A dog show is an animal show, an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a breed show, is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs conform to the established breed type for their breed, as described in a breed's individual breed standard.
Handlers set up their dogs for judging so that their stance is perfect when the judge views them; this is known as hand stacking.
Dogs may also be presented standing freely, in the so-called "self stack" or "free stack".
A handler prepares a Silky Terrier to be presented.
Winning dogs are awarded prizes by the judge.
A dog breed is a particular type of dog that was purposefully bred by humans to perform specific tasks, such as herding, hunting, and guarding. Dogs are the most variable mammal on Earth, with artificial selection producing upward of 360 globally recognized breeds. These breeds possess distinct traits related to morphology, which include body size, skull shape, tail phenotype, fur type, body shape, and coat colour. However, there is only one species of dog. Their behavioral traits include guarding, herding, and hunting, and personality traits such as hyper-social behavior, boldness, and aggression. Most breeds were derived from small numbers of founders within the last 200 years. As a result of their adaptability to many environments and breedability for human needs, today dogs are the most abundant carnivore species and are dispersed around the world.
An 1897 illustration showing a range of European dog breeds
Sled dog types, sketched in 1833
Tesem, an ancient Egyptian sight-hound
"Five different types of dogs", c. 1547.
