Hi all, my pups only 9 weeks and ive got a while till he can go ringcraft yet but i thought, hey why not start now?
His already learnt the art of sitting and down but im having a job getting him to stand and stay standing, anyone any tips on best ways to get him standing, ive tried tickling his belly but he just wants to either sit or carry on moving, any advice would be great :)

I get my pups used to standing on a table (they are not a table breed) but with babies this is useful for any number of reasons.  I use some tempting treats like chese or ham.  You are then not towering over the pup also and is much easier on yoru back. :D

I start this training when I take pictures of them as puppies for future reference.  It can be very useful to have a record of how a pup develops.

Sit seems to be easier to teach than stand, you might be better off teaching the stand first.  This is what I do and Alfie will sit when told (well sometimes :rolleyes: ) but he automatically stands when I put my hand in my pocket or when I call him to me, because for the first few weeks I taught him to stand for everything.  Where as Fagan who has been taught to sit first as a rule will sit when he comes to me or when I give him a treat.  Just my experience. :)

For a puppy this young I would still be "cradling" them in the stand.  Hold them up by between the back legs and the front legs so they are in a stand, if they try to sit or lay then your hands wil not let them.  be very gental and only keep them in a stand for couple of seconds then let them play and have a treat and go back to it again later, untill he learns the command stand is to stand still!!!

Rox i like your technique but sometimes when people are new to standing puppies they can push there elbows out by putting to much of there hand in the front i no i have been told of for doing this in the past, it does it also of you hold them and your hand or something is behind there elbow it pushes it out. Anyway back to the point i find the best place to stand a puppy is on something like a table pile of paper with string around it a chair anything up a bit everyone has different ways just find one your happiest with.

Best of luck
Fiona

The babys 5 months now and the stand is comming along okay. with bad days and good days! Its only recently that ive been able to get her to stand as shes like a bouncing bean, so full of beans, i thought id never see the day that she could stand still, but its coming along.

How do you know whether stacking your dog is best or free standing it?

In goldies there seems to be a mixture of both. The local ringcraft is too far away to get too and ive not been able to attend.

How do you tell whether your dog has to be stacked or can be free standing?

Thanks for your replys, I will have a go over the next few weeks and see how he goes! :)

Both my breeds are stacked but I use a mixture in the ring. I stack them for the judge to go over them, then after moving I get them to free stand, this then gives the judge a chance to see their natural position, ie so they know you ain't trying to hide anything ;)

I've seen Goldens free stood and stacked and IMO they look better free standing, especially if you have a waggy one! But you really have to work on the free stand so that the dog knows how to place its own feet in the correct place. If she is really bouncy then you may be able to harness that into a n attentive free stand.

Don't worry about the good and bad days, some days I would stack  Idõ and he would look like a sad of spuds but other days he looked amazing, the more shows we do(the grand total of 4 so far!!)the better and more consistent he gets...stick in there with it :)

I go to a class but its more for the socialisation, they aren't essential but I would recommend what I  do. Anywhere i take him we do a bit of ringcraft, a quick stand and an up and down or a triangle, and also a few times thoughout the day in the house...a quick stand, praise and a treat/game. I also use my voice with him alot, a nice calm voice for the word 'stand' then really happy and high pitched after the release word so he knows he's done good.

Do what you prefer with regards to the stack/free stand thing, try both and see what you prefer.

HTH

Emily :)

Thanks for the reply!! Its nice to hear other people have good and bad days too! I think i might try to harness her exuberance into an attentive freestand, thanks for the advice!!- i'll work on it!!

Have you considered clicker training her, it worked really well with my middle girl, Kayla, and she an exuberant beast too :D
Emily

Blues MUM,

I would be very careful of practising the stand too much, the pup will learn to stand for you very quickly and will just as quickly get bored with it.  I have seen some beautiful show pups/dogs who wouldn't show or were like automatons because they were over-practised :(  At this age the pup should be having fun, and if they have fun in the ring in puppy classes then they will enjoy showing more when they are adults and it really counts ;)

Ok, should i just wait till he goes ringcraft then, suppose at least then he will be taught how to stand right wont he?

If you start from a sit, with a treat in front of his nose, lower it a little and pull it away slowly at the same time, he should stand up to follow it and as soon as he stands you can treat him.  The clicker mentioned above would make things much easier for him to understand  (make sure you get one that comes with instructions)  I wouldn't go any further than that until he's much older, he'll soon learn to stand correctly when he's old enough for ringcraft :D  Enjoy him being a baby, it won't last long :D :D

Thanks :)

You're welcome :)

I do know how tempting it is (and how pressured you can feel ) to start when they are babies but having seen a few dogs ruined for show (and at least one would have become a champion so quickly :( )  I always feel it's a shame not to allow the pup to be a pup and enjoy that time with them :)

dill isant that how you teach down to puppies? unless your not draging the treat along the floor!

Fiona

Exactly Fiona, the treat stays level with the pups chest, any lower and he would lie down, any higher and he would either jump or sit ;)