i have a 7 month old boy who i am hoping to show the problem is i walk him everyday and he is fine dosent stop etc but when i take him to ringcraft he wont walk properly and keeps stopping and holding his ground, i have tried bait to get him moving which works sometimes but makes his movement erratic and i have tried talking to him and giving him a gentle tug but nothing.

any ideas i have run out of them but dont want to give up on him as he has so much potential

thanks in advance

Is he toy orientated? if so he may move for his favourite toy. Make a game out of it and get his interest. once you get him moving you can iron out the erratic movement.
Aileen

What about food? Your pup might walk for you for a nice piece of liver or tuna cake or a nice limp of cheese?

How often have you taken him to ringcraft, and how old was he when you started taking him?

It could be, in part, his age if he has just started doing this. They do reach a stage where everything is scary, even normal, everyday things that they didn't bat an eye for previously. If he has just started this I would stop going to ringcraft for a few weeks, but take him to interesting places. Get family, neighbours and friends to go over him when he is relaxed so that he still gets used to being handled. If you haven't had him at ringcraft before, or for only a couple of times, then I would sit at the side and just walk him around the edges, speaking to other people and their dogs. Let him get used to the idea that this is just another part of his life without forcing him to do somethijng he doesn't want to. He may end up hating showing. I have had a bitch in the past who would drag her feet in the ring, but would be perfect as soon as we left ;-) Trying to drag her around the ring was a no-no so she was retired early.

he's only young, give him time. Don't force him. You could try sitting at the end of the mat and letting someone else handle him.  Then You call him to you and just let him come in his own time. You could also just go to ring craft but not take part. Just sit and let him watch for a week or two. He's getting stage fright bless him. It will pass but only if you let it. Don't force him or he will start to hate showing. And it needs to be fun :)

Could it be the floor? A lot of clubs train in village halls so vinyl or laminate which is slippy and puts even confident pups off. I know they use matting but getting from 1 mat to the other can be traumatising.

You are so right Dude dog........my little shih tzu wouldn't walk on one bit of the matting at ringcraft because it had a mark on it!!! every time we got to it she would jump in the air or run off the mat, lol.
The mat has since been turned over and no problems.

I sometimes have the opposite problem, she walks lovely at ringcraft but once in the ring goes mad, lol. Love them!

hi

thanks all for replys, he is now 7 months old due to one thing and another didnt get him out to ring craft till he was 6 months old so he has been only 3 times if i bait him with liver cake he will walk but as i said he is erratic on the move the trainer said talk to him and give him a gentle tug but that dosent work and he tends to dig his heels in and its not something i want to do drag him around because he walks fine on the lead when i take him out.

he isnt really a toy sort of dog and dosent really play with them he is just a laid back boy but maybe too laid back!!!

He is probably overawed by all the new sights then ;-) I would take him along and just let his brain take in all the new things. Don 't try to push it as he will probably be fine once he realises that there is nothing strange in being in a place with more dogs than he has seen together before :-p Just sit quietly wth him and slowly walk around the hall speaking to the other owners and dogs. That is just as important as being on the mat and walking. It gives him the experience needed to be at dog related places so when he is at shows he won't freak out :-D

You're absolutely right not to force him if a gentle tug doesn't get him moving - dragging him along will only make things worse. Like others have said, coax him with food, and let him sit quietly looking at what's going on, and he will soon get used to it.