Register in person. Six weeks before the show, at the office, for $30, which we do not give back even if your dog changes his mind. Registration is not the same thing as qualifying. The office is open Monday, 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. If you arrive at 3:05 you have arrived on Tuesday in your heart.
Show rules
Sittensteigh follows the usual groups — sporting, hound, working, terrier, toy, non-sporting, and herding — and then adds whatever the town has voted to feel modern about. This year's modern feeling is mixed breeds. The rest of the feelings are old and written down.
Mixed breeds are in. For years the rule was purebreds only. That rule has been turned over so the show can practice inclusion without having to say the word too many times in the program. Starla is here because of this. The card says Strala. See rule 01, specifically the pen.
Dogs only. Alternate species will not be considered, no matter how well the cat has been practicing "stay." We have a whole other business in town for cats, and it is full of locks. This is the dog one.
Phones go in the pouch. No cell phones on the show floor. Every handler gets a Pooch Pouch. The pouch says FIDO because that is what the catalog said, and the return window closed during a different administration. We call them Pooch Pouches in the book. The lock is the part that matters. Spoilers, snapshots, and group texts can wait until the ring is finished being a ring.
No fancy cheating. Fur enhancement, muscle mischief, and brain stimulants are prohibited. A positive test is disqualification, plus a $500 fine for each product the dog was not supposed to be glowing from. Standard collars are traditional. GPS collars have been tolerated here since last year, on account of peace of mind and slightly bulkier necks.
Catastrophes may pause the show. If an Act of God, or anything the judge decides is catastrophic, interrupts the competition, the judge may hold the ring and pick it up when the situation behaves. This is the rule we are standing in. Piddles being nabbed counts. The judge is Judy Smith. She has exercised her discretion. Please do not exercise it for her.
The groups are the groups. Sporting, hounds, working, terriers, toys, non-sporting, herding. If your dog's great-aunt invented an eighth group, she can write Delbert. He will file it under "enthusiasm."
Do not commit a felony about a ribbon. Bribery, theft, and altering another dog's food in the hope of a poorly timed bowel moment will get a dog and a handler removed from this show and the next ones. The ribbon is fabric. The fine print is not.