Conformation Shows
(Modified for our website from the AKC website: www.akc.org)

Purpose
At a conformation dog show, breeders, fanciers, and buyers evaluate breeding stock. That means they’re looking at dogs in an effort to select physically and mentally healthy individuals that best represent the characteristic traits of each breed.

Eligibility
Every dog entered must be able to breed (females are not spayed and males are not neutered- you will see judges check to confirm males are “intact”). At AKC shows, competitors must also be:

• individually registered with the American Kennel Club
• six (6) months of age or older
• a breed for which classes are offered at a show
• meet all eligibility requirements in the written standard for its breed

Judging
Judges evaluate each dog's conformation (overall appearance, structure, and gait). These qualities indicate the dog's ability to produce puppies suited to the purpose for which the breed was originally intended.

Standards
Beagles were intended to be strong and solid, with the wear-and-tear energy and durability to last in the chase and follow quarry to ground - miles a day through hills, brush, dense forests and streams. They were to be independent thinkers who functioned as pack, capable of out-thinking and scenting the quarry.
Breed Standards support those intentions, specifying strong bones, a balanced body angled to bear hours of steady running, “a close, hard, hound coat of medium length” (impervious to burrs and rain) and a happy, alert carriage.

In contrast, (to arbitrarily pick a very different breed) the Papillon “is a small, friendly, elegant toy dog of fine-boned structure, light, dainty and of lively action; distinguished from other breeds by its beautiful butterfly-like ears.” Intended as a companion, the AKC Breed Standards are far more detailed about a Papillon’s ears and coat, which are strictly wash-and-wear for the Beagle.

Competition
Each breed is evaluated according to AKC Standards that ensure the breed continues to meet its purpose. Dogs who best satisfy the Standards are rewarded by the judges with ribbons that denote the standing among their peers. Since the Standards are mostly qualitative, different judges may award the same dog different standings- and that forms the root of the competition.

Handling
Each dog presented to a judge is exhibited ("handled") by its owner, breeder, or a hired professional (or even a family friend!) depending on whom the breeder feels will best demonstrate the dog’s finest qualities to the judge.