hoping for some help here :) my pup is 12 weeks atm and i've been setting him up and practising with him on the lead. my question is how long per day do you do this? i dont want him do too much so i've been doing about 10minutes each night. also any tips on how you get them used to all things show related? (setting up, leading, looking at teeth) i will be taking him to ringcraft but i want to practise it at home each night. his first champ show is skc and i want him to be ready. i'll be taking him to open shows to get him used to it but i would like him to behave then too! :)

Personally, I would cut down the setting-up to one or two minutes or not at all at this age, grooming will take care of that ;) lead walking will be learned when you go out for walks and the teeth can be briefly looked at in the course of the day   Really, you want the pup to enjoy showing, starting too early or practising for too long at a time will bore the pup.  Far better for pup to gain confidence in general, be socialised and enjoy meeting other people.  Nothing worse than an over practised pup/dog who behaves in the ring like a little robot or who doesn't want to be there :(  What the judge will be looking for is personality as well as correct movement/construction/grooming etc. ;)

I've seen the results of starting at this age and practising daily, the dog is beautiful, well behaved and will not show :(  won't go in the ring, won't 'stand' for anyone and generally shows displeasure at the whole affair :(  such a shame as it was a really promising dog.

Believe it or not, your pup will probably pick things up very quickly at Ringcraft ;) and because there will be other pups and dogs there it will be more interesting for your pup ;)

It's natural to want to get started on the show training as soon as possible when you have a show puppy, but try to enjoy your baby and let him develop a bit, you have plenty of time to get him ring trained ;)

I agree with Dill, in most breeds a robot in the ring is not what you want! Judges prefer to see some personality coming through and not over practised pup that doesn't put a foot wrong.
I have practised my pups "show standing"(puppy stands for 5 seconds and then gets released with loads of praise and jumping around)few times a day at that age if even that. This way I get the dog to stand looking interested and when in real show situation we start moving the dog is happy and geared up and moves with drive as it is used to play after stand if that makes sense.
Obviously in very active breeds you might end up with a kangaroo jumping around the ring with you but it has worked for me and my pretty calm dogs...

My current "puppy"(17 months old) was never trained as I did not live with her. I went back home to Finland two days before her first show(she was 6.5 months) and practised for total of about 20 minutes in two days and she was just fine!
When I brought her to UK, I had a week to practise before her first show and again she showed so well.
Saying that my girl walked me holding my sleeve and hand in her mouth (not perfect show behaviour) when we did the up and down movement :) but she was so happy the judge just laughed at her enthusiasm and placed her second.
As long as the puppy is used to being touched by strangers and having it's teeth checked the rest of it really is not that complicated and puppy will pick up the running and standing pretty quickly.
I guess I'm trying to say be careful not to over practise and get your puppy bored of it all!
Often it is the other end of the lead that needs all the practise available to feel confident, not the pup :) :)

> My current "puppy"(17 months old) was never trained as I did not live with her. I went back home to Finland two days before her first show(she was 6.5 months) and practised for total of about 20 minutes in two days and she was just fine!

Exactly right Noora,
Which goes to prove it's the handler who needs training. In the show ring we expect the dog to do quite normal things, nothing outlandish or out of the ordinary so it is only going to take a very short time to teach the dog the few skills it needs. Excellent handlers can coax most dogs to perform even after moments of work.

IMO it is preferable not to teach the dog about the boring, repetious nature of dog showing or the smart ones will start to go flat and unwilling to show.
I stand my pups up just to look at them, open their mouths to check how things are going and put them on a lead to see their movement or normal walks - none of it formal training. In the month before their first show I try to take them to a rincraft class to get someone else look at them but that's it.