Hi can anyone help me with some showing tips i have a yellow lab he is 14 months old in open shows he is doing all right couple of seconds and thirds but when it comes to champ shows he doesn't make the cut. people say he is a lovely looking dog. this is my first lab so all this is new to me i don't expect it to happen over night but would like to make it to crufts. so can anyone give me some tips on what i can do. it will be appreciated many thanks

Hi Martin, welcome to CD and welcome to the world of showing...

you may find that your boy is doing reasonably well in open shows, because, although he is a nice boy, most of the Labs shown at championship level are no longer shown at open level... so you are not coming up against them in the ring at open.... sadly, and please dont take offence... if those dogs were being shown at open, you MIGHT find that your boy would not be doing as well as he is...

At championship level, your boy is up against, a numerically higher class, for a start.. so even the top dogs in the ring are fighting it out for the 1st 3 places... someone has to go home with nothing.. and in classes upwards of 30/40 dogs.. its stiff competition...

At open level, you do have competition from other good dogs, but rarely from champions, giving you a better chance at one of the placings...

Your boy is still very young at just 14months.. and it may be that he still needs a couple of years to mature... some lines in Labs are slower than others to mature... and to be honest, I prefer this...

Enjoy the open shows with him... talk to others in the breed.. but more importantly.. talk to your boys breeder.. what does she think of him...

I have a few Labs who do both open and Champ shows.. doing very well in open.. and reasonably well at champ level.. but I also have a couple of Labs who are no longer shown at open level.. and only do champ shows with them...

Talk toour ringcraft trainer.. is your boy standing well... how is he moving... his expression, is he a 'showman'
At champ level, is he in full coat etc...
Being a 'showman' can make an amazing difference in the placings...   One of my boys took a 2nd at GDBAS champ show last November, despite having the attention span of a gnat.. he really was 'all over the place'  in the line up.. but my critique was... "not a showman, but won place conformation and movement"  So.. it may be your boy is really nice, but there are other aspects you need to work on

Good luck :-)

Thanks kay for your reply there is a lot to learn. you never know perhaps you might see me on crufts one day wining LOL.Ive been on your web site excellent site loads of info
you dog look great. Thanks martin

there is a big differance from open to champ show level my advice would be to continue showing and enjoying open -limit shows and go to the champ shows for experiance and fun i read the replys and could not agree more