This kind of competition is commonly known as the dog show, where your Yorkie will compete against others to determine which dog comes closest to matching perfection as described by the standard and determined by the judge. Classes are divided by age or experience. Winning a class sends you on to further competition. A win can earn your dog anywhere from one to five points, depending on how many dogs you defeat. Wins of three or more points are classified as majors. To qualify for the title “Champion,” designated with “Ch.” before the dog's name, you must gain a specified number of points under different judges, with some of the wins being majors.

What You Need to Compete in Conformation

First, you need a Yorkshire terrier that conforms reasonably well to the standard. Of course you find your Yorkie incredibly appealing, and no one should ever change your opinion, but the standard calls for specific attributes, especially relating to the head and coat. Failing to have the spectacular coat called for in the standard in no way decreases your dog's greatness — it just makes it unlikely you will win in the ring.

Dogs well suited to showing need to have self-assurance and an outgoing personality. If there are several individuals that conform well to the standard, it may be personality that determines the winner. The AKC requires that dogs be intact — not spayed or neutered — to compete in conformation. They consider dog shows to be venues for choosing breeding stock. The UKC (United Kennel Club) has a dog show program similar to the AKC's, but also has classes for spayed and neutered dogs.

You can devote yourself to showing, spending every weekend on the road. Or you can spend the occasional weekend at a local show. It's up to you how much time and money you want to invest in the sport. Your Yorkie will likely be up for whatever you choose.

Grooming for Conformation

If you want to show, you'll need to do more than basic maintenance grooming, and you can't have your Yorkie's coat cut down. It should sweep the floor. But it can't be left to sweep the floor all the time, or the ends will be damaged and it will pick up dirt. So you need to keep the coat in wraps. If possible, have your breeder or an experienced groomer show you how to wrap the coat. You can also hire a groomer to do it, as the job can be rather involved the first few times you try it.

If you need to do it yourself, without benefit of hands-on instruction, here are the basics. You part the hair into sections as naturally as possible. The topknot gets a wrap, the side whiskers on each side get a wrap, and the beard whiskers get a wrap. The coat from under the ears to the back of the head can usually be divided into two wraps, one for each side. The outside of each leg gets a wrap. The body between the legs gets a couple of wraps on each side. There's usually one on each shoulder and one on the chest. The tail gets a wrap, and the britches behind each of the rear legs each get one.

So, what are these wraps, and what do they do? They don't somehow magically make the hair grow faster, though that's a common misconception. Wraps simply prevent the ends of the hairs from being broken, and they keep the hair, especially on the tail and britches, from getting soiled when the dog eliminates or moves around.

The wraps themselves are simply papers and rubber bands used to gather the hair and keep it out of the way. You can buy paper for wraps at some grooming shops. You can also use rectangles of waxed paper, found at kitchen shops, or you can just buy a roll of waxed paper and cut your own. You can buy the rubber bands (small) from a grooming shop or an office-supply store. To actually wrap the coat, brush a section of hair, wrap the paper around the hair near the end, fold it in half and back over itself, and secure it there with one of your rubber bands.

Most Yorkies will have enough coat to start to have it wrapped at somewhere between nine months and one year of age. It's best to start wrapping just a few sections at first — the tail and britches and the topknot are the usual choices. And you can't just wrap a Yorkie and consider it done until your next bath or show. The wraps should be undone and brushed out every other day. As you can see, this is a major undertaking.

Types of Shows

The dog shows you may have seen on television are all-breed shows. The portions that are televised are the Group competitions. To reach the Group competition, dogs of each breed first compete against others of their kind to select Best of Breed. Best of Breed winners then move on to compete against the other Best of Breed winners in their group — as a member of the Toy Group, the Yorkshire terrier would compete against other toy dogs such as the Maltese, Pomeranian, and pug (to name a few). The AKC recognizes six other groups: Sporting, Hound, Working, Terrier, Nonsporting, Herding, and Miscellaneous. Winners of each Group competition move on to compete for Best in Show.

All-breed shows host all the breeds recognized by the kennel club. They are large, often multiday affairs. A few, scattered around the country, are still benched, meaning the dogs must be there, on public display, for the duration of the show. Some shows may concentrate on a single group (terrier specialties, for example), or a selected set of breeds. This is common practice with the UKC — less common with the AKC.

Finally, there is the Specialty. This show concentrates on one breed only. There can be regional specialties and a national specialty. Most of the top dogs of the breed will come to the national specialty to compete against other top winners. Extra classes are generally offered at specialties. Brood bitch and stud dog classes show off adults with their offspring, while sweepstakes classes focus on the puppies. Veteran classes honor older dogs.

Handling for Conformation

Both you and your dog have to be comfortable in the show ring. Your Yorkie has to be relaxed in order to show well. If you are stressed, your feelings will travel down the leash to your dog. To make things easier, you should understand how a show works prior to competing. This way, you'll know when to be at your ring, and what you'll be expected to do once you're there.

When you get to a show, first pick up your exhibitor armband and a show catalog. The armband identifies you and your dog, and the catalog will tell you the ring and time for your class. Once in the ring, you will usually stack or pose your Yorkie, along with all the others in the class, on the ground for the judge to get her first look at the dogs. She may ask everyone to move their dogs around the ring as a group, or she may start right in with the individual examinations.

You will put your Yorkie up on a table and pose him to present the best possible picture. The judge will go over your dog, looking in his mouth, feeling his structure under the coat, checking the coat texture. Your job is to stay out of the way while keeping your Yorkie still and composed.

After the exam, you'll put your Yorkie down on the ground and move him individually for the judge, usually directly away and back to the judge, then around in a circle to the back of the line. You should move so that your Yorkie performs a fast walk or slow trot. You and your dog will benefit from taking some handling classes before you show. Check with your local kennel club and area trainers for these opportunities.

Professional Handlers

Some owners prefer to hire professional handlers rather than show their dogs themselves. Be clear on what you expect before you take this route. If you would just like to earn a championship, your Yorkie will almost certainly be handled by one of the professional's assistants. The big pros concentrate on dogs that are specialing — have already earned their championships and are showing heavily to try to earn top-dog honors in the various ranking systems. They will bring a string of dogs to a show — one or two dozen — but they can't possibly handle them all.

Before you give your dog over to a handler, be sure you agree on how your dog will be treated, where he will be housed, and so on. The easiest arrangement is for you to bring your Yorkie to a show and just have the handler take him into the ring. If the handler will be taking your dog on the road, ask to see how your dog will be housed in the inevitable RV, and who will feed, groom, and exercise the dog. Don't hand your dog over unless you're completely comfortable.