In April we will take part in our first conformation show. Can you guys give us some adivse on this: our do's and dont's, what we should concentrate on training on (my pup wil be 10.5 month at that time), what should we watch for and in general.

Vagabund,

A short list would be:

1- Get the puppy used to letting people look at his bite.

2- Work on maintaining the proper Gait. Puppies will tend to pace at different stages of development (Move front and back feet the same direction, rather than oposite).

3- Work on the basic patterns used for motion. Out and Back, and circle. Work on proper position and speed. It is easier to have the puppy behind you rather than in a normal heel position.

4- Work on the Free Stack. Having the puppy stand with the feet in the right place from motion.

5- Work on teaching the regular stack and that the puppy shouldn't move it's feet when stacked.

If you are going to handle the dog yourself try and find a handler class. Most big cities have them. Have someone evaluate the dog for strengths and weaknesses so you know how to position him. If you are going to use a handler, have them work with the puppy some before the show.

OK how do you teach a dog to gait rather than pace??? Would really really like to know.
thanks,
tracey
ps the only thing i can think of is to praise when they gait???? anything else to do?

Sorry guys for one more post as I have some trouble with terminology or may be just a little bit more explanation:

"- Work on maintaining the proper Gait. Puppies will tend to pace at different stages of development (Move front and back feet the same direction, rather than oposite)." - what is the best way to do this, as in walking motion we have it, but as soon as speed is a factor, his back feet move in the same direction. That is our big problem.

"- Work on the basic patterns used for motion. Out and Back, and circle" - what do you mean and how to work it?

" It is easier to have the puppy behind you rather than in a normal heel position" - reading your post I should think that whatever motion exercises we are doing he should be behind me - am I right?

"- Work on the Free Stack" - is it his regular stand after motion ?

"- Work on teaching the tegular stack" - his back left feet behind -? (sometimes he does it himself without me propping him).
Can you guys please clarify those issues for me. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Speaking of conformation, anyone know anything about the GSD that took the breed and came second in class at Westminister?

Tracey,

The thing with pacing is that it tends to happen with puppies as they grow. Mine has been slipping in and out of pacing as she is growing. Her gait has been changing each week. The 2 things I have found is that the speed that she is moving makes a difference. Really slow and fairly fast she gaits properly, walking normaly and at the more common speed for the ring she paces. The thing that you can do is when they pace if you bump them out of stride or pull them off balance they will go into the proper gait. You can praise them for being in the proper gait and by moving them out of the pacing gate they will figure out what you want. In addition age will help clear it up too.

Vagabund,

In pacing the left side goes forward together while the right goes back together. In the proper gait the left front and right rear go forward together, right front and left rear are moving backwards together. See the above post for Tracey.

For motion the dog is better a little behind and out a little farther from your side. The idea is for the judge to see as much of the dog and as little of you as possible.

The motion patterns are this. Out and back is take the dog straight out from the judge. You want the dog in front of the judge not you, at the other end of the ring come straight back to the judge. Again dog in line with the judge not you.
The circle is just going around the ring in a circle. Dog always on the inside.

For the out and back the judge is looking at the front and rear of the dog. In the circle the dog is looking at the side of the dog and for a proper top line while the dog is moving.

The free stack is getting the dog into as close to a normal Stacked position as possible with out touching the dog. The dog will learn what you want by moving him slightly to get the front feet together and the back feet together in the proper positions. Look at a picture of the dog at the AKC web site and you can see the position. A magazine for showing will also hve the position. When a dog is alert in agitation they will almost always go into the proper position. They tend to lean a little forward on to their front.

Vagabund, it would be helpful to know what breed and what arena (German or American). I agree with everything Richard has said, although I see two omissions ( maybe they are there and I read too quickly). I have seen dogs better built than mine lose to me because of two major over sights.
1. conditioning. The larger the group showing in your class, the more times around the ring your dog and YOU will have to go. I was able to outlast the other handlers and subsequently, my dog gaited better because I was not an albatross.

2. LIGHT obedience. In order to show your dog best, there must be some degree of attention on the dog's behalf. Understanding that expression and all that fun stuff must be present and abundant, the judge can not fairly evaluate a dog that will not stack or stay stacked (obedience, no matter how you look at it). Obedience helps in this, your dog will clue in and understand it is time to do what it is you want and stay that way until further instruction is given.

I got a lot out of visiting different breeders' web sites and photo ads on how to best position my dog. Speed in your gaiting is top prioroty. Play with different speeds to see where it is that your dog bounces the least, reaches the furthest, pushes with the hindquarters the best and does not pace (uni-lateral movement) at all.

I went V-12 at my very first conformation show, the 1994 USA Sieger Show in Manassas. I had TONS of help from some very good people. There will be many well intention, vastly experienced people on hand, ask questions and ask for help. It is a combined effort. Oh, and most of all.......have fun with it!

Trooper,

It is a Rott.

Vagabund,

There is a way around having to do little obedience before showing. By using seperate leads and collars for different purposes. I have a show lead, a slip collar and leather lead for obedience, and a harness for protection. Also have one type of treat to use as bait for the ring and only use it for the show ring. Use other treats and varied treats for obedience. The dog will take these cues to know whit it is supposed to do.

Thanks for the hints and advises. I have found that my dog, by the way he is fairly big for his age - I hope this will not create a problem on the ring, runs probably the best with my jogging pace - I am using command with him "forward" and noticed that he has picked up on this command as he moves with proper gait. I am just not sure, whether this is the right way especially on the ring and whether he will keep the proper gait with my variation of speeed.?