New to SV/USCA showing, advice please! - Page 1

Hello everyone,

I am hoping to go to some shows with my next GSD and to get a show rating/breed survery. I'm very new to this, so I want to be walked through in baby steps, haha.

First, I get a puppy who is AKC registered. Then what?

Do I become a member with USCA? Do I bother entering the puppy in shows or just focus on training and show when the dog is an adult? What requirements are there for me to be able to show a puppy vs an adult dog? What's the difference between a show rating and a breed survey? For an adult dog, what titles are required in order to get a show rating/breed survey?

Sorry for all the questions! I'm trying my best to watch videos, research, and educate myself, but it's also difficult when a lot of explanations are in German.

Also, on a side note, how do you guys like to teach your dogs how to stack and gait? Do you mainly focus on teaching them to stand still and tolerate hand stacking, or do you teach them to free stack as well? Do you always have to hire someone to handle your dog so you can double-handle for the gaiting portion?

Gah, my mind is going to explode.

First, and foremost, make sure to get your puppy from a reputable breeder and ensure he or she is healthy pedigree and litter-wise and when you pick him/her up from the breeder. When you get your puppy, take him or her and all of your paperwork, including records of puppy shots, Vet exams, training/socialization/etc., registration/transfer papers, etc. that you should get from your breeder, directly to your Vet. You need to ensure the puppy is healthy, etc. and make sure the puppy and microchip (if any) matches the paperwork. FWIW, I drove 10 hours one-way to pick up my puppy and we started bonding on the way home.  We saw my Vet before we got home.  Don't rely on your breeder's Vet.

 

My breeder was awesome and my puppy (now a full-grown adult) is as perfect as she can be.  Thank you, Sarah!

 

Here are a couple of (old) threads from when I learned a lot from the people here on PDB, and from my mistakes and experience at my first AKC shows (two in one day). Hopefully, there's some info in them that will apply for SV/USCA that will help you (some of it's pretty generic to any event with a dog). I got my puppy for LE, but wanted to try showing, so I tried it with her LOL

Newbie Conformation Questions

https://www.pedigreedatabase.com/community.read?post=893211-newbie-conformation-questions

 

Lessons Learned by a Newbie

https://www.pedigreedatabase.com/community.read?post=894094-lessons-learned-by-a-newbie#894307

 

Are you getting a male or female puppy?

 

 

GSCat,

I am getting a puppy from a reputable breeder, so I'm all set on that front. This will be my fourth dog, third from a breeder, so I made sure to do all the proper research and vetting.

I'm getting a male puppy.

I will also mention that I've shown in both AKC and UKC before with my other dogs, so I'm familiar with showing in general, just not with USCA/SV. I've only seen people hire professional handlers for USCA/SV shows, so I have no idea what that's like. I ask about teaching gaiting because I never had someone to double handle my GSD, so he gaits in the heel position and it can look funky sometimes.

At least you won't have to worry about your puppy/dog being in heat LOL

SSSSssssoooo PLEASE don't be sorry for asking all the questions you might have...It's the exact reason for this Web-Site...There are some very experienced people here that will help you...Just ask...

Have you contacted UScA yet?

https://www.germanshepherddog.com

or...You can call them and talk to someone that can help you...

You will most likely need to be a member of UScA to show in their Shows...

Also you can find a club near you that can give you hands-on help...

~Bob~