Looking for a dog? Read the Dog Owner's Guide. The main American Kennel Club website has tons of information about dogs. We recommend rescue above all. If you absolutely must have a purebred dog, please adopt from a breed rescue group. These dogs are still qualified to participate in all AKC events with the exception of conformation. I can highly recommend obedience & agility events. They are fun for both the human & the dog(s). I really do not recommend that a first dog be a conformation event show dog. If you think you want a show dog, get a rescue dog in the breed you love first. Join the listserv for that that breed. Join your local all-breed kennel club. Get involved with your local breed rescue group. We always need volunteers for transport & fostering & fundraising in rescue. Once you have your rescue dog, go to training classes in obedience. After you & your dog have mastered obedience, take agility classes if agility interests you. Participate in some dog show events. See Infodog & Onofrio for dog show information. Take your rescue dog & compete in obedience, tracking, agility, earthdog, herding or lure coursing events. Have your dogs go through the testing for Canine Good Citizen. Got a great obedience dog that loves people? They can become a Therapy Dog.

So the rescue org does not have any puppies in your breed & you are set on a puppy. We can't change your mind? Adult rescue dogs are wonderful pets & you typically get to skip the teething & potty training that is associated with a puppy. Still set on a puppy? OK, read why you should buy a pet quality puppy from a show breeder. Never - ever - ever - ever buy a dog from a flea market or a pet shop or in the Wal-Mart parking lot & I'd go so far as to say a newspaper ad. Reputable, responsible breeders do not have to advertise in newspapers or set up at flea markets/roadsides & they do not sell puppies to pet shops. Those are the places where a backyard breeder or a puppy miller would sell a puppy. Incidentally, a reputable breeder will be involved with breed rescue.

By the way, dogs are NOT good gifts unless you are gifting yourself. Please, no Christmas puppies. Dogs are a lifetime commitment by the dog owner & if the dog outlives the owner, the responsible owner will have planned for the pet.

Above all, the responsible breeder wants to place puppies in homes of responsible dog owners. If you have put non-conformation titles on a dog, you will be more attractive as a show puppy buyer to a responsible breeder. It shows you are committed to being a great dog owner.

Still want a show dog? Read books on showing dogs. Nancy Francis has written a wonderful book on handling about Adelene Pardo, a Weimaraner breeder & all-breed judge from Texas. The book is Loose Lead & Mrs. Pardo holds seminars at AKC events. I know Mrs. Pardo from an all-breed club & I can tell you she is a firm advocate in obedience training. Once you have been in the breed for while via your rescue dog(s), watch the conformation ring for your breed. Find a responsible mentor (mentors do not have to be in your breed - you may even find one on the listserv you joined or in your local all-breed kennel club) & develop a level of trust with your mentor. Educate yourself. Learn all you can about the breed - know your breed's standard inside & out. There are some show breeders who are not good breeders consequently, there may be dogs in the ring that do not meet the breed standard. I repeat: Educate yourself. Learn all you can about the breed - know your breed's standard inside & out. A dog that is sound but less typy (representative of the breed standard) with lots of show attitude can beat a very sound typy dog that slinks around the ring like it is scared of its shadow. It's the judge's responsibility to find the dog best representing the breed standard in the ring & the judge wants to see a sound SHOW DOG. The American Rottweiler Club has an online article on the definition of a show dog. After you know the breed standard inside & out, learn about your group. What breeds would you compete against in the Group Ring if your dog took breed? Talk to the breeder-handlers or owner-handlers (not the professional handlers listed in the catalogs as agents), but make sure you wait until the breed competition is completed. They are focused & breaking that focus can impact how well the dog does in the ring. Emotions from the handler can travel down the lead to the dog. Your mentor should be able to help you find a show quality dog.

Think you are ready to show now that you have a puppy? Guess again. Unless the puppy is 6 months old, s/he cannot be shown yet. This means you start training. Even if the puppy is 6 months, you still need training. You & the dog. You've never been in a conformation ring, right? You need practice in an environment that is less threatening: a conformation class. Check with your all-breed club for local classes. Train, train, train. Now it's SHOW TIME.

I mentioned breed rescue above. We are involved with chihuahua breed rescue through Chihuahua Rescue & Transport (CRT). We are a 501(c)3 public operated 100% by volunteers. The CRT has no paid employees. On a personal note, we are currently fostering (ADOPTED).

Because we are in rescue & adamantly opposed to backyard breeders and puppy mills, I have to address some terms these idiots use. There is no such thing as a tea-cup chihuahua.. I repeat: There is no such thing as a tea-cup chihuahua. Anyone who tells you they bought a teacup chi has been CHEATED by a disreputable breeder. Anyone who tells you they have a teacup chi for sale is a LIAR or STUPID. In either case, that "tea-cup chi breeder" should not be breeding chihuahuas. The Chihuahua Club of America is the parent club for all local AKC chihuahua clubs. The CCA says a chihuahua is a chihuahua is a chihuahua. The Chihuahua Club of America does not endorse or condone the use of any of the terms Tea-cup, Pocket Size, Tiny Toy, Miniature or Standard and cautions the prospective puppy buyer not to be misled by them. The CCA approved chihuahua standard differentiates only between the two coat types: long & smooth. There is no distinction in the approved standard for size. The chihuahua standard for chihuahuas is 3-6 pounds. Dogs shown in conformation will be DQ'd (disqualified) for exceeding 6 pounds. They are not DQ'd for under 3 pounds however, the AKC confirmation show was designed to select the best of the best for continued breeding programs & there are inherent dangers in breeding undersized dogs. If I had a nickel for every time I've heard about losing a beloved bitch in whelping, I could buy a big chunk of eBay stock. Breeding toy breeds is dangerous enough simply due to size. Intentionally breeding a dog that does not meet the standard should be a FELONY. It's devastating to the breed to propagate breeding of dogs not meeting the breed standards and takes many years to recover from the damage due to indiscriminant breeding.

My last dog note & then I'll step off this soapbox - animal rights & animal welfare are NOT the same. I do NOT support the HSUS or PeTA. When you support these organizations, among other activities you support the drive to end the practice of owning a pet. Animal rights groups propose to end all human "exploitation" of animals - including pet ownership. According to PeTA's Fiscal Year 1995 tax documents, less than $5,000 (0.03%), of PETA's $13.4 million budget was allocated to shelter or spay and neuter programs in the U.S. Less than $5K out of $13M that deceived animal lovers had donated went to help animals. That should be criminal. 90% of the $1,485,076 PeTA distributed to "charities", or $1.3 million, went to PeTA - in particular to PeTA's satellite offices in Germany, The Netherlands, & England. How do they maintain the 501(c)3 status? Why are they sending your donations overseas when those donations were intended to help homeless American animals? Please do not give money to PeTA or the HSUS. Instead, give your donations of time, supplies, and money to your local animal shelters and rescue groups who work on improved animal welfare by saving animals and educating the public about responsible pet ownership. Think GLOBALLY, but act LOCALLY.

The annual Galveston Home & Garden Show benefits the Animal Shelter and Adoption Center of Galveston Island - if you are in the area that weekend, it's a pretty neat show.