There are two major divisions in the world of dog shows, confirmation and obedience.
Obedience competitions require dogs to perform tasks as commanded.
The performance and not appearance decides the success of the dog. Confirmation on the other hand primarily centers around the appearance and bearing of the dog. To the casual observer a confirmation dog show may seem like a mysterious and arbitrary event. Specimens of the dog world are paraded around a ring as a judge picks the best one. Lost to the uninvolved viewer of this procedure is the distinction of classes of dogs, breed standards and points systems.