I initially started by taking conformation training classes that were put on by my local kennel club. It was just an introduction to how dog shows work, moving a dog on a lead, stacking a dog on a table, doing a hardstack or freestack, etiquette in the ring, how to show the bite, doing different patterns such as a T or reverse triangle (but I believe that's just for juniors), etc. So from that I had a general idea of what to do when I was called into the ring.
I had to learn how to do show preparation in terms of grooming. This was difficult for me cause there's no yorkie people in the town I live in so I basically got advice from the yorkie people I met at dog shows as well as doing some experimenting. Learning how to do the topknot took me a long time and a lot of practice to get the right amount of poof in it and the bow on securely with the fan of hair behind it. What products to use and how to use them. Stuff like that. I'll actually give a quick explanation of what I do now and find works best since I think Scottie and Casie have a very similar coat to Maezie, and I'd think the same thing would work good for Scottie and Casie. And its not just for shows but also for if pictures are gonna be taken at an event (like a wedding for example or for a photography session). This is what I do:
- Use a clarifying shampoo for the shower/bath
- Nothing else for the bath. No conditioner or anything.
- I'll brush without using any type of spray or anything on the coat. I do the brushing once the hair is still a touch damp but its dried a fair bit.
- About an hour or 45mins before ring time I put satin cream on the part line. From where the part is going down about an inch or two down the hair. The cream just holds the part line better and little fly away hairs stay put.
- I then do the topknot with hairspay being applied. I don't spray directly on the topknot. I'll spray on the end of a rat tail comb and apply it to get all the hairs nicely in the topknot. And for the fan of hair on the back I'll use usually both the rat tail comb and also my fingers with hairspray on it. Again its just to help get all the hairs in place and making it look proper.
- I then put a drying powder on the mustache. I let it sit for a couple minutes and then brush out the excess powder. This helps to I find what looks like a tear stain will dry up and no longer look like a tear stain. It just dries up the facial dampness. And also the dampness that's alongside the nose.
- About 15 mins before ring time I begin flat ironing the coat. I use a fine mist of a finishing spray on the coat for each section of hair that I flat iron. I just mist the section of hair and then immediately run the flat iron on it. And the flat ironing includes the hair falling off the face, mustache, tail, chest, etc. Basically all the hair gets flat ironed.
- flat iron can be on highest setting and doesn't seem to damage or fry the hair.
- For a finishing spray I'm currently using an anti-static spray from Vellus. Previously I had used Crown Royale Magic Touch, but that product has silicones in it to add shine. Maybe for an indoor show I'd use it but I had used it before for an outdoor show and when I saw a video later looking at the coat was like looking into a mirror. It was way too shiny and I thought made the coat look too light in colour. It was amazing how the sunlight would reflect off her coat. Maezie's coat already naturally has a shine to it so I just thought that type of finishing spray added too much shine.
And that's pretty much it. The idea I've been told is that you want the coat to look as natural as possible. To me that means that you're not to put tons of product on the coat. When I do it like I have laid out, the coat looks amazing. Perfect fall off the body, nice straight hair, looks and feels silky and just really good.
Besides that I've also acquired a wonder wheeler. I modified it myself to turn it into a little mobile grooming station that I can take beside the ring to do ringside grooming. Some people have wonder wheelers and others have the same type of thing but looks way more fancy and pricey. A wonder wheeler is fairly cheap so that's why I got it.
I signup for dog shows using
www.dogshow.ca website. You just create an account and pay online, and then show up for the show. It's as simple as that. And make sure the number patch thing they give you at the show, you wear it on your left arm. And you gotta dress up a bit for the show. The odd time you'll see someone who didn't dress up, and they stick out like a sore thumb.
Other tips I can think of, try to avoid European judges. I had one judge where he made a point out of Maezie's docked tail. That's perhaps a bit different than what they see in Europe. Also I've heard they really don't like teeth problems like missing teeth or whatever. I've discovered that many exhibitors have a little book that they write in that can guide them to judges that will probably like their yorkies. There's definitely a subjective element to judging. Judges have their preferences and biases, etc. So it does seem that people do try to find certain judges to show under so they can have the most success. I even started to create my own little book making notes about the judges. Just about what I believe their preferences are and how they ran their ring, and just my thoughts and impressions of the judges.
For the altered class, I think we are really lucky to have that class here in Canada. I think its a great introduction for people to get experience and get involved in dog shows, and see whether or not they like it. I feel comfortable in that no one is gonna give me a hard time because the dog isn't being used for breeding. One of Maezie's faults is that she's a touch on the small side. And she has a number of other faults too, but I just view it as trying to get experience. Plus you'll see many other dogs with plenty of faults. There's no perfect dog. So I wouldn't really worry about being excused from the ring or anything like that. Scottie would fit in in the show ring no problem.