I read this book earlier this week and I think it’s one of the better books in the small category of “books about conformation.” The author walks into his research without knowing much and he really doesn’t have a personal interest in the activity. Most of the similar books are by someone who works with dogs and have a more biased view of conformation.
Griffin is not a conformation dog.
The book follows one dog for one year. The Australian Shepherd is owned by someone fairly novice to dog showing, but interacts with many others and has a successful dog. The book does a great job of why people do conformation (loving the breed and enjoying the competitive aspect), that there’s not really a lot of money ‘in’ it (though a lot of money changes hands), and the repetition yet variation (same game, different weekend, different competitors).