Tips for competing at dog shows

[airplane]

Hello everyone. I came across some notes I took at a handling workshop that I attended a little while back. As far as I know, its ok for me to share them because nobody made a claim of intellectual property or anything like that. So I assume its ok for me to share. I know I often skipped writing lots of stuff down because its been covered before at other workshops I attended. But I did manage to write a few notes so here they are:

• Job of handler is to attract the attention of the judge and transfer it to the dog

• Be aware of different types of judges:
- structure judge - heavy on the exam
- movement judge - heavy on watching movement all the way around ring
- expression judge - looking for expression

• Dog show burnout can be eliminated by keeping it fun. Do other stuff too like agility, etc. Just keep it fun.

• Balancing pads are great for training muscle memory stacking.

• Avoid stacking blocks

• Warm up and stretching is important for the dog

• Treadmill is great exercise for training the gait. But you should have a quality treadmill that has the torque so the dog doesn't slip. Go the proper speed.

• Not too much exercise for growing puppy. Things can become ruined.

• Train to music so you don't focus on the dog.

• Training sessions should be very short and fun.

• Dog's happiness comes first at all times.

• Be always aware of body language and hand position and what its telling your dog.

• Alternate hands and direction.

• Take video to see what it looks like.

• Never make the same mistake twice.

• Winning shows is about 5 things:
1) entering the ring - have presence and walk in with a mind for presentation.
2) the exam - be the best at this. Have the dog steady, etc.
3) pattern - get the dog to gait correctly so the judge can judge the dog.
4) go around - know the standard and how it should look when walking.
5) finale - if the judge hasn't made a pick yet after everyone has their dogs stacked sideways, you can change it to make it look like you want it. Maybe fronts in, or diagonal, etc. The idea is to show the judge something else if the judge is hesitating and hasn't made a pick yet.

• Train in lots of different environments.

• 6 foot leather lead and flat link collar is recommended.

• Do lots of different things to have a more balanced dog.

• A natural gait consists of:
- loose lead
- no eye contact
- low hand position
- don't distract the dog
- don't get attention at the start

• Gelsemium is the best calmer for a dog. Avoid the liquid type. Use 6c for toy sized dogs. Don't touch with hands cause hand oil neutralizes it. Give 45min-1hr before going in the ring. Experiment with dosage. Start with 1 tablet. You can wean them off it once they get confidence.

• Hand stacking is so the judge can see the structure of the dog.

• Stack on the outside corner area of the table cause it puts the dog further out from you and it makes it easier for the judge to get to the dog.

• Don't use bait cause you're bribing the dog.

• You can set the rear by pushing pressure back on the rear to load it. They won't be able to move their feet then.

• The toes follow the nose.

• When stacking the dog, let the lead just fall to the ground instead of putting it around your neck.

• When gaiting your dog:
- take nice lengthy strides
- have good posture
- your dog will tend to copy you
- on down and back, the judge is looking at rear and front movement
- make eye contact with the judge and then look at your dog. This helps bring the judges attention to your dog. Do this at the corners of the ring.

• It's considered rude to brush your dog in front of the judge.

• A flat link collar is best for training and for showing.

• Distilled water is best for washing a dog.

• There are machines that change the PH level of water. You want more acidic.

• 1 saline drop every morning in the eyes will stop eye stains.

• To teach a free stack, you lean forward, step back, and then erect your posture. That should teach your dog to lean into a good free stack.

• On a down and back, give some space between the dog and the judge for the judges looking for expression. Then let the dog go ahead of you towards the judge.

[gemy]

I also would suggest to teach your dog to free stack. I like prior ring time to take a short walk around the show grounds.

[yorkiemini]

Totally agree with the exercise thing. Don’t be tense. Make it fun!

[Meggie]

Well I’ve been showing successfully ( UK) for over fifty years & never heard over half of these!