Toodle

Hi, I have a question about showing.

My handler is telling me that Disney has a good show body but doesn't have the show temperament. He thinks (and I agree that) Disney gets too excited and that he will probably get calmer when he has mature and then we can try showing him again. His argument is, that the toy Poodles are very competative here and we should only show Disney when he is Ready (conformation+temorament), & that it is a waste to show and constantly get 2nd place.

Personality wise, Disney is a very happy dog that very much has his own mind. He thinks that he is the Boss of you ;-) He listens to his handler, but as his handler says only about 80% of the time.

I am new to the showing, and I know there are many experienced show people here. So, would appreciate if you can share your thoughts.
Thanks!

Paragon

Toodle,

You have a good honest handler... In order to win.... That is why most of us enter.... Pup has to be ready to get the judge's attention. They have to have correct structure, PLUS ATTITUDE... If something structurally is amiss, grooming can help... Attitude must be present.

Work with pup. Teach them to focus and stack. You can try local handling classes, or mat time with a local kennel club. You can also go to socialization classes to get pup used to other dogs and people....


When you have all the kinks out... Pup is ready to show... Who wants reserve, unless it is at the Nationals..... We are there to win. It is a sport so please play fair, and if you loose, do so graciously. Consider it a learning experience.

There is a thread in the past week on teaching puppy to stack. Look it up and practice....

Paragon

Toodle

Thanks, Paragon.
Yes, I will check on the classes available. Especially socialising classes and obedience classes. Disney will have to learn that he doesn't get to be the Alpha all the time

You are right, important to be a good sport and play fair. I was away when Disney at the last show, and the handler told me that a Korean handler showing his toy in front of Disney stomped his foot in Disney's direction when the judge turned away for a moment and startled Disney His toy won 1st prize but what is the glory in that? I am proud that Disney still came in 2nd in spite of that experience. Didn't realise that folks will get that insecure and unscrupulous in the ring. Sad..

There's another show coming up in December, let's see how that goes. Unfortunately, family and I will be on vacation in DC but I know Disney is in good hands.. The plan based on last discussion with the handler was to let Disney rest till he is ready and equipped with that Attitude.

During the break from the ring, it would be fun to try out different clips and attend classes with my pup.

Toodle

The handler lives about 1hr for my home so I bring Disney to him for training and grooming twice a month. On top of that.. when I am away, Disney lives with him and gets his training everyday.

I will check out for the Stacking thread and let Disney practise at home.

Indiana

Well the thing is, you have a poodle so you already have an advantage. Disney has the conformation for winning in the ring, and poodles are super smart, so you can teach him the right attitude! I often think one of my dogs, Maddy, has the perfect attitude for showing (she's such a showy dog, and her tail and head are always up,up,up) but she doesn't have the conformation for it, so unlike your situation, there's nothing I can do about that! I know you'll succeed with practice

Fluffyspoos

I think Cairo's happy temperament helped him win! The other poodles we were against either looked bored or were timid while Cairo was Mr. Happytail. Granted, he does have a nice self stack.

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Ladyscarletthawk

Attitude means a lot! They really have to enjoy being in the ring and it really shows. But lets be honest with some judges I have seen atitude doesnt matter if the conformation is there. Sometimes as long as the conformation is super nice, the dog is happy, even if the dog occasionally acts silly the dog can still win.

When Fergie was young it was difficult to find majors, so the only way to do it was to build them. To do that sometimes I had to let her get away with certain behaviors to keep other competitors interested. In the long run it hurt our progress, but she was one of if not the nicest bitch in that ring at that time. To many judges it didnt matter if she was a lil "squirrely", she still owned that ring even against more seasoned dogs. However, it would hurt her on occasion to not be solidly trained for the ring. This is what the other competitors wanted. It took longer to get her trained for the ring, but she also enjoys it still. Many judges comment on her ring presence and attitude, esp for her age.

It took a lot of practice, a handling class was a godsend. We went in every week, with others training their dogs going thru the motions of being in the ring. When we went in the ring after these classes she was a solid show dog for her show weekend. Of course when you dont practice you tend to lose your edge. What I like is that you can correct your dog in THAT ring even if you cant in the real one. Poos are smart they know you can do sh*t in the ring lol, at least mine did !

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Laura, Eve, and Fergie

Ladyscarletthawk

The glory is that he won the points, he was obviously threatend by Disney. Disney was his biggest competition and some handlers will do unsportsman like behaviors to win.

My friend had a really nice toy, he won back to back group 1's as a puppy his first show weekend for his first majors. Well they were competing against a very well known handler. I mean big time everybody has heard of this handler, but I wont say who. Anyway my friend's pup loved squeakers. Same thing the judge didnt notice when said handler purposely squeaked his squeaker repeatedly when he noticed her dog going nuts (happy give me that toy nuts). Said handler took the breed. It is not uncommon unfortunately. She made sure she squeaker proofed him after that lol.

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Laura, Eve, and Fergie

Toodle

Thanks All! What a wonderful lot of encouragement & good advice!
Disney loves squeakers too, guess I best work on squeaker-proving him too & gain that show attitude.

All in all, I think it would be a fun process.

I love my little fur-ball!

cavon

A handler did this to Finnegan in a BIS round at a show last year. Finnegan goes NUTS for toys. When she squeaked it, Finnegan startled and tried to look and I held him firmly and told him to STAY in a voice that he understood.

The woman said, "oh, did I startle your dog?? I'm sorry." I responded, "no, thank you, he needs to learn to focus over distraction, so you are actually helping us."

Then the judge said that we were to do the group go around and that she didn't want to see any tight leashes. So away we went and Finnegan was moving beautifully and the woman's Belgian Malinois was pulling her along be hind us.

WE WON BIS and she didn't even get RBIS!!!

Don't worry, your pup will mature and everything that goes around will come around, you will see!

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