Hello,
Please can you give me advice on how you get your dog to look at you whilst going around the ring. I am currently training a BC puppy. Also, how do you train them to run with their tail down? I was told to run and stop every time the tail goes up but with an excitable puppy at ringcraft classes we don't get very far and I am concerned that this will not do his ringcraft training as a whole (without the tail) any good.
Any tricks??
GG

Hi GG,  To be honest I would not want my dog to look at me whilst going round the ring as this could encourage them to crab and interrupt the flow.  The tail I must admit never really overcame this although my boy wasn't too bad - but I was told to push his tail down (not whilst running him) and say tail so that he learnt the command tail meant put your tail down - so you could try that separately?  I'm always told this at training too - better to look up and ahead and your dog will do the same.

Good luck GG,

Rachel

I was wanting him to look at me cos he is a BC and is a working dog and our older dog is constantly looking ouside the ring at other dogs so I was wanting to train the pup so that he does not do this.
Thanks for the advice on the tail :-)

I would hold a loose lead in my left hand, infront and to my left, diagnonally, and a bit higher than the dog's nose.  In that hand I would hold a titbit, encouraging the dog to look and follow the titbit.