I had no idea what that was. None. It turns out that Conformation is the shape or structure of an animal, in this case, a dog. Judges run their hands along the sides and legs of the dog to assess their shape and structure and see if they meet the breeds’ ideal.
There are several types of different dog shows, some are for agility, some for hunting and some, are conformation. In those, the dogs compete for the Best in Show and earn points towards their championship papers.
The cool thing, for someone like me who’s just a little dog-obsessed, is that you can go to these events and see virtually every breed of dog ever imagined, polished, prepped and looking their absolute best. Imagine! Every kind of dog. Ever!
So, of course, that’s on my to-do list. But…how do I find those dog shows? Well, here’s one nifty little webpage: www.canuckdogs.com. There, you can find shows under any province and type of dog or type of show. If you live in the US, here’s a different but just as useful site for you: www.akc.org/sports/conformation.com. It has the same shows but just in the States.
So, what is my trusty hound doing while I am researching all this online? She’s super busy protecting us from nasty intruders, of course.
Taylor Grace 