Those outside of this fancy tends to have a fairly bleak outlook on dog showing, believing it to be a beauty contest that consists of funny characters running around in shiny suits with sneakers....ok, so that last part might be true. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱. Each recognised breed has what is called a breed standard, this is a blueprint of how a dog should be constructed structurally, how it should behave, how it should move, etc. This blueprint relates to the dog's original/intended purpose. Some breeds' purpose has changed over time if they have been around a long time. For instance, a breed may no longer be needed to pull men off horses during wartime and may now pull down wild boar instead...well now...they probably sleep on a couch but the question is...is this dog fit for function, can it do what it was bred to do? Without a doubt, many breeds still do or can do what they were bred to do, however, some breeds have what is referred to as "show lines" and then "working lines" - a classic example of this is the Border Collie, many working line Border Collies often would never be awarded in the show ring because they don't often fit the breed standard. This can be a fairly heated topic and I'm sure someone just got triggered reading that. 𝗔 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆, one dog from each breed is awarded "Best of Breed", they then go on to compete against other best of breeds within their groups - there are 7 groups that relate to the type of dogs within that group i.e. Gun Dogs, toy dogs etc. One dog from each group is awarded "Best in Group" they then go on to compete for "Best in Show". Dogs at a dog show are presented in their Sunday best, this means washed and groomed to perfection, which might include chalk, hair spray, and the likes even though this is actually against the rules. You only have to watch the media footage of the Royal Easter Show each year to see people using hair spray and chalk etc. to know it happens - in fact, even though it is against the rules, it is not hidden in most cases, you can walk around a dog show and see it on display. 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀: A dog shall be disqualified from winning a prize at a Show held under the Regulations if a Show Committee or the Board of Directors are satisfied that:- (09/11) - any dye, colouring, whitening or darkening matter, or preparation, has been used and if the effect of it remains at any time during the Show - any oil, grease, sticky or glossy substances have been used and if the effect of it remains on the coat of the dog at any time during the Show; I think a lot of handlers probably don't even know about these rules especially those more new to the sport. Anyway, it's more of a giggle than anything (imagine a Poodle without the hairspray!) - everyone knows it happens and I think it's just one of those rules that has been put away in a box. In the UK, they are super strict about it! For a dog to be presented at its best, they require a lot of training but they also need to have a great bond/connection with their handler and I love this photo to show this. The dog needs to trust that the handler will protect them and care for them in this quite unnatural environment. In what other situation would a bunch of undesexed dogs (plus, now we can show neutered) all be in the same place, very close to one another having a stranger look in their mouth and cup their testicles?! Whilst there are breeding kennels where dogs are kenneled vs living in homes, I'd have to say that the vast majority of show and breeding dogs are family pets living within a family environment just like the average pet dog. Whilst there are some breeds that over time have been bred whether that be intentional or unintentional to have extreme or unsound features, the breed standard by large provides a blueprint for a healthy and functional dog. Pressure has been placed on organisations to update breed standards to reflect healthier dogs - this is a work in progress. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 "𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗲" 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯 𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱. The General Public is welcome to attend dog shows, you can chat with breeders and learn more about different breeds and I'm positive you'll find breeds you didn't even know existed. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟭 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://www.dogsnsw.org.au/.../2021-show-trial-calendar.pdf If you would like to find an Australian National Kennel Club Registered Breeder, head here: https://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/list.asp ---- Photo: Nikki Zullo & Sega, photo by Dana Photos See less