Dog Grooming School

01. Dog Show - Very few people realize just what a large dog show is like. Perhaps they have seen a local pet show or a small show in the neighborhood, but few have any conception of a really big show. Let me tell you something about it. Let us use for our first example the largest outdoor show in the United States: the Morris and Essex Kennel Club show in Madison, New Jersey, usually held the last weekend in May at Giralda, the beautiful estate of Mrs. Geraldine R. Dodge.

02. Professional Handler  - Who are the people who show dogs? Are they lunatics or fanatics? The dog people have a favorite joke about themselves. They say you don't have to be crazy to enjoy shows, but it certainly helps! This is because they actually go through many hardships and disappointments but still enjoy it and call it fun. It is one of the fascinating peculiarities of the dog game that the people who are thrown together in the pursuit of this sport are from so many different walks of life: dentists, carpenters, teachers, bankers, housewives, farmers, musicians, engineers, artists, industrialists, young and old, rich and poor.

03. Champion Is Made - The first question most people ask is how one "makes" a Champion. This is done on a point system. The American Kennel Club, upon whose rules the main part of this book is based and which is the principal organization governing dog shows, registrations, pedigrees, dog-club activities, judging, et cetera, issues a Schedule of Points to be awarded, based on the number of dogs entered in one sex at any given show.

04. Terms + Definitions - There is something we should discuss before we go any further. You must learn to speak the word "bitch" without hesitation and to hear it without flinching. There is no other correct word to take its place in the dog world. You would not think of saying you were going out to milk the female bull; you say milk the cow. You do not get eggs from a female rooster; you get them from a hen, although the rooster and the hen are both chickens. Probably the main reason for the confusion is that the word "dog" has more than one meaning.

05. Getting Ready - After you have purchased your first dog you will wish to register it. You should have received from the seller either a registration certificate needing only to be transferred to your name or a registration application, both forms requiring the seller's signature. If you received a registration certificate, the dog will have already been named and will have a registration number, and all you need do is to sign the transfer of ownership on the back and send it to the American Kennel Club with the proper transfer fee, $1.00 if done within thirty days or $2.00 if done later.

06. Early Training - In several different places in this book I mention that certain things could have, or should have, been done while you were waiting for your puppy to grow up. Let's take just a little time right now and discuss how to do some of these things.

Let's start with the lead-breaking of your puppy since it is so important to the sound attractive stylish gait of a show dog. Let's assume that when you bought him he had never been on a lead.

07. Equipment - Before you start for your first show there are certain pieces of equipment you will need. One is a strong collar that fits your dog well; either round leather, flat leather, or a chain. Another item you will need is a bench chain. A bench chain is just what its name implies—used to chain a dog to the bench, snapping onto the ring in the collar and to the ring provided for that purpose on the bench. When fastening the dog to the bench, be sure to leave enough chain so that the dog can lie down but not long enough to allow him to jump off the bench, as he could possibly hang himself.

08. Arriving - You should know before you leave home exactly where the show grounds are located. Just because a club held its show on certain grounds one year is no guarantee it will do so the following year. Check and be sure before you start out. Frequently a club holds a show in a town other than the one appearing in the club's name. For instance, the Dayton Kennel Club (Ohio) holds its show at the Hobart Sports Arena in Troy, Ohio, and the Baltimore County Kennel Club holds its show at the state fairgrounds in Timonium, Maryland.

09. Judging - Do not talk to the judge, or attempt to talk to him, while you are waiting for the class to begin. Even if you have met the judge socially this is no time for a cozy chat. Don't strike up a conversation with the steward or with anyone sitting on the ringside—be ready to start.

While waiting in the ring for the class to begin it is a good idea not to let your dog get in a sloppy position. Frequently a judge's eye will roam over the waiting entries, and it is to your dog's advantage if he looks well at this moment.

10. Awards - With your eyes on your dog, glancing up occasionally to see what the judge is doing, be prepared for the judge to call out or point out his placing of the dogs. If he says to you, "first," or "One," or points to you and holds up one finger, go at once to die first-place number marker in the ring. If you are showing a very tiny dog, it would not be amiss to pick him up and carry him to first place. If you have a large dog and the lead has been removed, put it on him quickly and go to first place. If the judge calls to you "Second," "Third," or "Fourth," or points to you or catches your eye and holds up two, three, or four fingers, go at once to the proper marker.

11. Tricks - Before going on I want to point out that when I use the word "handler" I do not necessarily mean a professional handler. The handler is the person actually in the ring with the dog. He is a professional only if showing dogs is his profession and he gets paid for being in the ring with the dog. You who are not familiar with the word may misinterpret some of my statements. When I say, "watch the good handlers," I do not necessarily mean the professional handlers. There are good handlers who are strictly amateurs.

Rules + Regulations - Section 1. The word "dog" wherever used in these Rules and Regulations includes both sexes.

Section 2. The words "United States of America" wherever used in these Rules and Regulations shall be construed to include all territories and possessions of the United States of America and all vessels sailing under the American Flag.

THE END