- The different entry periods
- Why enter early?
- What happens after you enter?
- How do I know if my entry is confirmed?
- What to do if I have made a mistake?
- Can you cancel an entry?
- Can you change an entry to a dog show?
- Can you enter several dogs in a dog show?
- Entering several dogs: what to plan for
- One dog, several shows: planning your calendar well
- Understanding the extra costs: how much does a dog show really cost?
- The show is full: what can you do?
- Why keep your entry confirmations?
Level 1 : Beginner
My first show
The ultra-practical show-day guide: papers, bag, arrival.
- The first-show checklist
- What to put in your bag?
- What to pack in the dog’s bag?
- What to wear at a dog show
- How early should you arrive?
- Where do you collect your number?
- How do you find your ring?
- How do you read the catalogue?
- How do you know when it's your turn?
- What to do while you wait?
- Where should you set up your dog?
- How to handle waiting times?
- When do you need to go to the ring?
- What to do if you miss your turn?
- What to do if your dog refuses to enter the ring
- What to do if your dog is scared
- What to do if your dog barks?
- What to do if your dog won't stand still
- Classic beginner mistakes
Level 2 : Exhibitor
Preparing your dog
The weeks before the show: stack, examination, movement.
- Preparing your dog in the weeks before a show
- Why doesn’t preparation start the day before?
- Grooming: why does it matter?
- Teaching your dog to accept being handled
- Getting your dog used to strangers
- Getting your dog used to other dogs
- Teaching your dog to stand
- Learning to walk properly
- Learning to trot
- Learning to go round the ring
- Learning to stack your dog
- Learning to show the teeth
- Learning to be examined
- Getting your dog used to the table
- Getting your dog used to noise
- Getting your dog used to crowds
- Getting your dog used to waiting
- “Mock show” training sessions
Level 2 : Exhibitor
Learning to handle your dog
Building a clear, adaptable presentation.
- Building a presentation: finding the thread with your dog
- Optimising presentation angles
- Showing off your dog's conformation
- Visually minimising faults without cheating
- Reading the judge
- Adapting your presentation to the setting
- Handling a crowded ring
- Handling several dogs
- Professional handler or owner: what are the differences?
- Building your handling style
Level 2 : Exhibitor
Beauty, grooming, presentation
Always adapted to each breed.
- Why grooming matters at dog shows
- Everyday grooming or show grooming: what changes?
- When should you start grooming preparation for a show?
- The day before the show: last preparations without rushing
- The morning itself: the final touches before the ring
- Just before the ring: the final touches that count
- Grooming products: understanding their role
- Brushing: the right technique for a well-kept coat
- The bath: washing your dog, preparing his coat
- Drying: a stage of grooming in its own right
- Detangling: easing out knots gently
- Finishing touches: the last look at the presentation
- Ear care: look before you clean
- Nails: small details that matter for comfort
- General hygiene: the small habits that prepare for the big day
- Grooming by main coat type: each coat has its needs
- Show grooming: what is allowed
- Show grooming: what is not allowed
- Preparation mistakes to avoid
Level 2 : Exhibitor
Welfare and responsibility
The dog first, the result second.
- Welfare before results
- Recognising stress in your dog
- When should you withdraw from a show?
- Transporting your dog properly
- Hydration: the water bowl matters as much as the ring
- Rest: giving your dog real breaks
- Managing heat: keeping your dog cool
- Managing the cold: protecting your dog during the show
- Long journeys: planning the trip as carefully as the ring
- A night in a hotel: helping your dog feel at home
- Sick dog: take part or not?
- Respecting your dog’s limits
- A dog is not a results machine
Level 2 : Exhibitor
The codes of the show world
Ringside etiquette.
- How to behave around the ring
- Can you touch another exhibitor's dog?
- Ask before you pet
- What to do when a dog is working
- How do you talk to a judge?
- What to do after the judging
- How do you accept a decision?
- How do you congratulate someone?
- The rules of fair play
- Behaviours to avoid
- The little unwritten rules
- How to get help when you’re starting out
- How do you meet other exhibitors?
Level 3 : Experienced
Understanding judging
What the judge looks at, to avoid the famous “Why didn't it win?”.
- How does a judge examine a dog?
- The individual examination: over to you!
- The moving examination: four legs, lots of information!
- The static exam: standing well without freezing up!
- Teeth: a quick check worth preparing for!
- Conformation: understanding your dog's construction
- Proportions: a question of balance
- Gaits: learning to read movement
- Movement: when the whole construction goes into action
- The presentation: how does the judge observe your dog?
- Temperament: what does the judge look at in the ring?
- Conformity to the standard: how does the judge assess your dog?
- Faults: how does the judge assess them?
- Disqualifying faults: understanding what leads to exclusion
- Why can two "Excellent" dogs be separated?
- Why can a dog be “Excellent” without finishing first?
- How do you read a judge’s critique?
- Understanding grades at dog shows
- What does “Very Promising” mean?
- What does “Excellent” mean?
- What does “Very Good” mean?
- What does “Good” mean?
- What does “Sufficient” mean?
- Understanding the judge’s reservations and comments
Level 3 : Experienced
Understanding placings and titles
Gradings, places, CAC, CACIB and championships.
- How do placings work at a dog show?
- 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th: what do these places mean?
- Individual awards: what can your dog win?
- Certificates: understanding the little letters that count
- CAC: a step towards a national championship
- CACIB: the international certificate explained simply
- RCAC: what does this reserve mean?
- RCACIB: a reserve that can count
- Best of Breed: what does this award mean?
- Best of Group: a final between the Best of Breed winners
- Best in Show: the show's grand winner
- National titles: how does a dog become a champion?
- International titles: a path beyond borders
- How do you earn a championship?
- Why does a title require several results?
- How do you track your progress towards a title?
- Country-by-country differences
- Careful: an award ≠ an automatic title
Level 3 : Experienced
Intermediate: I'm starting to understand
Choosing your shows to progress.
- How to choose your shows
- Do you have to do every show?
- Choosing a show to fit your goal
- Local show or big event?
- Should you favour certain dates?
- How to build your annual calendar
- Keeping track of your dog’s results
- Creating your progress notebook
- Analysing your judges' critiques
- Identifying what to work on
- Turning a defeat into a work plan
- When should you take a break?
- When should you change your strategy?
Level 3 : Experienced
Competition strategy
Fun, titles, breeding, experience: defining your motivation.
- Why enter a dog show?
- Setting your goal in dog showing
- Building a dog show season
- Choosing your shows according to your goal
- Planning your show calendar
- Managing your budget at dog shows
- Managing travel to a dog show
- Knowing when to enter your dog
- Knowing when not to enter your dog
- Preparing a championship season
- Building a multi-year strategy
- Young dog: building experience
- Adult dog: aiming for consistency
- Champion dog: new goals
- Preparing for an important show
- Preparing for a weekend of several shows
- Managing tiredness
- Managing recovery
- Don’t confuse speed with progress
Level 3 : Experienced
Showing abroad
For advanced levels: travelling across FCI countries.
- Showing abroad: the ring gets an accent
- Differences between countries: same passion, new rules
- Documents needed: the right papers for a stress-free trip
- Travelling with your dog: arriving well takes preparation
- Understanding foreign classes: don’t rely on the name alone!
- Understanding foreign results: decoding them without mistakes
- International titles: a path beyond borders
- Preparing a trip abroad: the journey starts before the suitcases!
- Language barrier: understanding each other around the ring
- Administrative mistakes to avoid: a file ready for the ring
Level 3 : Experienced
Europe, country by country
National clubs, titles, languages and travel rules: showing anywhere in Europe.
- Who runs dog shows in each European country?
- Grades and ring words in six languages
- Showing in Spain and Portugal: what to know
- Showing in Italy, Germany and Switzerland
- Showing in Belgium and the Netherlands
- Showing in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark
- Showing in the UK and at Crufts
- The World Dog Show and the European Dog Show: how do they work?
- Showing in Poland, Czechia, Hungary and Eastern Europe
Level 3 : Experienced
Problems and special cases
When show day doesn't go to plan.
- My dog won't move in the ring: what should I do?
- My dog refuses to stack: how can I help?
- My dog growls at a show: how should I react?
- My dog barks at shows: how can I help them calm down?
- My dog is scared at shows: how can I help?
- My dog is overexcited at the show: how can I help him come down?
- My dog pulls on the lead: how do I get back to a pleasant walk?
- My dog won’t let anyone touch it: how do I prepare for the judge’s examination?
- My dog gets distracted: how to regain his attention at a show
- My dog does its business in the ring: how do you avoid little accidents?
- I’ve gone to the wrong ring: how do I find my way?
- I can't find my number: how do I get it back before the ring?
- I'm late: can I still show my dog?
- My dog is ill: what should you do before or during the show?
- My grooming went wrong: how do I prepare for what’s next?
- The weather is bad: how do you handle the show?
- My dog won't eat: what to do at a show?
- My dog is stressed by the hotel: how can I help him settle?
- I have to show several dogs: how do I organise my day?
- Two of my dogs are on at the same time: how do I organise myself?
- I don't understand the result: how do I decode it?
- I disagree with the judging: how should I react?
- How do you cope with disappointment at a dog show?
Level 4 : Expert
Expert level
Reading a standard, sharpening your eye.
- Reading a breed standard: a user guide to understanding your dog
- Decoding a standard: understanding what the words really mean
- Understanding a dog's construction: looking beneath the coat!
- Understanding proportions: a question of balance
- Understanding angulation: the angles that shape movement
- Understanding gaits: what movement reveals
- Understanding faults: learning to read the judge's comments
- Understanding quality: learning to see what makes a good dog
- Comparing your dog to its standard: learning to look methodically
- Building an analysis sheet for your dog: observations that help you improve
- Analysing a season's results: looking beyond the podiums
- Analysing your critiques: making the judge’s report speak
- Identifying your weak points: knowing what to work on first
- Building a progress plan: moving forward with a clear heading
- Preparing a dog for a specific goal: giving every session a purpose
- Preparing a championship campaign: planning the route to a title
- Building a show career: thinking about the journey over the long term
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