Dog Showing: An Owner's Guide

``The operative word in dog showing is `sport,' '' opine the authors of this manual, which offers little more than commonsensical advice and an overview of the rules of the canine ``game.'' Vanacore and Hood, both freelance writers, outline fairly obvious strategies for purchasing and caring for the dog that just might win a beastly beauty pageant. They march the reader through the organization of a dog show, explain what to wear and what to bring--but on the specifics of their sport they are curiously reticent: ``There are many tricks of the trade. By observation and experimenting with your dog, you will devise some of your own.'' Entry fees and associated costs are high, they declare, but they don't supply figures. And anyone hoping for professional pointers on, say, grooming, will remain more or less ignorant: ``It requires patience to learn and to perfect the skills, and a good teacher to impart them to you.'' The most useful materials provided are appended sample contracts (puppy buyer/seller; co-ownership; stud service). (Dec.)