Hello,

When I stand my pup (free stand), he always stands so that his front feet are touching each other. Is there any way I can get him to stand correctly or will this come with age? He is only 6 months old. He also tends to splay his back feet out to the side and crouches slightly, how can I encourage him to stand properly. His first show is the LKA and I am afraid we are going to be rather a laughing stock :( Any advice would be gratefully received.

Relax...hes just a baby.No one will luagh.
He sounds as if hes rather nervy?(crouches slightly) so I would just relax and make it fun.The less of an ordeal it is for him the more he will learn to enjoy it and gain his confidence.
I know you free stand but you could try just gently lifting his front foot and placing it in the correct position and then tell him 'good stand' and treat.Repeat a few times a day and he will soon learn.
Enjoy LKA...
Archer

Hi,

Archer's right, no-one will laugh - we all had to start somewhere.  When I think back to some of the mistakes I've made but no-one ever made me feel bad about it, neither judges nor other exhibitors ;)

Just because your breed is free standing doesn't mean you can't lend a helping hand to place his feet initially - he's a baby, undeveloped, his bones, muscles etc all still growing and needing toned.  The crouching sounds as tho' he's a bit insecure and lots of young males (dogs anyway!!!!!) don't like their "bits" being handled by strangers :-)   He'll get used to it over time with patience on your part - just keep everything light and fun for BOTH of you.

Good luck, and let us know how you both get on.  We'll be rooting for ya!

Teri

Yeah...come on ...register and let us know how you get on.Its free and always entertaining
Archer

He's just a baby, knont worry, no-one will laugh. In her very 1st show, When the judge went hands on with Tia, she rolled over thinking she was going to get her tummy tickled. I was mortified, but we came away with a 2nd. :)
Let us know how you get on
Kay