I have a 11 week old GSP that i have been developing for hunting and testing with NAVHDA and AKC currently.

Anyhow his bloodline is primarily show dogs, if i recall on the sire side of my pedigree i counted 14 champions or something or another.

Anyhow ive always checked out the shows on TV but that is about the extent of it.  My wife on the other hand LOVES the shows.

We have been searching for a hobby for us to do together and our puppy has become that.  She helps with his daily obedience and walks and feedings and such (both dogs) but is not much into hunting......but is into the dog.  She has expressed a desire to show him......and i think that would be cool for us and for him.   More time together for us and together with him and other dogs.

So.....that said and links or suggestions on what we should do to begin to prepare a 11 week old male GSP?

You might email or PM Karin(momsgspz)

She is in your area and would know Show dates/schedules in your area and is about 1 1/2 hours from you.

I would suggest in addition to what singltrak said getting a book called Dog Showing for Beginners by Lynn Hall.  It isn't a big book and is very easy to read and does a really good job of explaining the dog show world.  I am fairly new to showing (I started 2 years ago) and Halo is my first dog to show.  I am determined to finish her myself (as the owner/handler) and so far have put all the points on her myself including a major and a Best of Breed.  I guess the advice  I would give to any beginner is:

1) Show your dog to have fun and as an activity you and your dog can do together.  Winning will come or not, but the important thing is to have fun.

2) Find a conformation class and someone to mentor you and attend class and ask lots of questions.

3) Try showing in UKC before you tackle AKC.  UKC does not allow professional handlers, is allot more laid back, and truly more fun (MHO).  The people in UKC are also more willing to give advice and help a newbie.  The point system in UKC is different from AKC though. 

4) Also, checkout the International shows as they are also a great way to hone your skills and your dogs skills and you get a written evaluation of your dog from the judge which can help you latter on when you show in AKC.

Good luck and have fun!! And ask questions when you have them.

Thanks everyone.

Well as for the breeder he does not show.  He actually is a hunter and owns a bird farm.  The Sire was a show champion who also ended up being a great hunter.......though not tested with an organized club.  Dam is untested but also a fair hunter.  That said the breeder is more hunt oriented (as am I).....so little help regarding show.

I in no means expect to invest a lot of money into showing him or being super aggressive with it.  I want it to be fun for him and us (the humans), ahahah.   So yea maybe one of the smaller clubs would be ideal.

I have a similar question, we just recently acquired a GSP 8 month old male. We are training him for field trials and hunt tests with AKC and UKC. I am also interersted in possibly showing him in conformation. I don't know what his bloodlines are conformation wise (his papers should be in in a few weeks) and with this being my first GSP I don't know how conformationally correct he is. I do know that he has yellow eyes which is a fault, how much will this hurt him? Should I bother showing him? Does anyone know of someone in the Shelbyville, KY area who may be able to help me?

Smokin -  I don't know about in the northeast, but in the Texas area the competition is fierce.  Even with a dog with no faults it sometimes takes a while to finish a dog.  If you are going to show your dog yourself, then you have an added hurdle as you are not a professional handler.  All that said, if the dog has nice conformation otherwise, you could give it a whirl.  Depends when you say yellow, how yellow are the eyes.  If they are a light brown it might not be too big a deal. See if you can get some good pictures of your dog from front, side and back and also of the eyes. Post them in a new thread and see what the responses are.  There are quite a few GSP breeders on this forum who really know the breed.  It will be much easier for them to respond if they can see what you are talking about.  Good luck!!  I enjoy showing my dogs, win or loose, as I like doing different things with my dogs.