ClarksBullies_BU
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Dog Show Training
By Scot E. Dowd Ph.D
WHERE DO I BEGIN?
1) Make sure your dog is properly registered and that the
dog is legally in your name, or if the dog is co-owned with the breeder that both of your names appear on the registration paper. You can contact the UKC through their website http://www.ukcdogs.com to ensure that everything is in order.
2) Train yourself and your dog to be prepared for what will happen at a dog show (this is what we will discuss below)
3) Make sure you have everything you will need before you leave for your weekend of fun, discovery and adventure.
4) Be prepared to lose the first time, especially if you are a beginner. Also be aware that every dog even from a top breeders has faults and it is only through practice that you can learn to hide these faults and accentuate the best features while showing your dog.
I saw a dog show on TV, what do I need to train my dog for, it looks so easy?
Well if it looks easy that is because those doing it have worked very hard to make it look easy.
There are five major things you will need to train your dog to do to get through your first dog show. These are 1) be social, 2) stack correctly, 3) stand quietly for evaluation, 4)
quietly allow you to show their teeth, and 5) gaiting or moving correctly. We will briefly define each of these as we go through this primer and give the basics of how to train for these requirements.
A dog must be friendly and social around other people including children, adults, men and women. This is vital with the APBT. Shy or aggressive dogs are disqualified for
good reason. A degree of dog aggression is expected for all terrier breeds, but it must be completely controlled in the ring.
Stacking is essentially training your dog to stand in a specific way, that will be explained below. The stacked position allows the judge to fully evaluate your dogs skeletal and muscular structure
Standing for evaluation is where your dog stays in a stacked position while the judge carefully goes over the dog with their hands including the rear, the genitals and the tail!!!!
Yep, you need to get your dog used to someone touching there privates ;-).
Gaiting is when you show your dogs movement to the judge. Gaiting is performed at a trot or the speed between a walk and a run. Kind of a jogging pace for dogs.
STEP 1: SOCIALIZING YOUR DOG!!
Your dog must not freak out in public places, or be obnoxious around other dogs, or act scared or aggressive when approached and handled from any angle by a stranger. It helps that your dogs loves to be out in public. THUS socialization is of the utmost importance to a show dog.
Whether you hope to show your puppy in Conformation, Obedience, or agility, it is helpful to socialize him to being with strange people and dogs. Once his puppy shots are
complete - about 4 months of age, you can find him a puppy kindergarten class, puppy Obedience class. Warning it is the advise of most show people that you don't teach them
to sit in Obedience class. Explain to the trainer that they need to learn to stand stay instead. A better idea is to try to find a Conformation handling class. Your local kennel
club or Obedience club will often hold these types of classes. If they don't, they should still be a good source of information about who in the area does give classes. Look on the UKC website http://www.ukcdogs.com for clubs in your area or post a message on the message boards asking for help. Even if these clubs or individuals are all the way across
your state, they can probably give you good advice.
Take your dog with you everywhere you can to get them exposed to as many new and FUN situations as possible. It is important to avoid ANY situation where your dog may become frightened or worse yet, be attacked by another dog. Being attacked by other dogs when young could ruin all of socialization efforts and you will have to start over.
Ask people to pet your dog all over, make sure that they touch the tail, the front and rear feet, the shoulders etc. Explain you are training the dog for shows. If your dog is shy about a certain area, such as their mouth, you should concentrate on SLOWLY conditioning them to accept attention to these areas.
If you hope to show your puppy in Conformation classes, DON'T TEACH IT TO SIT!
You can ask him to stand, to wait, to 'hold on' or to 'settle down!', but hold off on teaching to sit. Sitting is submissive behavior and some puppies will do this in unfamiliar circumstances, even if they haven't been taught to do it. If your puppy begins to think that they need to sit when meeting new people and they are used to praise for sitting, then when in the show ring they are likely to sit when presented to the judge. It can be very difficult to train this behavior out of him for the purpose of the breed ring.
STEP 2: STACKING THE DOG
Almost every breed of dog is presented to the judge for examination in the same basic posture. Not just a matter of convention and tradition, this stance is designed to best
showcase the structural features that the judge is evaluating, and to give a uniform basis for comparing one dog to another and to the standard. It is often referred to as a "stack" or "pose," and maneuvering your dog into that posture is called "stacking" or "setting up."
When viewed from the side, the front legs should be directly in line and underneath the top of the shoulder blades, commonly called the "withers." A line from the top of the
shoulder blade, drawn perpendicular to the ground, should run right through the middle of the front foot. The rear legs should be drawn back just far enough so that the length of each hock is perpendicular to the ground. The rear feet are often set just slightly further apart than the front feet: a line drawn back from the outside of each front foot should touch the inside of the corresponding rear foot.
The head is held so that the bottom line of the muzzle is parallel to the ground.
When viewed from the front, the front legs should drop in a straight line from the top of the shoulders; the elbows and feet should turn neither in nor out; and the distance between the front feet should be roughly equal to the distance between the shoulders.
HOW DO I GO ABOUT GETTING THE DOG INTO A STACKED POSITION?
Step 1. First thing to remember is to always stand, or kneel on your left knee, at your dog's right side when you begin to stack him. His head should be pointed
towards your right, and the judge will be seeing the dogs left side in profile.
Positioning the choker: The choke chain will be the first thing to adjust when you are stacking your dog. It should be pulled snuggly all the way up to the top of the neck (base
of the head). The choker should be correctly sized especially for beginners as you will do a lot of manipulation in the ring and a too loose choker will
make this infinitely harder and leave you open for the dog potentially pulling his head out of the choker. We prefer a nice moderately tight choker that can BARELY be "slipped"
over the dogs head. Experienced show people will often use loosely fitting chokers for a number of reasons but for your dogs sake, your sake, and the sake of other exhibitors,
choose a sturdy tight fitting choker. The stronger your dog the thicker the choker should be. If your dog unexpectedly pulls away from you for whatever reason you do not under
any circumstances want this choker to break. Also use a nice short lead strong enough to hold your dog should they pull away. These range anywhere from 2 foot to 4 foot depending on the difference in the size of the handler and the dog. A large dog with a short handler needs a smaller lead for example. Shorter leads are easier to deal with in the breed ring.
First position the dogs front feet. While firmly holding the choker, which is up on the dogs neck, directly upward with just enough tension to provide the dog with stability.
Not enough to choke them. Next, reach over the dog's shoulder and grasp his left front elbow (the one nearer to the judge) with your left hand; place the leg in a straight line underneath the top of the shoulder blade. Remember, always, move your dog's legs from the elbow in front and the hocks or stifle in the rear. Never move his legs by grasping a foot or even a pastern (wrist). Remove your left hand from the elbow and use it to grasp the choke chain; remove your right hand from the chain, grasp the right elbow and follow the above procedure for the right front leg. The better you get at this transition the more successful you will be when stacking in competition. Remember to maintain the head position exactly in one position. There is a tendency to move the dogs head accidentally when switching hands which is likely to cause the dog to step out of the stack for balance.
Once you get both front feet positioned, switch hands on the choke again, and use your left hand to position both rear hocks, again the one nearer the judge first. You may either
reach underneath the dog's abdomen and move the left leg by the stifle joint (knee) or reach over the dog's back and hindquarters, cup the left hock joint in your left hand and
position the leg in that manner. Repeat with the right rear leg that is closest to you. It is not necessary to move both rear legs in the same fashion. Depending on your dog's structure and what is most comfortable for both of you, you may either move both rear legs by the stifle, both by the hock, or one by each. NOTE: When switching hands on the choke it is important not to vary or change the tension, also do not let yourself pull or push the choker to either
side or forward or backward when reaching to adjust the legs. For instance when you reach to adjust the rear legs the tendency is to pull backward on the choker as you reach.
IT IS VITAL TO Practice keeping your "choker" holding hand in the exact place to ensure your dog has a continual and stable support while you are moving one of their
legs.
You may observe some handlers lifting their dog's entire front end off the ground and dropping it into place. Do not attempt this unless your dog both has a superb front and is very well-trained; otherwise you are apt to look awkward and may waste valuable set-up time.
Remember, a judge is only allotted 2-3 minutes to examine and move each dog in the ring! Practice the 1-4 approach just described over and over until your dog and MORE
IMPORTANTLY YOU are both good, smooth and fast.
The BEST ADVICE IS TO practice stacking your dog in as short a time as possible in front of a horizontal mirror or other reflective surface to see exactly what picture you are presenting to the judge, and adjust his position accordingly. Stack your dog informally at least once a day, as you are walking through your house or yard; don't make a big deal of it, or spend more than two or three minutes on it: set him up, tell him to "stand, stay,"hold the position for a count of ten, and then release him with much verbal praise and a food treat if one is handy.
BIG TIP #1 KEEP YOUR DOG HAPPY
ALWAYS MAKE TRAINING FUN FOR THE DOG OR YOU WILL PRODUCE AN
UNHAPPY DOG THAT DOES NOT WANT TO PERFORM IN THE RING. YOU
WILL LOSE EVERY TIME, IF THIS HAPPENS. MAKE IT A FUN TIME WITH LOTS OF PRAISE AND JUST A LITTLE WORK.
SHE MAY NOT GAIT PERFECTLY YET BUT SHE IS STILL A puppy AND HAVING TONS OF FUN.
STEP 3: THE ONCE OVER OR PHYSICAL EXAM
Whatever his choice of procedure, there will come the moment when the judge approaches your dog to examine or "go over" him/her. He may take a first look from the side for an overview, so be certain your APBT is at his/her stacked best! Most judges will first approach your dog at his head. Continue to stand or kneel beside your dogs right shoulder, holding on to his head, or for more experienced dogs,
by continuing to hold up on the choker, until the judge takes the head from you. At this point you need to give the judge freedom to examine the head. I typically grasp the choke down below the dogs neck with your right hand fingers with your palms up.
STEP 4: SHOWING THE bite (DENTITION)
This is a critical part
The judge after examining the dogs head will ask you to show him your dog's teeth. The best way to do this is with your hand still under the dogs neck, grasping the loose choker reach pull the choker tight and rest your palm under the dogs chin, with your left hand reach over the dogs muzzle and pull upward on the lips and pull down the front of the lower lip with your right hands thumb (your right hand is still holding the choke by the fingers). By holding the choker underneath the dogs head you will maintain control of your dog and by pulling forward you will keep your dog from pulling away when you expose the teeth. The APBT judge should ask to see all of your dogs teeth so after showing the front teeth, alternate each side by pulling apart the lips allowing the judge to see as many of the teeth on the side as possible. If the judge wants a better look they will ask, but try to give them the best possible view, of all of the teeth, the first time.
Teaching your dog to show his bite is a challenge. Most dogs do not want to bare their teeth at a stranger let alone want to bear their teeth at you the owner. The showing of teeth to dogs is a sign of aggression or anger. You must get your dog used to this procedure by daily practice. Develop a command to use when you are showing the bite.
I use "Let me see your teeth!" in a firm tone. For the new show dog merely start by holding the choker as described above and gently touching your dogs upper and lower lips. Just touch them dont try to pry them apart at all. THAT IS ALL AT FIRST. Do not praise them if they do not allow this, but do not reprimand them either, except with a mild tone of warning with the command "Let me see your teeth". Try a couple times then relax and try again later until the dog does not back away or protest when you touch their mouth. Then praise them for a positive reaction. Do not chastise if they dont perform but do praise when they do. Once your dog allows you to hold them and gently touch the upper and lower lips praise them and continue to practice, using less and less praise, until they allow this unobtrusive contact with no problem. Then gradually pry the lips apart, just a little bit and just for a second, and if they allow this then praise. If they do not allow it, then again use the firm tone "let me see your teeth". Always use the command no matter what. Build your dog up over a month or so, until you can peel apart their lips front -side and rear with NO problem. Praise them for doing a good job!
After the judge has looked at the bite, release the tension on the choker and shift your weight toward the front of the dog and hold the dogs muzzle gently, while the judge moves along each part of the dog's body keeping the dog still and steady.
Try and give the judge enough space to examine the front part of the dog without you in the way. If your dog is unruly or somewhat hesitant about the judge or the procedure, stay at his shoulder while the judge examines his front, and cup your left hand just behind the top of his head (at the level where the ears are set) to keep him from backing away until the judge is finished with his head. If your dog tries to sit when the judge begins to examine the hindquarters you may put your left hand under the
belly. If the dog is fidgeting rub their belly and talk soothingly. After all your friends and family, all the people you meet out socializing etc. have gone over and pet your show dog they should be well on their way to being good in the ring. Remember above all, the more nervous you are the first time the more nervous the dog is. Dont worry too much if you dont get it all good the first show. Practice and practice and after 4 or 5 shows you will begin to relax and your dog will begin to really show what they can do.
STEP 5: What is GAITING?
Judges watch dogs moving in the ring to assess the soundness, smoothness, and efficiency with which the separate parts of the animal work together. A part is only good if it contributes to overall functional usefulness. A correctly structured dog moves freely and easily, and no one part attracts the eye with a break from the general smoothness, coordination and flow.
The UKC judge will need to evaluate the moving dog from three points of view: going directly away from him, coming directly towards him, and from the side. movement is almost always assessed from a trot, and will help determine soundness, smoothness, coordination, and efficiency of movement. The trot puts the most stress on all four limbs
and is most likely to reveal problems. A proper trot pairs the feet diagonally, the right front and left rear moving together, and the left front and right rear in unison.
Typically you will move with the dog on your left side with your left hand holding the lead. You ALWAYS need to keep the dog between the you and the judge. The judge will ask you to move your dog in a specific pattern. Examples of the most common are the "down and back" and the "Triangle". Occasionally, a judge will ask for an "L" or god forbid the
infamous "T". The following figures indicate what each of these means.
Down and Back movement Pattern
This is used to show the rear and front of the dog in movement. You simply gait your dog down the diagnal of the ring make a 180 degree turn and gait the dog back. Be prepared for the judge to change positions when on your return towards them. Common mistakes are that the handler runs toward the judge rather than the dog. It is the dog that must gait along the judges line of vision and the handler should not. On the return trip you will stop
in front of the judge and present your dog. Often the final presentation is too close and not straight, the judge should not have to step back or move to the side to see your dog.
You should be about 2 yards away from the judge. Do NOT manually stack your dog but try and have them as close to a stacking position as you can through training. Younger
dogs may not "free stack" but keep working with them and eventually they will.
So now you are about to "move your dog" for the judge. You were probably not the first person in the ring so you watched carefully what the other people where doing. With that and with practicing at home you should be OK. Before you begin to move your dog, make certain that his collar, or the collar portion of his show lead, is well up under his
chin and in front of the neck bones, just behind his ears. First pull the collar forward under his chin with your right hand, then remove your right hand and pull the collar right
up behind his ears with your left hand. If your show lead has an adjustable collar portion, make certain that it is pulled snug before beginning to move. Some dogs respond to a
more firm lead and will lift their head and move nicely. Other dogs will fight this and you must use a more loose lead. The dog should move straight, happy, and springy in their trot. MAKE IT FUN AT ALL TIMES FOR THE DOG OR YOU WILL END UP WITH AN UNHAPPY DOG IN THE SHOW RING. THE JUDGE WILL SEE THIS AND TAKE OFF POINTS.
Hold your lead firmly and neatly in your left hand and keep it there. Extend your left arm out from the shoulder to the elbow in a fairly rigid straight line and pivot your left
forearm at the elbow to control the position of your dog. As you move your left forearm, keep your thumb pointing up.
While moving, keep your right hand LOOSELY down at your side. If you find it waving in the air, or swinging back and forth, tuck it into a pocket or your belt for practice, but
don't plaster your whole right arm rigidly against your side!
Leave plenty of room to move on the mat (do not position yourself on the mat always ensure the dog has good traction and is the center of attention). The handlers left hand with the lead is extended much further than desirable, but at this point her concern is to make sure the dog is moving directly at the judge who is standing at the end of the grey mat (out of the camera range). Notice the happy smile of the dog and the smooth easy gaiting. Also notice other dogs in the ring standing waiting their turn to move. Unless the judge has told the class to relax their dogs, all of these handlers should be stacking their dogs throughout the class. This is why it is important to train your dog to stand patiently often for several minutes. Typically in younger classes the dogs are not expected to be perfect but in Champion classes like the one above and Grand Champion classes, the dogs are expected to be very professional.
Move in as straight of a line as possible. If you move in a straight line it typically will means your dog will tend to move in a straight line. Always remember, the judge should
be judging your dog, not you, so do not position yourself directly in line with the judge. Position your dog in the judges line of site. Similarly when you are coming toward the judge you should position yourself and your dog so that the dog is gaiting straight down the mat toward the judge. You should aim yourself at a spot just off of his left shoulder, so your dog will be moving directly at him.
You should move at a very smooth, flowing glide yourself. Do not jog or bounce. The smoother you are moving the smoother your dog will appear to move and the less distracting you will be to the judge. A smooth handler will tend to keep the judges attention from drifting away from the dog. If the are bouncing around ungracefully then the judges attention may leave the dog. You may want to focus on each point in the ring that you are headed toward. Remember, if you are looking down at the dog the whole time you WILL move crooked. Look to your dog if needed, glance at the judge, but then look right back to your focal point. You will move
in a straighter line and thus, your dog will also.
Once again to totally stress the point!!! Always keep good posture, run erect and graceful. Try not to bounce which will detract from the graceful movement of your dog.
The goal is a sliding type of run where you are not lifting your legs too high off the ground nor bending your knees very much at all. Try to take long, gliding, effortless
steps. Your goal is to obtain as much forward movement with as little vertical action as possible. Try and keep eye contact with the judge as much as possible without tripping
or running into barriers.
Following the period when the judge examines and moves each dog individually the judge will typically move the entire class of dogs together around the ring. Moving all the dogs around together allows the judge to get a good comparison of movement (and to give you some needed exercise).
When moving with the class there are several things to consider. You do not want to run past the dog in front of you, or worse yet, run into the dog in front of you.
You do not want to move your dog too slow just because of the dog in front of you is moving too slow. You always want to move at the speed your dog moves best. Each dog has a speed where their movement looks the best. Thus, if the dog ahead of you is going to move slower than your dog you can wait a couple seconds before following them around the ring. This way by the time you are in the judges view (watch the judge for when they are viewing your dog) you are moving at the proper speed and catching up to that "slow dog". Always keep your eyes open and watch all the other handlers during the class. Watch the dogs ahead of you moving in their patterns, when they are moving by themselves to judge get a good estimate of how fast they are moving compared to how
fast your dog moves.
If you are new, and you are the first handler in line, do not worry! Just listen to the judge's instructions carefully so that you circle the ring the proper number of times and
stop in the correct location. Ask for clarification if you are uncertain. Also, it is your polite responsibility to visually or verbally check the group of handlers in line behind you, and WAIT until everyone appears to be ready, before starting to move your dog. If you aren't first in line, watch both the judge and the first handler carefully, since sometimes only the first few in line can hear the judge's instructions to the entire group.
Other issues:
There is a small embellishment called a "courtesy turn" that offers the benefit of your dog easing into his gait, rather than having to break into it perfectly from a standing start. It is also a way to line yourself up on the judge without being too obvious about it: Again, the specifics will depend on where the judge is positioned within the ring, and the particular movement pattern that he has requested.
In essence, instead of starting immediately to move away from the judge with your dog, you stand still and swing the dog in a 360+-degree circle to his left on your left side, and as he approaches the 360-degree mark, you then start to move with him. Done gracefully and in moderation, they are an enhancement; done jerkily or self-consciously, they can
detract greatly from the overall effect. Practice them first before trying them out at a show; a dog show ring is no place for a ballerina!
There are times when a judge will specifically want to compare the coming and going movement of two dogs, and he may ask for them to move down and back together. This
is the one time when it is permissible to start moving with your dog on your right side; in fact it is necessary to do so: The two handlers position themselves so that the two dogs are side by side between them, allowing enough space so they won't interfere with each other. Thus one dog is on his handler's left side, with his leash in his handler's left hand, and the other dog is on his handler's right side, with his leash in his handler's right hand.
The two handlers try to start out at the same moment and maintain about the same pace. They both slow at the far end of the ring and perform inward turns. The handlers then
return to the judge with the dogs still inside both handlers, the one originally on his handler's left now on his handler's right, and vice versa.
After you perform your movement patter the judge will usually instruct you to move around the ring to the end. There is no need for anything fancy here; simply gather the
lead into your left hand, keep the dog at your left side, and move around the ring. When you are doing the circle, be sure to watch the judge. You may or may not execute a
courtesy turn at this time. The judge may or may not watch your dog move. Don't presume, however, that a judge necessarily prefers the dogs that he watches; he may be
seeing a movement flaw so incredible that he needs to look hard at it to believe it!
BIG TIP #2 MORE SHOW ADVICE
The Role of the Judge?
Judges examine the dogs and place them in accordance to how close each dog compares with their mental image of the "perfect" dog as described in the breed's official standard.
These standards include qualifications for structure, temperament and movement. In short, they describe the characteristics that allow the breed to perform the function for which it was bred. The judges are experts in the breeds they are judging. They examine or 'go over" each dog with their hands to see if the teeth, muscles, bones and coat texture match the standard. They examine each dog in profile for general balance, and watch each dog gait, or move, to see how all of those features fit together in action.
Some judges position the entries in each class in order of preference as they are going over them individually, and there may be a fair amount of moving up and back and in
between until the judge has finished with the last one. Other judges leave the dogs in the same line-up in which they first entered the ring until they make their placements. Judges may announce their placements verbally; with hand signals indicating 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place; or with a combination of both. Some announce their placements while all the dogs in the class are moving around the ring together for a final time; others state their picks while all the dogs are standing in a stacked position.
In all cases, pay very close attention to the judge from the time he has completed his individual examinations and has moved the last dog in the class, until he has announced
all four of his placements (or however many there are, in classes of less than four.) If you don't receive a placement, you SHOULD ALWAYS congratulate the ones who did, and then quietly walk out of the ring with your dog.
If you receive a placement, immediately walk over to the sign showing the number of the placement that you have received; if you are moving, break out of line and walk directly over to the markers; if you are standing in line stacked up, you may wait until all four have been announced and walk over together. Stand so that the ring steward and the judge can see your armband number. Stay in the ring until the judge hands you your ribbon (and trophy, if any.) Say "thank you," politely and then walk out of the ring. The
ring steward will let you know if your dog will be needed for further judging.
Hope to see you at the shows,
Dan Crutchfield
UKC Conformation judge #6170
__________________
Clark's Bullies
Bullies United Management
http://www.clarksbullies.com
http://www.bulliesunited.com
clarkskybullies@yahoo.com
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