please can someone help. When a Judge says the dog didnt move well but will improve with training. What does it mean & what do I do to improve on this. Thanks

Guest.. it means you did not get your dog to walk/trot across the ring correctly to enable the judge to see if the dog has a good 'action', no faults and carries the tail (if it has one) correctly. If you are showing you must surely have read the Standard for your breed? This will describe the conformation and movement required of you dog, if you have not I would advise you to do so.. Also watch how other people are 'showing' their dogs, it varies according to the breed/size eg walk or trot..on or off the table..I can't believe anyone who has entered a dog for a show in the first place is not aware of these things? You need to practice the required 'moving' and handling

That's rather a harsh reply, reddoor. Many of us are complete novices in the showing world, and I have to say after several sessions at ringcraft I still have many questions - unfortunately my dog is the only lab there, so there are no other lab owners to chat with.
Cathy.

..sorry if I sounded harsh fortis..  but even as a novice if as a judge I was to ask you to 'move your dog' I think you would know what I meant?  :-)  appologies for sounding sharp, I did not intend it to come out that way..have just been emailing a lady who has rescued 2 dogs from a puppy farm (not on this site) and my feelings towards my fellow men are not at there best :-( ..no excuse really  :o

We too are new to showing both in our fifties & have not got a clue. What we do know is we are showing a beautiful puppy and need a lot of support Sorry to hear you are having a sad morning.

Jean

Hello jeannidean :-) I have not been involved in showing for years (long before ringcraft classes were popular) and should not have strayed into the 'showing section' but I still think the 'old rules' apply..read and know your breed standard, watch at as many shows as you can in and out of the ring to get 'an eye' for what a judge is looking for, practice at home both 'moving and placing' your dog.. get another person to help so your dog gets used to being handled and moving with people watching ,read the 'write ups' of shows in the dog papers so you learn what  'faults'  particular dogs have and which are thought to be the best dogs as an example and most of all don't take it too seriously and enjoy it! Hope you do well with your puppy :-D

A lot of it depends on how good your training classes are. The one I use (and have used for years) don't have that many gundogs, so didn't know if my breed (Munsters) were 'stacked' or 'top and tailed'. They do now :)

Jeannidean, what kind of dog do you have and do you go to ringcraft? If you do go to ringcraft are the people knowledgable about your breed? do you mix with other people who show your breed. Could they 'run' your dog for you so that you can see its movement? Believe me, there are some people who think their dog moves beautifully until someone else shows it for them :D If you could get someone with a camcorder to record you 'showing' your dog this will help you see where you are going wrong. A mirror will help you see if you are standing correctly.

Just a few thoughts. ;)

Lindylou,

That is a very good point as my ringclass doesn't have many tabled breeds at all. The club  invested in a table once I started to go regular. It was all bigger dogs, Setter, labs, rotties, Salukis etc..

WE have a rough collie she is 10 months Jim has taken her to ringcraft since she was 12 weeks. He goes faithfully and never misses. Amy is so beautiful she deserves to be shown at her best but we are very new to it. We have shown her twice & just try our best. Jim is showing her on Sunday. First Amy is our baby and second if she does well showing thats fine.

Jean

Guest,

The judge I think was probabably being very fair, giving a hint at some ring craft training for you :-) but also a glint of hope that he may well have liked the dog had he seen it move well.  If you are novice don't be put off handling can take years and years, some make it look so easy. 

I hear a lot of people saying a good dog was wasted on a novice but really that doesn't matter you have to learn on your feet.

Some people never get past the novice post and are happy with this as they enjoy it first and foremost.

It might not be the handler who is moving the dog wrong, recently I was given a puppy less then 5 mineuts before going in the ring and she would not move proberly for me, or for the owner, both of us have been showing for many, many years but the puppy was being a typical puppy and wasn't yet trained to a high standerd of everything being perfect!!!

The point is sometimes its just the dog that need training...not the handler (sometimes!!!)