Some of my longest-duration friendships were made at dog shows. Some of my deepest friendships were begun at dog shows. The people I count as my very best teachers, mentors and friends were met through dog clubs and dog shows.
Some of my most puzzling and frustrating experiences came at the hands of competitors at dog shows. Some of the worst behavior I've witnessed has happened at dog shows. And thankfully, most of the people who are poor sports grew weary of this one and moved on to try to win at any cost in other arenas.
You're allowed to choose who you want to hang out with. When you get to the show, find out where your ring is, look in the nearest grooming space and find the other Poodle people. If there's space for your table and chair, ask to set up near them and watch them groom. Tell them it's your first show ever. Ask them about their dogs and their show experiences and how long they've been loving and showing Poodles. Listen carefully to the answers you get to your questions - you'll learn from the information you hear, and you'll learn more from the way the information is delivered. Focus your questions towards the people who seem genuinely helpful and away from those who have bad things to say about others. When you take your dog out to potty and to walk around the show to get acclimated, tell people who ask to pet your puppy that it's the first show for you both. If you're nervous, say that, too. Let the helpful people help you - there will be quite a few, I'm guessing. When you're getting your puppy ready to go into the ring, accept any grooming help offered to you. You may or may not get hands-on help and you will probably get advice, especially if you admire someone else's puppy and ask how they got the
_ so pretty and
_. Fill in whatever you are admiring at the time...feet, tail, topknot, whatever.
In any endeavor there is a majority of wonderful, helpful people and a handful of people who wouldn't adhere to ethics if you tattooed the code of ethics on their skin. Through the years, the tactic for dealing with them that worked best for me has been to ignore them. When confronted with them, smile blandly and move along. When others tell you what they said about you/your dog/your momma, have something banal to say, say it without emotion, and change the subject.
There's someone who thinks I'm a perfect waste of oxygen, has been telling whoppers about me since before we ever met, and has threatened me with legal action on more than one occasion. When people find it necessary to tell me the latest tall tale, I say something like, "people who like to stir up drama do it not to hurt the other person - they do it for the attention it gives them." And then I change the subject. Take that sentence and run with it, use it as needed, and I hope you won't need it!
The rule about pictures is probably wildly disregarded. It probably is in writing to protect the professional photographer who is there to take official win photos. My guess is that when you get there, you'll see people openly taking pictures and maybe even video at ringside. And if a friend discreetly takes pictures with your cell phone camera, you can share them here and we'll cheer you on, not rat you out…don't worry about that either!
