Prepare & train
your 'Show' Dog

by Griet Coetzer

The first thing you should do when preparing your dog for the show ring, is TRAIN it.  There are many exhibitors who enter an inexperienced dog and expect to win…

Training comes in two parts, training your dog and training yourself.  You can train a dog of any age.  It just takes more patience the more set the dog is in his ways.  Training must be based on a series of rewards and non-rewards, but the less negative reinforcement the better.

It’s much better to get your dog to show for love rather than food, but if food is what makes him tick, then so be it.

Ideally training should be done between 6 – 12 weeks.  Whilst your puppy is teething, you should only let him walk around on a loose lead.  Teething dogs have a very small attention span and their reactions from one day to the next will vary.  Their resistance is down, their tonsils and glands are swollen, their gums will hurt and they will hate you opening their mouths.  The whole idea about showing is that your dog must have fun!

Training does not only involve stacking or gaiting your dog, but also getting to know your dog.  What he likes and dislikes – use this to get the best out of your dog. Training sessions must be kept short, nothing longer than 10 minutes at a time.  It’s best to keep stack and gait training separate until your dog understands what is expected of him – then combine the two.

STACK TRAINING: In stack training you are teaching your dog to accept your hands on his body, that you are going to move his limbs around and place them in unnatural (to him) places.  Your dog must learn that you will hold his head in an "awkward" position.  When your dog accepts this and does it correctly, you must reward him by praising and loving him.  If your dog does it wrong just ignore him.

Puppies should be made accustomed to being handled before 12 weeks.  First practice on your own, then ask someone to go over your dog whilst supporting him.  If your dog objects to having his teeth examined, don’t pick a fight with him. Ensure you have a light hold on him, ask a second person to give him some bait, so that your dog can associate a reward with getting his head touched, and be patient.

Practice stacking your dog in front of a mirror so you can see how he looks.  Your aim must be to stack your dog gracefully and it must seem effortless.  Don’t fiddle with repositioning feet if there is no need for it. A dog that constantly moves a leg, needs a firm grip on the head (in the right position).  If the dog then moves a leg the dog will be off balance. Whilst stacking a dog, keep control of his head, either with your hand under the jaw (especially in young or inexperienced dogs) or with the lead pulled up behind his ears.  Do not relax the head whilst you are adjusting his feet with your second hand.  If you do you will lose control of your dog and he will move away from you.

GAIT TRAINING: A puppy must be taught to walk on a loose lead during the same time frame, but not in the same lesson, as he is taught to stack. First put a light buckled collar on your dog.  Leave him to jump and leap if he’s trying to get it off.  You could try to distract him by calling his name and loving him.  Once your dog has realized that the collar is not harming him, you can attach a lead to the collar.  Leave him to move freely whilst following him around ‘til he accepts this "thing" that connects him to you.  Don’t ever leave your dog unattended with the lead as he can get caught up somewhere.  There must be no harsh jerks at any time.

Once your dog is through his teething phrase you can put him onto a show lead, using small sensitive jerks to encourage him in the right direction, reinforced by verbal support.  (Always sound happy and encouraging to make it a fun experience for your dog).  Initial gait training must always be done on a loose lead.  At no time should you use constant steady pressure on the lead.  It must always be a series of small corrections.  You will find that your dog soon will need fewer and fewer corrections, so much so that you will believe that your dog can almost read your mind.

Occasionally you might have to give a sharp jerk with the lead if the dog is getting out of control, but this must always be kept to a minimum.  Never jerk a dog that is lagging as this will make him worse.  Encourage a dog that lags behind by talking and showing him a piece of bait. When teaching a dog to gait, keep the lead fairly short and keep your arm steady.  If the dog is bouncing everywhere he will stop by himself if you let the end of the lead hang from your steady arm, over his head so it hits against his head.

Know the fundamental basics of stacking and gaiting by heart by the time you get into the ring, so that you won’t have to think about them.  Even if you consider yourself experienced you need to go back to basics from time to time to get rid of bad habits.

DOG SHOWS ARE FUN: An average dog can win through good handling and a good specimen can be done-in by bad handling.  Make sure that shows are fun for your dog and you will experience the joy, fun and satisfaction of showing a winner. The best way to learn is to spend as much time next to the show ring as possible, observing…