I have owned, bred, trained and groomed dogs for years now but whilst I am petty clued up on what goes on, where to enter etc I would like a bit of advise from anyone who may be able to help please?!
I have been attending ringcraft but this does not seem to have helped my nearly 7mth old Rottie and me sadly!  He is not too keen to stand and would prefer to sit even though I avoided teaching him this and concentrated on the stand!  I was told to use tit bits which was fine for a while but now he tends to drool over them and only be interested it this and tries to move etc to eat the treat!
I then tried without the treat but reward him from time to time but he is a real wriggler while standing for any length of time!  It is out first open show in a couple of weeks and I would just like a bit of advise on standing and general techniques for handling him too.

I look forward to any responses!

Cheers

First of all, don't worry! 99% of judges expect puppies to behave like puppies, and play up a bit in the ring. In fact, a puppy who stands like a staue in the ring, and behaves like an adult, usually has a short show career, because he has no 'sparkle'.

Go along, treat the day as a training exercise for both of you, and enjoy yourselves!
Good luck! :)

As JG says ...don't worry ...hes only a baby.
I have found however thatclicker training helped when I had a similar problem to you....might be worth giving it a go!
Archer

Where in the country are you?

Dont worry if your pup plays up it wont be the 1st
or the last to be a bugger :-)

Don't worry about him bouncing round or if he plays up in the ring.  As Jeangenie said, most judges expect puppies to act like puppies. :)  The first time my pup was in the ring (he was4 months, it was at a FCI show in Greece :D) the only thing he did properly was the gaiting, he didn't stand still, he bounced around, greeted the judge, sat for the treat. :rolleyes:  Well, we got Best Puppy in Breed, and Reserve Best Puppy in Show.   So remember, its not how well behaved the pup is, its the quality.  And remember, just relax and have fun. :D

Hi all, thanks for the positive replies, that has made me feel so much better!  After our last ring craft class (we tried somewhere new) he seemed to behave a bit better even though we did have the wriggling at times but I am a lot more positive now after reading your comments.

I am in the Midlands (Warwickshire), and attend a class in Leamington Spa that has been much more helpful the last one I tried!  I think we still have a great deal to learn but like you say I am just going to try and enjoy it! 

I would also like to ask as I do not know the procedure a few things please; I would really appreciate some help :)

As I have entered a show and can see that the money has been taken out of my account I assume we are entered, should I receive some kind of confirmation of this?
When we get to the show do I book in somewhere in effect, in order to get my number?
How do I know when my class is, do they announce?  I am assuming I hang around the ring until it's our turn?
When do I know the difference between being placed or being moved around in order for further judging? Just in case my family start jumping for joy when they should not!

Sorry if this all sounds a bit simple but I really want to get it straight in my head what the plan of action is so that we can just go and have fun!

Thanks very much for your help.

Kelly

Hi Kelly - is it the Lillington training club you go to? I used to take my lot there for ringcraft.

As your first show is an Open (at Ryton?) your best bet is to get there in plenty of time (nothing worse than having to rush, even when you know what you're meant to be doing!) and go to the secretary's table. They will have the catalogues (have you prebooked one, or will you buy one when you get there?) which will tell you your ring number. Make your way to your desgnated ring, and see how long you have to wait before your breed is scheduled to be in. At open shows the steward in the ring has the number cards, and when your class is called (listen out, it can be easy to miss) you go to the steward, tell him your number and collect your card. Have you got a clip to attach it to your clothes? A safety pin will do fine if not. Tell the steward it's your first show, and he'll be as helpful as he can.

As a novice it's generally best to stand in the middle of the class, so that you can watch the judge's technique on other dogs before it's your turn. Usual ring procedure is for all the dogs to be moved round the ring together, then the judge will examine each one individually and ask it to move again, then consider the class as a whole before making placements. It can be tricky keeping one eye on your dog and another on the dog!

Good luck, and have fun!

Hi Jeangenie, yes it is the Lillington club that we are going to, they were very friendly and helpful there!

My first show is actually in Bristol (Working and Pastoral open) nothing like a bit of traveling to get things started! Trouble is I am also unaware of what show is going on where too; guess this is something I will get to know as I attend more ring craft and shows!  Although I am aware that a few are held at Stoneleigh?

I have pre booked a catalogue I believe so hopefully I am half way there!  Will the secretary's office be fairly visible?  I think that the entry form said showing for puppy dog starts at 9am, if this is correct would you suggest turning up at about 8? 

I was planning to get in the middle in order to see what goes on and be a copy cat! Trouble is even though I have been to loads of shows as a spectator I have never taken much interest on the handling side, just viewed the dogs and shops LOL :)!

I will let you know how we got on, do you live locally? 

Thanks for the quick response!

If judging is due to start at 9, then 8.30 should be fine to get there - however you need to allow for traffic, getting lost etc, so 8 would probably be more sensible. Usually anybody you ask will be able to point you in the direction of the secretary to collect your catalogue. And yes, I'm quite local to Leamington, I live in Kineton. :)

Excellent, thanks for all of your help, as I said I will keep you posted as to how I get on! 

Take care

Kelly

If you subscribe to either Dog World or Our dogs weekly papers you will find all the shows advertised in there, and after the event the show critiques should appear at some point.  At Open shows they publish a crit for 1st places, and at Championship shows 1st and 2nd, (Our dogs will publish 3rd place if the judge writes it, and there is space).

You can either have it delivered by post or ask your Nesagent t6o order it for you weekly.

Thanks brainess, I did not think of this.  I will subscribe ASAP!

Many thanks

Kelly

I notice you are in the Midlands.so am I :-)
There are a lot of shows at Stafford show ground.
If you email me I will give you a list of  the rottie shows we have left
including one that closes tomorrow.
To email just click on my name.

Also a lot of shows at Rytone on dunsmore, in fact you are ideally placed for lots of shows?  Spoilt for choice actually :D

Hi All

Just to let you know that me and Bali (my Rottweiler pup) went to our first show on Saturday.  It was the Working and Pastoral breeds open in Bristol so was quite nice and small.  He was as good as gold and although we did not get placed I was chuffed to bits as he stood still....even if he did look absolutely petrified compared to the other 5!  He was the youngest in the class at 7 months (all others were around 1yr) and I was just happy that we got through the day with ease and he was very relaxed and even fell asleep whilst watching the GSD's!

Thanks for all your help, it really did come in handy and I will endeavor to keep going and becoming better every time!  I still have lots to learn too!!!

Cheers

Kelly