calling all show people.......HELP!!!!!
 I need all the help I can get. Please share your knowledge and tips because I am really starting to FREAK OUT.  |
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| Will you have anyone there to help you? Her breeder, perhaps? It's hard to explain...most of it is sort of hands on. But if you have specific questions...? And I would bathe her whites Thursday night to make sure they are as sparkling as possible for the show, but perhaps you were given a good reason to do so early? Make sure you have linebrushed the entire dog beforehand, I do this before I bathe. Less to worry about at the show, though she will lay on the grooming table as you first line brush her right side, then her left side. Well, you don't have to do it that way, but you do the left side last as this is what is known as her show side  Will anyone be there to trim her for you? Or has she been pre-trimmed maybe? Her butt will need to be short and tidy, paws too, and make sure you trim between pads as any hair there will increase the likelihood of her slipping if you're showing indoors on matting? Has anyone taught you how to do up her head so you can get the hair out of her eyes? I'm sure you know she can't wear rubberbands or barretts or anything of that nature, so you need to make sure she can see otherwise she might move kind of squirrely. If you think it will be warm (warm is relative to an OES), and there are electrical hook-ups in the grooming area, you may want to bring an extention cord and a strong fan. Three days is a lot for a puppy. Since you are doing this for fun make sure she HAS fun no matter what. It is NOT fun hanging out with a stressed out, nervous handler, so put your game face on and remember that this is supposed to be fun, everyone has to start somewhere, and no matter what your dog is going to have a good time and that's the most important thing, right? Kristine |
Kristine thank you sooooo much for your quick reply  I do have a mentor that is also showing her young male "Trenton" at all three shows with me, but in a different age group. You may have met her at the Wisconsin shows a couple of months back. She brought Trenton and Madison... both were about 15 months at that time. She lives in Illinois now, but was out in California years ago. Her name is Donna and she is on the OESCA breeder list, anyway, she has offered to help me and I will be grooming with her.I just want to make sure that I am doing all the prep work I can before the big day. Our show is indoor and I will be trimming between the pads today. Other than that and bathing the whites I'm not sure what else to do. I have trimmed her bottom and feet the best I can, but I don't want to take too much off incase Donna needs to fix my work. (and if she is nice enough to do so) She trimmed it for me back in June while I watched, but last week I did it all by myself and I'm not sure about it.  I am trying to do as much in advance as possible so that I can relax a little on show day and have lots of fun with my girl. Oh, and what on earth should I wear?????? |
 Yes, I met Donna in WI. Very nice lady and I love her male, especially. Gorgeous. You're in good hands and you did the right thing, leaving some hair for "fixing" if needed. Wear something comfortable, but nice (e.g. not jeans and sweatshirt) Comfortable shoes - meaning as nice looking as you can get away with - not tennies - and still stay upright: so flat with good to at least decent traction (most people I've shown with have fallen down in the ring sooner or later <g>) and not prone to falling off (co-breeder, while showing a particularly "upbeat" shall we say male once left a shoe in the ring...Judge brought it back to her at the end of showing. I think she planned to leave it there, pack up and drive home with one shoe, she was so embarrassed by the dog's naughty behaviour, and she's been showing for years <vbg>) Of course, don't take my advice on shoes - I've been accused of wearing grannie shoes. In my defense I note that I have never fallen down in the ring, at least  Back to clothing - ideally whatever you wear has pockets for treats. In show parlance it's called bait, but most OES really aren't taught to "bait" or self-stack. Don't have cookies in your hand while you're showing or she'll wiggle and try to look at you while moving, especially, which you don't want. But after and in between it's nice to have a little reward to slip them now and then. Oh, and I go for brightish colors and try to avoid earth tones. You want something that (a) will match youe dog well (or at least not clash) and will (ideally) make it easy for the judge to find you. Mind you, you won't have a big entry so the latter will not be a problem, and you never want to wear anything that is soooo eyecatching the judge watches YOU rather than your dog -I recall one very stylish breeder/owner/handler whose skirts were so flowing you barely saw the dog, SHE looked lovely, I have no idea what the dog looked like. Rather, you want to blend nicely with your dog - be the harmonious backdrop that shows the dog to her advantage. I like blues and purples. Some always wear red. I like skirts and jackets, a nice blouse if it's hot. Nothing revealing. And if you wear a skirt make sure you can move out in it if needed. (And bend over without causing a traffic jam!  ) You can wear nice slacks. You don't have to wear a jacket. Suggest you go with something you feel comfortably stylish in without being over the top and then watch the other rings when you have time to see what people are wearing.You'll develop your own style. And you may notice that the most stylish handlers usually have the most wash-and-wear dogs. OES handlers, by and large, not a very stylish bunch. Too much time spent grooming our dogs. Most of us are lucky if we don't walk into the ring with runs in our stockings and big clumps of hair stuck to our behinds. (Bringing me back to the: do not detract from your dog - this includes keeping in mind which one of you should have a hairy behind and, hint: it ain't the handler )I think you'll have fun. Kristine |
| Dredging thru my photo album here for show pictures, to give you some ideas! (Just waking up from working nights shifts...this is a nonthinking task to wake me up!) And shoes - I like soft flats - Sketchers are my favorites - the ones with straps that cross and velcro. They are like fancy tennis shoes. You need to do test runs in any you consider - to make sure you are graceful and don't loose them. I also wore each potential new pair to conformation class to give them a real test!      (and I think I can blackmail with that lead handling!)    (maternity wear too!)  (Jr's dress up too!)    Hope this helps!!! And YES - go and learn and have fun  |
Dawn and Kristine.....what can I say, I can always count on you for great advice  I love the way a blue dress looks with an oes,.......but Millie seems to be shedding a bit much as she transitions to her adult coat and I'm worried about being covered in hair. My second favorite is grey and I think her hair would be less noticeable on that, so that's the winner. Quote: Of course, don't take my advice on shoes - I've been accused of wearing grannie shoes. In my defense I note that I have never fallen down in the ring, at least Hey if I can avoid falling in the ring, bring on the "grannie shoes" Time to go see what if anything I already have, and then shopping for the rest.Kristine...I have no idea of what to do with the head.  I'm hoping that Donna has time to help me with it, otherwise I'm sunk. I feel like maybe I should be practicing the grooming, but aside from line grooming I really don't know how to do anything else. |
| I have only attended one dog show but I have a great memory of a breeder/handler (who had a gorgeous sheepie) whipping out his brush to give his dog a quick touch up, then gave his own hair a touch up! That memory still makes me smile. I wish I could remember who that guy was, I would like to meet him sometime and tell him how such a small thing gave me such a grin. Both he and his dog had terrific hair! Good luck at the show and enjoy yourself. |
Mady wrote: I have only attended one dog show but I have a great memory of a breeder/handler (who had a gorgeous sheepie) whipping out his brush to give his dog a quick touch up, then gave his own hair a touch up! That memory still makes me smile. I wish I could remember who that guy was, I would like to meet him sometime and tell him how such a small thing gave me such a grin. Both he and his dog had terrific hair! Good luck at the show and enjoy yourself. I know who that was... lol... he really does have great hair lmao Millielover... you've gotten some great advice and I'm sure you'll do just fine Good luck but most importantly have fun! |
| As stacey said most important especially first time showing is TO HAVE FUN The rest comes with learning as you go along. Having fun with your dog at a show means a relaxed and happy team Wash whites only not all over or the grey areas become too soft for floofing up. Only a baby still so not too much to floof up at the show, take towels, powder/corn starch incase you need to do a dry clean of beard or even the butt (in case of a sloppy one with excitement at a first show experience, the dog not you  )Take a water bowl and your own bottled water from home as well. Definately wear as kristine calls them grannie shoes as you want to be able to have good traction in the ring and not fall over, done that once too and gave the judge more then he bargained for to look at Going A over T in the ring Clothes make sure something you can move in the ring with and bend over comfortabley when stacking the dog. Tailored looking is always nice in the ring, nice skirt/blouse or even a suit if not too warm and tailored pants, blouse look smart as well. Take a grooming apron also to keep yourself hair free and powder free before judging takes place. You wont know everything the first weekend but as you get more into it, it will blossom with experience over time. Look around at the show at others and that is also a great learning tool to pick up tips for future shows. Preparation comes with the more you go to shows over time then it just becomes the norm to how to prep and present your dog. It's a good journey and a great way to keep your dog in tip top conditon as well. Have fun and look forward to hearing how the weekend went.  Your friend should be able to floof the areas needed before going into the ring, just make sure whites are clean and dog all groomed through so it should not take your friend long to put the finishing touches on Millie Head and butt floofed ready for the showring   Head floofed, toggles still in to keep the beard clean till we go into the ring.  Relaxing after the prep work till judging takes place, dog all relaxed and toggles come out when she gets down off the table ready to go into the ring.  Best wishes with the weekend  |
| Stacy and Lisa thanks for the encouragement and advice. I have started writing a list of things to do and bring based on all of the helpful posts everyone has written me. I also practiced some of my fluffing tonight and it made me feel a little more confident. I have a couple of skirt/blouse combinations picked out and bought some shoes today (they are grannie shoes, but at least I won't fall) Skirt shopping was harder than I thought. I know you all said to avoid earth tones, but the only skirt I could move well in that had pockets for bait was camel colored. So I guess I will wear a purple shirt with it one day and a black shirt the next. Not sure about the last day, maybe pants.  I'll do my best to relax and have fun, because that is the reason I wanted to show her in the first place. Thanks again for all of the great advice. |
| Jenn........Are you showing Mille at Purina Farms this weekend? I'll be there with my 13 month old boy, Augie. I just started showing last summer, and I'm almost to the "having fun" stage! |
| Cindy----yes we will be at Purina on Fri., Sat., and Sun. Are you showing all three days too? OMG Millie is the same age!!!! She just turned 1 year on Aug 21. When is Augie's birthday? We should do breakfast one morning or maybe dinner. |
| Yup, will be there all 3 days. Augies' birthday is August 16. We haven't been to a show since July so who knows how he'll act. He's been known to provide entertainment to those outside the ring..!! Maybe Mille can have that honor now!!! I'll pm you my phone number. Getting ready to get back on the road. See you and Millie on Friday. |
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