Whilst you are preparing your dog for the show ring, do you have any quirky habits that you routinely go through each time you show?
Like wearing something that brings you luck, doing certain things in the same order, or perhaps would you do anything cheeky to try and attract the judges eye towards your dog or yourself to gain brownie points?

Can't speak for dogs, as I have never shown a dog competitively.

But when I was showing small animals [they have pieces of fruit/veg in their show cages for moisture and sustenance] I always went to the local shop the night before the show and chose the reddest apple I could find, as first prizes are Red.

We all have our own superstitions, whether it is cats, dogs, rabbits or hamsters... I don't think you will get anyone owning up to their special ritual unless they are now out of that field.... but even so, it's a very personal secret.

I always take a photo of my bridge baby GSD. It was taken the last day she played with my new pup, before we lost her with a brain tumour. When I pack my show bag I always take her with me, as I still don't feel ready to let her go, if that makes sense. The photo is tatty and I could print another one, but it is the one I printed before I lost her. You have a whopping great GSD showing am 8 week old golden just how to dig. She taught her well, as we had a pup that thought she had been put on this earth to dig!! For some reason I just feel comfortable if the photo is with us and feel like Leia is looking down and wishing us luck.

Found myself a bit put out when the thin leather lead I had used for 10 years finally fell apart, never did get on with the new one. Mind you I insist it was not superstition but I did feel lost without the lead that had shared my first 10 years with me.

PS the other thing I did just before going in the ring was to try not to wet myself

> would you do anything cheeky to try and attract the judges eye towards your dog

It's not really cheeky, but more about showmanship, but I do like to get in the ring first. I want to be at the head of the lineup, if I can't be first I'll go last - don't want to get lost in the middle of a big class :-)

I'm always torn with going first - my girl moves very fast and will pace if I get stuck behind a slow dog. But if we're first on the table she's hyped up from having just charged round the ring twice and is an idiot on the table. So I'm stuck either way!

I used to have a pair of lucky socks - I like socks with pictures on, and these had horseshoes / 4 leaf clovers / black cats etc on them. I still carry them in my show bag now they are too old to wear! Last show I caught my friend kissing her ringclip with a picture of her favourite boy who died some years back on it. It must have worked, her puppy got BPIB and PG2 on her first outing! Perhaps I should try it with my ringclip with Henry's picture on, when I show Hetty for the first time!

> I want to be at the head of the lineup, if I can't be first I'll go last - don't want to get lost in the middle of a big class :-)

I would suggest being towards the back end if not at the very back would help keep you in the judges mind, and offer a nice complimentry quick comment to them as well.

Not a complimentary comment to the judge, you mustn't engage them in conversation!

Really you can't speak to them? or only if they ask you a question.

A nice hello is the most I do and the only thing i'd do not prompted in the ring. Other than that i'd not speak unless spoken to.

I would only ever speak to the judge to give the age of my dog when asked until the placings have been awarded, then I will speak to them.  Oh, unless my bitch decides to stick her tounge in the judges ear as they go over her I always offer an apollogy.  That or tell the dog not to bribe the judge with kisses!

> Oh, unless my bitch decides to stick her tounge in the judges ear as they go over her I always offer an apollogy.  That or tell the dog not to bribe the judge with kisses!

Clever, what you can train your dog to do these days. lol

Yes, I would say good morning, give the age if asked, and tell Ellie to stop kissing the judge. That's about it!

I think I'd like to be a judge all this kissing.lol

If we ever meet at a show Sian the dogs will give you plenty of kisses, no judging required! :-D

Surely the kissing the judge is a vital part of the judging process, it enables the judge to judge temperametn. 

Cavaliers are a companion breed so kisses show that they meet the standard ;)

Maybe I have been training mine needlessly to suck up to the judge, LOL

Mind it's dead handy if the judge wears glasses to have them lick those, they are then fogged up when they watch you putting you into nice soft focus.

Brainless I must admit I specifically say 'don't kiss the judge' so that the judge notices what a lovely friendly outgoing Cavalier I have, heehee! If I just wanted her to stop twisting round to do it I'd tell her to stand!

Oh sorry I didn't know we were talking about the dogs. ;)

Have you seen some of the judges out there? If the dog wants to kiss them that's fine, but don't expect me to! :-D

> Have you seen some of the judges out there? If the dog wants to kiss them that's fine, but don't expect me to!

That bad huh!
Jackie H excluded of course!

Kissing is ok, I don't mind jumping up either or rosette chewing but one of my bitches actually gave a male judge a eye watering nudge, he had for some reason squatted down in front of her knees apart and she decided to head-butt him, painful for him and embarrassing for me but he took it in good part. You do get a few noses up skirts and one of mine did a quick pee on a lady judges trousers, she too was unperturbed, surprisingly she seemed to find it normal behaviour do wonder if her own dog did it all the time, I was not amused.

PS Long long past my kissable days, strictly dogs these days.

> PS Long long past my kissable days, strictly dogs these days.

I doubt that very much.

Henry weed up the steward's leg once as a junior, I was just about to quietly sneak off when a fellow exhibitor told the steward so I had to pretend I'd only just noticed too! A few days later he tried it on my leg and I caught him in the act and had a good shout and glare at him and he never tried that again on me or anyone!

>one of mine did a quick pee on a lady judges trousers

had a good shout and glare at him

Too true, it is not something I tolerate but this lady seemed to take it as par for the course, I knew her quite well so may be she was trying to put me at ease but I did wonder if her somewhat larger hounds did it to her and if so if she spent her time wet from the knees down. I am a very lax dog owner and they have appalling manners but inappropriate peeing is one of the things that is not allowed.

I agree - I'm all for reward based training for the most part, but just once in a blue moon they do need telling off, and the reaction Henry got that time let him know in no uncertain terms that he had done wrong. And he never weed in the house like some entire dogs do either, not even with Ellie in full season. He was a wonderful little dog in so many ways! :-)

> Mind it's dead handy if the judge wears glasses to have them lick those, they are then fogged up when they watch you putting you into nice soft focus.

But that could so easily go the other way, with the judge trying to squint through smudged specs and thinking: "Hmmmm.... I didn't notice what a long fuzzy coat that one had when I was up close to it...."

I wouldn't accuse Brainlesses dog of that if I were you ;)

> I wouldn't accuse Brainlesses dog of that if I were you

Ah well as a spectacle wearer myself I know exactly how fluffy everything looks after you've just had them smeared in dog saliva! LOL

With 20% sight which glasses can't help improve, things get pretty fuzzy for me if they are more than a few feet away. LOL

> Ah well as a spectacle wearer myself I know exactly how fluffy everything looks after you've just had them smeared in dog saliva! LOL

I wear contacts for that reason.

I discovered that I had put my knickers on inside out once when our boy did well- you guessed it, every show the same routine! A total load of superstition but we all have weird things we do :)

Thank goodness you remembered to put any on at all.lol

When we won our first ever CC with Jozi I was wearing my blouse inside out, and continued to wear this blouse, inside out for each show until we were beaten, which wasn't for a few months.

If you cut the tag out who'd notice hey. :)

Actually there wasn't one, it was just the seems gave it away.

I used to spend the whole journey to a dog show trying not to look out of the car windows in case I caught sight of a magpie :-D. If I did accidently see one then I would spend the rest of the journey frantically looking for a second one :-o . :-D

Dakkobear, I drive my husband mad if I see a magpie! He knows that I had a "thing" about them when I was very ill in hospital with post natal depression and became a bit obsessive about them; thankfully we both make a joke about it when I see one but I hate them! I am a bit superstitious which people find surprising as I am quite sensible ( normally!) and organised.

I always where the same pair of knickers!! (clean of course) I have no idea why, i don't consider them "lucky pants" or anything but i always seem to make sure they are washed & ready for the next show!

I've also been told once I'm in the ring & I'm standing my dog, I then run my hands from his head down his neck along his back & check his balls & tip his tail up, I never knew I did that but some asked my why I did it as they'd always seen me do it.............thing is I still do it! ha ha I can't seem to stop that little routine, I've even started it on my youngest lad ha ha!

> I then run my hands from his head down his neck along his back & check his balls, I never knew I did that but some asked my why I did it as they'd always seen me do

That's a clever way to bribe the judge that there. Clever girl. lol

I have a St Christopher in my show bag that was given to me by my nanna who has since died.
Paula xx

I co-own a Sibe with my friend.

At her first show my friends' husband put her show collar on for me.  That day she got Best Bitch Puppy in Show.  Each show following the same routine followed and each time she's got in the line up.  for sure that will not continue but he will always have to put her collar on.........just in case lol !!!!!!

> Surely the kissing the judge is a vital part of the judging process, it enables the judge to judge temperametn

My boy picked up a funny habit when he was younger. I taught him to let me look right in his mouth as a puppy, in case he needed to be checked over by the vet. He always used to make the judges laugh when they tried to look at his bite as he'd open his mouth really wide, a bit like a hippo lol :-D I had to tell him they only wanted to see his teeth not his tonsils! 

> He always used to make the judges laugh when they tried to look at his bite as he'd open his mouth really wide, a bit like a hippo lol :-D I had to tell him they only wanted to see his teeth not his tonsils!

:) :)

I can just imagine that NDQ!! :-D