I would like learn how to handle a dog for the show ring. I would take some classes but I had two negative experiences with checking into classes here in Connecticut (southern part). What do the folks here that show think about the necessity of handler classes? I have a 6 month old female who I think is beautiful, but I'm not sure if she would be considered show quality. Would it be a bad idea to enter her in a couple of shows to see how she does and get some time in the ring for my own experience?

NO that sounds like a great idea. YOu can go and look and learn, Talk to as many people as you can while at the show. Talk to the ones who win also.

Thanks! Yeah, I thought I could get into it that way since it doesn't exactly look like rocket science, the ritual of it seems pretty staight forward. I also found a place the has drop-in classes for handling and they were really nice and encouraging and seemed like true 'dog people'. So between that and getting to all the shows I can, I think I'll be ok. I have also searched some older posts her and found a few good sites online. I'll post some pics of Daphne to see what you think of her conformation wise when I get a new cable for my camera.

Daphne is registered with ADBA. How far do you travel to shows? I will be at the New Jersy show (but I don't think Daphne will be ready so she may stay home). MaybeI will see you there. I went back to Tails-U-Win training today to bring them a copy of D's shot records and talking with them just further cemented my feelings about them there. The people there were fawning over Daphne (always gets points with me) and seemed very knowledgable. I think they will be a big help to me. They offer both Handling sessions and drop in classes.

That is great I hope you and Daphne have a good experiance at the class. I wish we had shows in my neck of the woods.