Aaaarrrgh! Why didn't I go to more ringcraft lessons?! Why don't I know what makes a stand a good stand yet?! Why won't Bert let me brush his teeth the night before the show?! And why oh why did he have to roll in cow poo today?!

I knew I shouldn't have subjected myself to this!! Why did I enter him in the first place??!! Is anyone else going that I can panick with?

Aaaaaarrrrgh!

Lady G

Lady G,

Good luck with the show - let us know how you get on. I remember you saying that you've got a beagle on a previous post - what is the secret to getting them to stand? My beagle pup is now 10 months old and is still such a fidgit- fine in the house or in the gatrden, but as soon as she comes to ringcraft or a show she doesn't want to stand still. And another question, why do beagles like rolling - particularly in the most smelliest muck/poo they can find?

Anyway, good luck once again, hope you've stopped panicking and you come home with lots of rossettes!

sarah

Hi Sarah, thanks for the support! We came 2nd! Hurraaay! Not bad for our first show eh?! Bert was a right pain in the ring though, wouldn't stand nicely & kept moving his legs, then he wouldn't trot around the ring & tried to back off the table when she checked his teeth - I got a real sweat on!

I am so not the right person to tell you what a good stand is, but I picked up a few hints from the judge today who said that simply each leg should be at the four corners and paralell (sp?) to each other. No need to make them stretch out like they do in some breeds. Just support his tail if it's dropping and make him look forward to offer the judge a nice profile of the head. Another judge I spoke to was saying that once you get into it, you learn how to stand them in such a way that it displays their shoulders, head, stifle & hock to perfection & if you can get them to stand still with no fidgeting then this will draw the judge's eye. All sounds very nice but if I had a dog that did all that then I'd probably be a breeder!

Lady G

Hey, well done, both!
:) :)

Hi, well done that's brilliant esp for your first show!! I bet you're really pleased.
Were there many other beagles there? It's good to get some positive feedback from the judge as well ie how to stand. How old is your Bert? At the moment, Willow shies away a bit from the judge when they try and look at her teeth, and I'm just hoping she'll eventually get used to it. Have you any more shows lined up - may see you at one in the future. It'd be nice for us 'novice beagle show-ers' to meet up and compare notes!!!!

Sarah

Thanks Jean! I'm really pleased with him despite his lack of interest today!

Sarah, there were four other lovely beagles there today but only three competed in our class. Not a bad turn out really for a mid week Open show. As we speak, I am filling in entry forms for the Gillingham & Shaftesbury Open (August 20th) and Salisbury & South Wilts Open (August 25th).

We're also going to a few fun shows over the next few weeks as I've also entered our dobe (gulp!) for the Open shows and he's going to need some serious ringcraft practise! There's a fun show at Leigh on Mendip near Frome this Saturday and another one in Mosterton, Dorset on Sunday 13th July.

Will we see you at any of these or are they too far away?

Lady G