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Training a pup for confirmation


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I feel like this is perhaps the right place to ask about this, I’m sure there are a few breeders and show people in this community.

 

I am a little confused where to start. Usually first thing I teach a pup is to sit, but I dont want a default sit in the show ring. I have no idea how to stack him, he is so wiggly and won’t keep his little feet still!? 
 

any help and guidance would be wonderful!

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Where do you live? Can your breeder help?  Under normal conditions I’d say take a few show training classes but it will depend where you are as to whether they are running again. If they are taking even a couple is enough to give you the idea. 

 

For showing you need a confident, happy pup that will move with you on a loose lead, stand still with you in front or beside him,  and let a stranger examine his body.  I like this approach:

https://shoppuppyculture.com/pages/show-stack


 If there are shows running in your state enter him as soon as you can - no one cares if a baby puppy mucks up and as long as you stay relaxed and the pup has a nice time it’s great experience. 

I am sure others will chip in with training resources, I can only think of ‘puppy culture‘. You can try YouTube - Eric Salas etc. Just use your judgement as to what you take on board. 
 

You can still teach him to sit, just have stand on cue too. The show ring is full of contextual clues for the dog so even if he sits a couple of times he will soon work out it’s not the place. And seriously, mucking up as a pup is no big deal.

Edited by Diva
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If your on FB there is a Qld dog shows page .

Otherwise contact DogsQld and ask if there running handling classes or puppy days .

Stacking is actually easy providing your getting the steps right and puppies even large breed I only stack on a table for training at this age .

 

Also check if a judging ramp is used in your state 

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start him on a table while he is small enough. All my Greyhound pups have started on a table. There are some great resources on YouTube, just google and watch a few and get a feel of what makes sense to you. I have some videos with my youngsters, look up Doggone2007. No instructions but you can see how short the video's are and how wiggly the pups can be. I'm not an expert by any means, in fact I taught my first show dog to A frame beautifully ( legs too stretched ) even though I had taught 2 dogs to a high level of obedience which included free stands. I just built it up to some big deal in my head and it isn't! Once shows are back go along and have a look. You will see plenty of mature dogs still mucking around. One of my pups from my last litter ( 3 years old tomorrow ) wanted to show the dog but won't do it until he is perfect (insert eyeroll ) I don't care if the dog is shown or not but if you wait until perfect you will be waiting a long time.

 

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4 hours ago, Rebanne said:

This is my very first time in the ring and Fern was exactly 3 months of age. She liked that judge a lot. :rofl:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YofMrDsx9s

Oh I love this. I was watching shows on YouTube and all the ones I watched were Westminster and the dogs were so well behaved. I was feeling a bit intimidated. It’s good to see they can muck up a bit and no one takes it too seriously.

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On 9/11/2020 at 3:25 PM, NikkiandKane said:

Oh I love this. I was watching shows on YouTube and all the ones I watched were Westminster and the dogs were so well behaved. I was feeling a bit intimidated. It’s good to see they can muck up a bit and no one takes it too seriously.

The advantage of being able to get them in as baby puppies.  .Plenty of babies have happily kangaroo their way round the ring.   The main thing is for them to hhave pleasant experiences.  Definitely they can learn a stand cue for the show ring, so teaching other things doesn't matter.  The contextual cues help them distinguish .. plus as babies you can support the stand till they get used to it.    Agree -- Puppy Culture is great .    It's really important that you spend lots of time and rewards having people handling them gently in examination.   That took my BC girl quite a while .. she wasn't a fan of being examined past her waist....:rofl:.  But with the 

help of lots of patient friends and lovely people at show handling classes, she got used to it.     We were lucky enough to get her Ch finished a fortnight before lockdown .

 

Shows have just got started again down here .. but with some changes .. I think babies are all being doen on the table, and handlers are expected to mouth their own dogs .. so judge can maintain appropriate distance.   Be worth checking if you can find some show handling classes.

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On 15/09/2020 at 9:41 PM, Dogsfevr said:

I was so excited but then saw that it is tonight and he isn’t fully vaccinated yet. Such a shame because we are about to register for our first show on the 24th october. Something like this would be invaluable!

he has his vax booked for tomorrow.

i have no idea what I’m doing but just going with the plan that I will try to make it fun for him. 
do people use treats in the ring?

and what the heck do I wear :rofl:

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Yes use treats. Wear shoes you can move in.  Some women wear skirt suits that look like a cross between mother of the bride and a cocktail party.  But trousers and a nice jacket are pretty common too and my outfit  is usually black pants, blouse, nice jacket. Just make sure you can bend and run in whatever you wear. 
 

if you are on Facebook look for group ‘Australian dog show newbies’. If you post it is your first show and you need a bit of help someone will usually offer a hand. 

Edited by Diva
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On 17/09/2020 at 2:00 PM, NikkiandKane said:

I was so excited but then saw that it is tonight and he isn’t fully vaccinated yet. Such a shame because we are about to register for our first show on the 24th october. Something like this would be invaluable!

he has his vax booked for tomorrow.

i have no idea what I’m doing but just going with the plan that I will try to make it fun for him. 
do people use treats in the ring?

and what the heck do I wear :rofl:

The classes look to be a regular thing so look it up again 

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