Hi guys

Any suggestions, my bitch is very sluggish in the ring lately.  Tried winding her up before going into the ring.

Has she been shown a lot lately? She maybe needs time out of the ring!

I know that I gave my bitch nearly 18 months out of the ring as she started to go off the boil a bit in the ring. It did help her as she went to a show last month and hadn't been to one since March 06 and she was like a different dog again, and even won BOB.

She's fine when she gets home, it's when she's at the show stands lovely but just can't be bothered to move!!!!!
I saw someone the other day give their dog a pro plus !!!!!

Some dogs just get so fed up with the whole thing. One of mine did. If I could have shown a sack of potatoes it would have had more life in it than her ;) Try giving her a break from it all. Is she due in season? Or could she be having a phantom? Both of these could also be a part of the problem.

She is due in season but has been like this for some time.

I could well be that she's had enough of showing for a while and needs a break from it. It's not an unusual problem.

My Lexi has been like that since she has been made up last year (I don't show that much) often just not sparkling in the ring, especially not wanting to put any umph into moving, so of course what with maternal duties at the end of last year and a season followed by phantom in June, jsut a few shows this year she hasn't done so well, though she had perked up again in August and September, but of course the shows are now winding down and she is in season, grrr.

A question then :) Is it usually more difficult to show a bitch than a dog or do dogs have their own boy problems which can detract their enjoyment of showing as seems to be the case with seasons and litter rearing in bitches ?

Definitely easier to show the boys imo, especially in a coated breed where the bitches lose their coats after every season.

I would say boys are easier to show, certainly they can get silly if there is a bitch in season, or when they are going through puberty, but if your a good handler even this can work to your advantage as the dog is always on it's toes.

Just look through the results of a chap show and you will find males getting BOB twice as often as bitches even though in most breeds there are more bitches being shown and often more depth of quality in the bitches.

Of course it doesn't help that a dog comes back into the ring fresh with a  bitch there who may have had a long strong Open bitch class to compete in, then the bitch challenge and then are faced with an on his toes possibly amorous male, and they are loosing interest.

Doesn't sound very fair really :rolleyes:

I suppose then a bitch who is slightly hyper is better then a laid back bitch is better for showing then ? If a dog is playing up because he can scent a bitch in season then it would be the same and upto good handling at the end of the day ?

Therin lies a danger.  My breed should be bold and energetic, but they should also be sensible and self controlled, hyper showing  fools are not what I want to breed.  I imagine a lot of breeds require calm manners, and it is sd when the more correct character is overlooked when there are two equally good dogs..

Perhaps hyper is not the best word to use :) Perhaps alert and inquisitive is more the behaviour I was trying to describe :)

still haven't really had an answer to my question though.  I need something to get her going for LKA

If she doesn't want to nothing will, but apart from that have hare hungry if she is food orientated.  with my laid back girl a change of handler is the thing that helps, but you need to know they are competent.  What motivates yoru bitch.  With some a bit of training before going in the ring will work.

How about a new toy you can hide in your pocket?

I think you have had an answer.....others have suggested, and my experience would concur, that maybe shes bored and should have a rest from the ring.Why not try it and see if it works.

My bitch used to be very hard to move around the ring, to the point when I left the country, she had 2 CC's, nobody else could finish her off(in Finland you need 3 CC's for a champion like here)!!
She was first or second when I showed her, hardly never placed when others tried!
Nobody else could make her slightest bit interested to move around the ring.
She was definately not over shown, only went in about 10 shows in 2 years...
She just found the whole thing not interesting at all.
My secret was to use a word that I knew would get her excited!
When I knew she was excited I would use this word(I tell you in a minute)and after a while just whispering this word to her ear would bring the excitement back and she would run ok for the few laps needed :)
Any situation she gets excited about is good time to use the word/sentence, our situation was pretty discusting really.

When she was young she was a poop eater, she would eat her poo and then come to you being very excited and run around you with her tail wagging and down, trying to make up for doing what she was not supposed to do but still so happy she had managed to do it again:rolleyes:!!
My breed is not supposed to lift their tail high so the state of mind and the body language she used worked perfectly.
SO...
I would always say "Have you done it again? You have! Poopoo-girl"
In the ring(or in training) to get her to the state of being excited and awake I would just need to ask if she has done it again and I would get a dog pulling me a sneaky face and going NOOOOOO, me?? what you talking about...
Only down side of this state of mind was that after eating poop she felt the need to wipe her lips and face to me, so when using the sentence I had to be careful not to get her too into it or she would try nipping my bottom and pushing me with her head!
Not a thing to do in the ring :) more ok in Agility training etc...

Even after she got old enough and stopped eating her poo this worked, in her mind the question and state of mind was linked.
So now you just need to find a situation you think she is in the state of mind you would like to have her in the ring and start linking it to a sentence or word.

Needless to say she has not been shown for years as she just didn't enjoy it.
I would not say she did not like it, she just simply did not see the point!

have you tried asking someone else to handle her?  My Tia was 'overshown' and became so bored with me and the whole thing... In frustration I handed her to a friend and said can you take her for me... she did.. went on to show beautifully.. taking 1st, BOB AND G1... after that I began a rotation of showing my dogs, and although she was my best girl, didnt take her out as often, when I did take her, she gave all she had... :D

I could ask someone else to handler her and see how she goes.

Henry went pretty flat a few years back when we were trailing everywhere trying to get a JW. After a few months out he improved again. He just went in the ring after 4 months off as I'd planned to mostly retire him, and was a complete bouncy barking maniac, you'd have thought he'd never seen a show ring!!

Could also try getting someone else to hold on to her before going into the ring.  Hide from her and then last minute walk up and take her straight in the ring.  that way she might be so pleased to see you again that she shows her socks off!!

I think i'll also try that.  I have a friend who's coming to lka with me.  Perhaps he can walk her around and then bring her back to me just before my class.
I'll let you know how she goes.
Thanks guys