im not asking for advice on how to get a show chi i just want to hear the cute stories behind how YOU got your first chi to show. did you know the breeder or did you breed him/her yourself? did you go to a show and just fell in love with a certain dog? Did you just look at a puppy and KNOW you two were destined to do great things together?

i got my first chihuahua as a pet, she was a good size girl and unfortunatley my Dad was one of the old school who said "all good bitches need a litter!" That was almost 30 years ago now. Anyway we did have a litter from her and I started showing her - she wasn't brilliant and it wasn't until my 3rd generation that I actually got something nice - I won a good few 1sts with her at champ shows and a RCC. the rest, as they say....is history.

I bred mine. I picked him out of one of my litters. Then showed him =) Yes I was one of those bad people that bred before showing but I bred good chihuahuas and proved it.

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*Follow your Bliss *

Same story at Tailwagging here.

I don't understand how you can say you are a bad person by breeding before showing - many people do this. They start off with a puppy and decide to have a litter and then show. This is why it is always better to be honest with the breeder of your 1st dog. If you say you want a pet and don't want to breed you can end up breeding from something which isn't suitable to breed from for one reason or another.

My hobby was breeding. And you are considered "bad" if you breed before you show. my hobby is still being a breeder. I want to better my breed and I use showing as tool to do that. Some breed to show, I show so that I do not become kennel blind.
I am proud to be a breeder. I am proud to produce typie, sound pets. yes pets. (That is what a toy dog is.)
Sorry for rambling.

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*Follow your Bliss *

three years ago I bought a nice female chi as a pet. I've had dogs for 15 years (other breeds) but never thought I could show a dog myself. I just tried with Violet, at first she was a bit shy but I only got praise for her; She got a bit more confident and did very well in the ring. I was struck by the show virus, and now I attend 30+ shows a year !!

how are you "bad" if you breed a show quality dog? i know you are supposed to show a dog to evaluate its breeding potential but if its show quality, anyway, and you had it evaluated by judges ( even though the dog wasnt actually "shown"), then why would it be "bad" ? I mean, lets just be real, most people dont have the money to show, anyway.