Duane,
I shoot Canon because when we started the Show Photography business 4 years ago, the D30 was the only affordable alternative (we purchased 3 complete set-ups). I shoot everything hand-held and must be able to both hold the camera steady and toss a toy to get the dog's head position correct and their attention. That requires a camera that is lightweight even with a battery pack and flash attached.

Having said that, here's my gear:
1. Rebel XT. It's light. It's easy to use. It has great image quality. I evolved from the D30 to a 10D and now the XT. Why not the 20D? Because the XT produces identical image quality with less weight and much lower price. The 10D is my backup camera.

2. Canon 17-40mm F4L lens. My primary show lens. It's pretty sharp for a zoom.

3. Canon 50mm F1.8 lens. It's cheap and very, very sharp. This is my "portrait" lens.

4. Sigma 28-70mm F2.8 EX APO. Convenient focal length and fast. Pretty sharp at F8-F11.

5. Sigma 70-200 F2.8 EX HSM APO. Fast, sharp and good reach for action shooting.

6. Canon 580 EX Speedlight. Use it for shooting formals of dogs in the ring or for outdoor shows. Use it with external battery pack.

7. Alien Bees 400 monolights. Use them for "podium" formals at Specialties or for Group and BIS shots at All Breed Shows. I use a studio setup and trigger them with a Morris wireless controller. This means backdrops, backdrop stands, light stands, umbrellas and tons of cords.

This setup has evolved along with my shooting style. I've used a tripod but found that I just couldn't catch the subtle changes in head angle or body position as well as hand-held. Plus, I like a lower shooting angle (I shoot on the ground). Of course, this has forced me to become pretty adept at shooting right-handed while tossing toys with my left but I've worked out the mechanics

Hope that information is useful. Remember, it ain't the gear; it's the photographer. Every manufacturer makes exellent cameras. Over the years, I've used Nikon, Leica, Hasselblad and Sinar. My investment in Canon came about because they had the best camera available when we started and now I'm embedded in lenses and other equipment. And, frankly, their gear is very good. But you'll do very well with gear from any of the major manufacturers.

Jim