If you want to show your dog, put away a small fortune. Entry fees are in the neighborhood of $15-$20 per day. That's not including gas, hotel, and meals. I've known people who spend $800 per weekend win or lose trying to show a single dog. Don't intend on having any free weekends.
Since you have a white long haired breed, you'll spend at least $500 on grooming supplies, grooming table, hair dryer, and shears. You'll have to spend a great deal of time grooming between shows as well to keep up the coat.
If you're serious about getting into dog shows, have someone from your local kennel club or breed club evaluate your dog's conformation potential. If you decide that you'd like to invest the time and money into dog shows, you must go to training. On TV, showing dogs look so easy and straightforwar d. However, the ones that do wind up on TV, have had hours and hours of training for them to accentuate their best features. The people who handle those dogs have had years of experience and can show with style and finesse.
I wouldn't call dog showing a business perse. I doubt there's more than a handful of people who even recoup a portion of the money put into dog showing. I look at it as a very expensive hobby.
There's no need to buy tapes and books to learn how to train. There are plenty of sources online. Hope that helps.
Jennie
