Can somebody put my mind at rest or........otherwise!
Jack is 2 and still a monkey in the ring. He has such a short attention span and will play up on the table too.
Is there hope that he will settle with more time? Or is it our poor handling perhaps? Maybe he is trying to tell us he hates it and would rather not show. It is difficult as we cant expect judges to be tolerant of this.

Karen :-(

I had one that hated the ring. She would drop her whole body into the 'I really don't want to be here, do I really have to move' pose as soon as the show lead went on. I would have been better taking a sack of potatoes into the ring ;-) If your dog is just being silly then I would give him time. It might take a few years or it might not :-)

"He has such a short attention span and will play up on the table too."

In my experience, it really depends on in which way he's playing up. The short attention span I would think will partly be cured with time. Partly maybe with creative handling ;-) Sometimes you really have to give all you have, for the dog to stay focused on you.

If "playing up" on the table, means difficulties in showing teeth and letting judge go over his body, training is the solution. Lots and lots of training at home. Try to make the training sessions as similar to the real event as possible. Show lead on, up on table, propererly stacked, and so on. This will create a routine, which will help your boy cope better at his next show.
If "playing up" just means fidgetting, a mix of bribes and a stern look might do the trick ;-) 
Basically, when a dog isn't behaving the way we want it to in the ring, it's either because of lack of training, or not enough handling.
Best of luck,
Karen

LOL

Sometimes a fidgety dog is just really interested in whats going on ;)  - I'd rather a dog like that than a little robot ;) and I've seen plenty of those ;)

If your dog is just young, then he will mature, if he fidgets, then he's alive :)  if he's a terrier, then it's what they do LOL

It is actually possible to over do the ring training, I've seen a few very promising pups turned off showing by over-training :(  some were OK after a rest, but one is completely un-showable, as soon as he sees the show lead, he starts slinking around and obviously hates it, if you proceed to going over him he will actually grumble :(

If it's difficult to show his teeth/go over him then try making it all part of every day life - no pressure :)  it could be he's tensing up because you're feeling tense, so if it's something he's used to doing then it won't seem so strange to him ;)

Well he is a terrier........so do think that could be part of it?
He is feisty and full on and certainly doesn't mind letting anyone know what he thinks ! He has no manners basically.
H e is great on walks, he is off lead and very obedient then with the pleasure of a ball to chase and our company. Great with runners, cyclists, other dogs he will mind his own business.
Although given a chance he loves to play with others. But if anyone dares to talk to him and try to pet him he gets into hyper mode, which is why it difficult at shows!.

Karen.  :-)

AHHH! he's young too :)

He will get better, training will help (but not too much or he'll really get bored ;) ) as will being calm with him.  My first girl was a lunatic in the ring (no really!) until I decided to stay all day at an open show, sat by the ringside with her on my lap, she watched and I quietly said things like "walk - good dog" "stand - good dog" etc. while the dogs did their stuff ;)   it was as if the penny dropped, she looked as if to say "is that all I have to do?" and the next show she was brilliant! - no extra training ;)  Of course it could have been that she was there long enough to be a little bored too, rather than leaving still full of excitement ;)  whatever, we've never looked back :)    Try it, you never know, it might work with him too, you've nothing to lose ;)