Hi to all -hope you all had a good Christmas and can remember greeting the New year in ! LOL
A question to all you pro's out there. As most of you know we have a new Dobe pup called Dizzy who we intend to show and we took her to her first show at the LKA in Dec (mostly just for the experience) and thankfully we all really enjoyed the day. Diz behaved very well and ejoyed all the hustle and bustle which was our first concern. Unfortunatly the judge seemed to take his time and we didn't get in the ring until 3.30pm (we had expected to be in by 12 at the latest!) Diz dealt with it all and didn't seem fazed so all was going swimmingly. Hubby was showing her and she stood well, judge went over her and she walked well and everything was going great . There were 16 in the MP class and lots were really good looking pups. both breeders (sire & dam) were there and her ringcraft teacher had caught a lift up with us so we all sat with baited breath to see the results! In the final line up the woman in front of hubby took out a towel (just slightly smaller than a hand towel) and began to throw it about for her dog who then got very excited and started to bound about a bit. Diz thought that was great fun and was desperate to join in. hubby told her no and tried to get her to stand again but that was it she was sulking and didn't want to do anymore. The judge was very good and kept coming back to see if she was stacked but J couldn't do anything with her.So the placings went to other dogs. Very disapointing! Please don't think this is about sour grapes or anything at all like that but I'm a bit confused. I understood that toys & stuff were not to be taken into the ring if it will cause any distractions to other dogs. If that is right how was it that the stewards or judge didn't ask her to stop. It wasn't only Diz that was riled so I'm quite confused. Any way , thought that you could all put me straight on it. We still loved the show and are getting schedules sent off so it's not put us off or anything. It was nice that lots of people also came up to us afterwards and said what a nice looking dog she is which was really nice coming from complete strangers. J is off to Coventry today so we'll see how that goes!
Thanks and sorry it's so long! :)

Different breeds are shown in different ways. The throwing of toys seems to be the done thing in Boxers for example. In Flatcoats, going to the other extreme baiting is even frowned on by some judges!

Now you have been to a show and seen what goes on you know what you need to train for. A good Ringcraft class can help by having people throw things around whilst you are standing her. It's part of training to teach a dog to cope with all it might come up against. As in fact it is for all dogs whether shown or not. Us working people need to train our dogs to continue walking or sitting at heel even if a Rabbit gets up right in front and the pet dog needs to disregard a sudden barking at a gate it's just passing. Each show is a learning experience! Next show you have that aspect covered but something new will arise needing more training. Thats the fun of dogs, there is always something to do and something to learn.

Regards, John

Hi Sharon

Long time, no hear!

All sorts of things can happen in the ring including the person behind you keep walking into the back of your dog - very difficult to train for.

It seems with conformation showing you can do almost anything to make your dog look alert and lively even if it does upset the other competitors. In obedience you cannot take any food or toys into the ring although many people use their lead as a toy and get around it this way.

Have you got any more shows lined up?

Good luck with Dizzy

Christine

Hi Christine
Nice to hear from you! I know it seems like I haven't been here to chat for ages - I'm working full time at the mo so not had much time. What happened to leigh?? and how is Beth & the Mock? Did she manage to keep her christmas tree in tact? <g> Dizz totally ignored ours (in the sense that she didn't want to eat it!!!) but had a great way of rushing under it a removing the decs at the same time - a very neat trick! :)
Like I said, we had a lovely day at LKA but that just left me a bit confused. Hubby has taken Dizzy to Coventry today but she didn't get placed - hey ho - they had fun though by the sounds of it. I think the next one for us is the SEEDC in Feb - I posted the entry a bit late(Sat) so I'm hoping it gets accepted ok. Unfortunatly, I have missed the deadlines for most of the Jan open show so I'm getting in gear for Feb onwards.Diz really enjoys the shows but she is definatly a daddys girl - she will not let anyone else handle her! I don't mind - I'm getting the blimp look now so probably wouldn't manage to trot around the ring without falling over LOL
Will I see you at SEEDC?
Best wishes
Sharon

something simular happened to me..it was a lady showing her dog using a squeeky duck as bait, and throwing it....sorry i dont think its fair as it distracted "all" the dogs showing in that class,another one to watchout for is bait throwing...that really gets my back up,as everyone elses dogs are reaching over to pick up the thrown left overs..:+(

you need to learn to stack both ways-then point into distractions, -this will get your bitch up on her toes watching!!!!!but ! i dont agree with it going on-and you could of asked them to stop, or just removed your dog to the end of the line up away from the offender, not ideal but probably the quickest way around it :D
good luck with her, and lovley name :)