Dog shows!

Collies are shown at all breed dog shows all year long, but there is a "collie specialty season," when specialty shows are held. What this means is that there are dog shows that are held for collies only, and they are the only dogs allowed to enter and compete at these shows. There are specialty shows for all the different dog breeds, but collie specialty shows are held each year from late Fall until early Spring. All breed dog shows are the shows where all the different AKC recognized dog breeds compete, first against each other in the breed ring, then against all the other breeds in their group. (such as the herding group, the working group, the toy group, etc)  Then the winner of each group then competes against each other for the coveted title of "Best In Show." 

At collie specialty shows, the smooth collies compete against other smooths.  The roughs compete against other roughs.  And then at the end of the show, the Best of Variety smooth and the Best of variety rough compete against each other for "Best of Breed" and "Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Breed."

The reason they hold these collie specialty shows during these months, is that the rough coated variety is typically in full coat during the colder weather. And if you are going to pay entry fees, travel expenses and possibly dog handler fees in the hope of winning at a dog show...well, you want your dog to look his or her very best!

The smooth coated variety has the bonus of being able to be shown even in the warmer months.

We are very busy right now preparing, because the collie specialty season is starting in our area in just two weeks!  So we have been spending extra time exercising the collies and grooming them.  We thought we would do a post where we showed you everything that went on during a typical dog show day.  We would take pictures throughout our day - From getting up early in the morning, driving to the show, setting up our grooming area, grooming for the show ring and then competing.   Is this something you would be interested in seeing/reading about?