Hi,
Does anyone have any suggestions of how to add a little "spark" to your dog in the ring.  My boy has been doing well until the last couple of shows where he has more or less just stopped in the ring and I have had to coax him along.  He's not a puppy and before this he was a good mover and enthusiastic.  He's not injured or unwell.
I am practising at home by taking him out on his show lead and giving him treats all the way around our walk, but will be apprehensive next time we are in the ring.
I have heard of folk giving their dog a small shot of brandy before going in the ring but not sure if that is a viable solution!
Any advice or suggestions most welcome!
Thanks.

He's not enjoying himself and that is what it comes down to. Have you tried playing with him in the ring? Works wonders for several of ours, they end up wagging their tails non stop and having fun, the two that enjoy play the most are CC winners. The bitch only needs some general encouragement to jump up on you etc, easy enough to do when you first enter the ring and when the judge is going over other dogs, the dog has a favourite toy brought in the ring. I have however had a bitch who won an RCC as a pup and then just lost interest and looked depressed and in the end we gave up as it wasn't fair on her to keep taking her in the ring when she didn't enjoy it no matter what we did.

I certainly would not be giving brandy.

How big are the classes? Is he getting bored? Can you do a few unobtrusive tricks (e.g. spin, give paw etc) to stop him switching off while the judge is going over the other dogs?

Somebody told me to ask somebody else to hold my dog before I went in the class and go and talk to other people and fuss their dogs. Then just as the class is called, go back to my dog and go into the class. I've not tried it yet though.

Another one was to have a good play with them before you go in. I get my dogs breeder to give him a big fuss, which gets him going. I like the mouse cat toys that chirp.

Could be he's just fed up with the whole showing thing - and for sure, if your classes are big, this might happen.   I try to relax mine when waiting to be examined rather than keeping them geed up - always remember the judge may occasionally look down the line and catch your dog in an 'ugly' pose!!    Not that Bassets need any encouragement, I tend to make mine lie down when waiting.    Is it possible that your feelings about showing (nerves?) are transferring down the lead, making him wish he was anywhere other than in the ring?

Perhaps laying him off for a few months (not a good time right now with the show season in full swing I realise) might freshen him up.   Inject a bit of fun into his life again?

You say he's not unwell, but could there be some underlying problem going on that you've not noticed?

Shot of brandy - for you maybe, but for your dog .... no way!

ps   Have you discovered whether this is just boredom, or whether he's had some trauma at a recent show?  Some judges can be rather rough when going over exhibits.   I know of one who wore rings, sharp rings, and managed to catch the undercarriage of a Basset and that's enough to put any exhibit off.    I knew another who, with one of mine, got 2/3rd of the way past mine in the final look and suddenly stopped and grabbed a bunch of her skin halfway down her back, for reasons only known to him.   Boy did I have to hang onto her after that, and she wasn't always the happiest in the ring either.   He did give me the Bitch RCC!!

I try to relax mine when waiting to be examined rather than keeping them geed up - always remember the judge may occasionally look down the line and catch your dog in an 'ugly' pose!!

I'd consider it FAR more important to have a HAPPY dog in the ring than a judge catching a glimpse of it not standing properly!! What possible fun could there be to just go in the ring and stand still, move, then lay down and wait and then be gone over? Not a lot! If the dog is no good the judge will spot it anyway on the move.

As a little aside, thought Andrew Brace's article in last week's DW was extremely interesting, on how dogs always look better when standing naturally and not forcefully held or placed into position, and the photos he used to illustrate certainly showed a big difference in the same dog. Also loved how he said if anyone moves their dog on a tight lead and high collar under him he will ask them to move again on a slack lead.

Thanks for your replies everyone.  Our classes are not that big probably 6 - 8 maximum.
I will try taking one of his favourite little toys to my next show and play with him in the ring, we'll see how we get on.
I have always said that if my dogs are not enjoying it then I won't show them, so if this is more than a little blip it looks like I will be retiring from showing as I only have 2 dogs - my other one is not shown now.

He could just need a little break. My girl doesn't show off on the move and won't often keep her head up. But after a break for her season for 4 weeks we had a match at training and she moved much better and seemed much happier. Since then I've cut back on how often I go to training with her (was every week it's now every 3-4 weeks) and I've stopped doing open shows and just sticking to a few champ shows. I've seen some improvement since cutting back, her head is coming up more at points now when I'm talking crap to her in a high tone as we go around.


I'd consider it FAR more important to have a HAPPY dog in the ring than a judge catching a glimpse of it not standing properly!!

Written by somebody who clearly has ever shown a BASSET   LOL!!    Again I relaxed mine in the ring, and then once it was time to perform, they did!!!!!!!   And won.


I'd consider it FAR more important to have a HAPPY dog in the ring than a judge catching a glimpse of it not standing properly!!

Written by somebody who clearly has ever shown a BASSET   LOL!!    Again I relaxed mine in the ring, and then once it was time to perform, they did!!!!!!!   And won.

ps    I'd always want to see a dog move on a slack lead, and like AB, would ask for that when I judged.


I'd consider it FAR more important to have a HAPPY dog in the ring than a judge catching a glimpse of it not standing properly!!

Written by somebody who clearly has ever shown a BASSET   LOL!!    Again I relaxed mine in the ring, and then once it was time to perform, they did!!!!!!!   And won.

ps    I'd always want to see a dog move on a slack lead, and like AB, would ask for that when I judged. 

Edit - How I wish I could post without all this repeat posting....................??


I'd consider it FAR more important to have a HAPPY dog in the ring than a judge catching a glimpse of it not standing properly!!

Written by somebody who clearly has ever shown a BASSET   LOL!!    Again I relaxed mine in the ring, and then once it was time to perform, they did!!!!!!!   And won.

ps    I'd always want to see a dog move on a slack lead, and like AB, would ask for that when I judged. 

Edit - How I wish I could post without all this repeat posting....................??

In the past when I have shown I always try to keep the dog looking in some sort of stance whilst the others are being gone over.   When Frank Kane judged Mia just out of junior, she was first to be seen and every time a dog was being set up he would turn to look at her so I kept her as close to standing well naturally as I could and did for every show after that.

I try to have mine more or less standing while a dog is moving round, the judge might well glance over at the line. Then I let them relax and give them a cuddle and a fuss while the judge is actually going over the next dog on the table and shouldn't be turning to look round!

Some dogs shut down if they are being asked to stand for this long though. If you want to let your dog relax but don't want the judge to see the dog looking less than perfect, move so that you are blocking the judge's view of the dog. Especially for dogs that don't do well in the heat, I will often sit/stand so that I'm blocking the view of the dog and let the dog chill out while the rest of the class is being judged. For dogs that get bored in the ring, I tend to play with them and teach them to do tricks so that we have something to do in the ring.

I do tricks with mine too, though this has rather backfired with my youngest who sometimes offers me a paw when I'm baiting her on the table! :-D