Show Class Questions

[NicoleLJ]

Ok as many of you know my Sheena had pups and we are planning on keeping one. One of our goals is to show him, which means traveling long distances since none of the White Shepherd or White German Shepherd shows are around here. Because of my disabilities hubby will be the one to show Ajax and travel with him to shows.

Here is the thing though. Neither of us have even been to a show, or even a class about showing. So I am trying to find out what to expect at shows and also what to expect from a class that teaches you how to show a dog in conformation so that we can find the right class for them.

Any help or advice you can offer will be greatly appreciated.
Nicole & Sheena & Puppies

[Danegirl2208]

I think you can learn so much by just going to shows, watching, and asking lots, and lots of questions. Though I know you said that shows are fairly far from you. I wish I could help out more, i'm still learning about the show world as well. I do have a few links, though, that you may want to check out :)

Here is a great article on dog showing
http://www.sonic.net/setters/how2show.html

Jane Anderson (PWD breeder) has some great articles on showing and handling.
http://www.bluegrace.com/handling.html
http://www.bluegrace.com/showingdogs.html

I've had a few people recommend this book, I have yet to read it, but have heard several positive reviews. Its called "Show me."
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812097106/103-1458581-8551056?v=glance&n=283155

Here's an email list that may help you as well.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/learntoshow/

[Giselle]

Do you still talk to your breeder? The best way to get started in conformation is by following a mentor, and your breeder should be completely willing to let you tag along with him/her. They'll also know certain faults that occur over and over in your dog's bloodline which will help your hubby to handle Sheena's pup so that it is minimized. Basically, handling class is going to teach your hubby how to properly handle a GSD in the ring. He should learn how to stack, how to gait, how to minimize faults, how to bring out the dog's best qualities, ring etiquette, and to familiarize the dog to the ring setting. However, you can see that two of the things he should be learning have a lot to deal with the dog itself and it requires a critical analysis of the dog. Yet another reason for your original breeder to be in the picture ;) Plus, showing is a lot of politics. Some judges favor certain aspects of dogs over others, and it's best if you have somebody to show you the ropes as to which show you should enter, which judge will like you, which judge won't give you a flying chance in heck, when you should pull out, etc.

You should certainly find a handling class, but your breeder should be your very first contact. Once you've got a good relationship going with your breeder, everything else falls into place :) Good luck!

Oh and as for what shows are like, it's nothing terribly exciting if you're not naturally in love with conformation. ;] The best way to experience it is to just go ahead and visit one, even if they don't have White Shepherds so that you get a feel for the show atmosphere.

[RedyreRotties]

One of the most important things for a future show dog is to be well socialized to people and different places. I am sure you would do this anyway with your pup, so he will have a good start there.

Teaching him early to pay attention, and to focus on bait will also help.

I obedience train my puppies from very early, as you might wish to as well. I never have any issues with this, but I make sure to spend as much time teaching and rewarding a puppy for standing as I do sitting.

Once I teach the pup to stand from the side, by putting one hand on the chest, and tickling the flank with the other, I begin to work on teaching her to stand from in front of me. I will either walk into the pup slightly to get her to stand, or gently touch a rear toe with the tip of my toe. As the puppy stands, I say STAND, and food reward. This will result in a puppy who will pop up into a nice stand on a verbal command, and will reduce the handler's stress about having the pup sit in the ring.

I trained my last puppy using stacking blocks, and it made the whole show training experience much more pleasant for both of us.

My husband made mine, and anyone who is handy at all and has a few tools can do the same.

Here is a puppy about 8 weeks old on the blocks for the first time.....
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a22/RedyreRotties/Pennyside9wks.jpg

And here is the same puppy a few months later after she has really learned how to stack on them....
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a22/RedyreRotties/penstackjan0302.jpg

It is just a couple pieces of plywood cut to the right size, some 3/4 or 1" dowels, some good wood glue, nonskid material on top of the blocks, and magnets expoxy glued on the bottom. You will probably want to make them of a size you can use on adult dogs, so measure the feet of one of your adults. You need only measure one front foot, as rear feet are always smaller. Make the front top piece just slightly larger than the size of the foot with weight on it. Then drill a divot in the plywood to set the dowel in, and glue and or screw it in well. Apply the nonskid to the top, and the magnets to the bottom. Then you set them on a metal surface. I bought an oil changing pan at the local auto supply store for about 10 bucks.

It teaches the puppy almost immediately to leave his feet where you put them, and once they learn that, they learn to stand up and lean into the stack really nicely.

Using these, you can get great photos of puppies who are not yet trained to stack or stand still. :D

[NicoleLJ]

Thanks so much for the tips all. This is all going to come in very helpful.

Giselle - Unfortuantely getting help from my breeder is not an option since we are no longer in contact. She has moved and I have no idea where she is. Though you are right the best person for advice in this situation would be the breeder. But thanks for all your other advice.

RedyreRotties - Thanks for the tips. Hubby is a great guy with teh tools and I will show him teh pics and instructions and i am sure he can make those. That should help out a whole lot. Thanks a ton.

Nicole & Sheena & puppies

[Giselle]

Hmm, you need to find another breeder to mentor you then. I know I'm beating a dead horse but you'll find it very very hard to go anywhere without the help of your mentor. Instead of getting a blow-by-blow account of how to gait, how to stack, what are your dog's faults, what are his strong points, which judges will like you, which ones don't like your dog's type, etc., you're going to have to go through the painstaking process of learning by trial-and-error. It's just best to find a mentor, any mentor! =)

The blocks Redyre showed you are commercially available as Happy Legs:
http://happylegs.com/

IMO, stacking blocks are the most surefire way to train a dog to hold a correct stack (it's all muscle memory, really), but clicker training will train a dog that much faster. If I were you, I'd use a combo of happy legs, clickers, and have somebody more experienced watch you!! When you're focusing on placing your dog's feet in the proper position, you sometimes forget about their topline, or their neck, or their head/expression, or their front is skewed, etc.

And for a cheapie version of happy legs, just use cement blocks:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/The%20Dogs/ivybetterstack.jpg

or bricks:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/The%20Dogs/IMG_2287.jpg

Constant vigilance and honest critique gives you the best stack =) I can find a million things wrong with my dogs' stack (even though they don't conform to their standards), and it all lies in my incorrect handling. For example, Ivy's front feet are too far out. Her head needs to be brought in more and my lead needs to be higher up. When you start working on your pup's stack, be sure to show us and your showdog friends/mentor. Critique will create perfection ;)

[NicoleLJ]

Thanks. I do have a couple of mentors in my breed(including the sires owner of this litter) and also a mentor for Service dog breeding and training. The problem is all my mentors live a long ways a way. I mean several provinces or in the states. So I will need to find someone here that is experienced in showing GSD's to help hubby.

Agian thanks for the tips. They are very much appreciated.
Nicole & Sheena & Puppies

[mike001]

I thought you got your dog from Dixieland in Minnesota? Debbie's still there, she hasn't moved???

[NicoleLJ]

Yes I got Sheena from Dixieland Kennels but she was in South Carolina. The whle time I knew Debbie she lived in South Carolina and not Minnosota. and No Debbie is no longer in South Carolina. She hasn't been there for a while now. I know where she is now thanks to some friends but it is not Minnosota.
Nicole & Sheena & Puppies

[mike001]

Debbie was in Vermont last time I mailed her....might be gone back to SC.

[Freedom]

Nicole, I never could have answered your quesitons. Just posting to say I appreciated learning by reading through this thread! Thanks.

[NicoleLJ]

Your very welcome Freedom. I have learned a lot from this thread. And my mentors in the breed are helping me a lot also and will help hubby when he is at teh shows. So my questions are getting answered.
Nicole & Sheena & Puppies

[mike001]

Wouldn't it be easier to just get the advice from your breeder, she has so much experience in this.

[Romance]

if you know where your breeder is she would be the best person to get showing advise from