Am about to bring my old boy out in veteran, he is seven next month, not shown him for a couple of years as concentrating on the 2 younger ones, took him to open show today to see how he went, he looked lovely, and was a real show off when stacked, tail lashing, however on the move has lost his oomph and stopped short of the judge and wanted to plod rather than stride out !!! help need a few tips for getting his mojo back xx

Sorry bertsmum what breed is he, I can't remember?

he is a beautiful english setter (thats me being biased again saying beautiful) ha ha xx

Maybe needs a bit of you time if the youngsters have been with you quite often over the last 2 years to get himmore focused on you?  Of course not saying that you have ignored him or anything.

Personally I think veterans either want to show or they don't - and if they don't I don't make them. I had a bitch that was the same as your boy, she loved the outing to the show and stood well but was like a slug moving. Although she did manage to to gain a CC and BOB with her slow motion stopping half way up the ring nonsense :-)  The same girl off lead was a flying machine so I took that as a sign that she just didn't want to be in the ring anymore. I still entered her so she could come to shows but didn't actually take her in the ring again.

when i say i have concentrated on the young ones, i ONLY meant from a show prospective !!!! I would never push Boshy out, he is an angel xx

I would be treating him a bit like a new puppy training to go into the ring so experiment with finding what get him going like.... toys, or cheese/ chicken, weird noises (phase noises out but you do see it in puppy classes).

With our boy he loved cheese but got bored so switched to cooked lamb that really put a rocket in him :) I tried to make it as fun as possible taking him to parks on a long line and letting him run off steam after a 5 min stack, much like you would with a puppy.

Whats funny is our boy loves going round the ring soooo much that we still take him even though he never gets placed poor lad but I would never tell him as he does try to strut his stuff LoL. 

I've a Gordon like that.  The trick I've found with him is to give him to someone else to hold at the side of the ring about 10 -15 minutes before going in.  I then disappear out of sight and take him back last minute before rushing into the ring and getting as near the front of the class as possible.  He's so happy to see me again he goes like a rocket.

I also avoid big classes and if I think the class is too big I won't show him. 

I  talk to him all the time in the ring and go over the top when moving him making all sort of noises, when waiting our turn if he looks as though he's going to sulk I play games with him, getting him to jump up for food or touch my hand, ect.  Doesn't always work but he generally goes better.

when you find the magic formula then let me know - my bitch has completely lost her enthusiasm for showing since having her pups last year - she just stands there going BOOOOORING !!! - she likes to come along and have all the ringside fuss and watches her daughter strut her stuff but when its her turn she just stands like a sack of spuds and moves like a slug - ho hum just goes to prove that if they don't want to do it you can't make them !!

Yvonne

Plush Puppy do flower essence drops called Show Reviver, my boy had lost his enthusiasm when moving, which was his asset! So I tried these drops and at his next show he was back to his normal self, driving round the ring beautifully and took Res.BIS! :)

Didn't know this stuff existed... have just ordered some, will see how we get on!

oooh that sounds promising !!! really like plush puppy stuff, so thats me online tomorrow having a spend , fingers crossed xx

I have found once 'sack of tatties' syndrome sets in, they never get it back.  I had one dog who would move like a dream outside of the ring but as soon as she stepped under/past the rope, she moved with about as much enthusiasm as a slug on sleeping tablets.

Have you tried getting to the show early, before judging, then taking him into the ring and just having a good play?  Then stack him, then play, then move him suddenly in the middle of the play, then go back to play, then take him out and be boring until he's due to go back in; he should (ha ha when do dogs do what they should?) associate the ring with fun...

My boy got bored as a youngster after we'd spent 6 months chasing JW points. A few months rest sorted him for the most part, though occasionally I still got the limp dishrag. But over the next couple of years he did regain enthusiasm and now at 8 years old I generally get the mad barking galloping idiot!

i have tried it on my boy and there was no difference at all  and he hates the taste of it , as its mostly brandy i think  a bottle of brandy would be a cheaper option as the plush puppy is quite expensive

Likewise Newfienook, tried a couple from Doreen Paige (I think) but didn't make a bit of difference.

It could just of been coincidence that my boy perked up

> It could just of been coincidence that my boy perked up

Yes, it could. Or, you anticipating him being more alert rubbed off on him. Which you detected, and this made you more enthusiastic, which made him happy and sparkly, and so on, and so on....

I train ringcraft and I show both my own dogs and sometimes train and show dogs for other people. In my experience, never underestimate the effect you have on your dog. It's so subtle signals you both send out, and you are both so quick to pick them up. Even if you know that your behaviour and mood will affect your dog, and you are really acting happy and playfull, your dog will sense it, if you suspect he might not perform. And then he probably won't. Because the "wheel" is turning the wrong way. The effect this remedy has, might be that it turns the "wheel" around, and it's starts turning the positive way?