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278 – July, 2024
By Sandy Weaver
Look around the breed rings at any dog show and you’ll see people who’ve spent a lot of money to enter their dog, but who look like a mess in the ring. Maybe you know this person, or maybe you’re that person. Read on to learn the five most common mistakes dog owners and handlers make, and how to help your friend (or yourself!) avoid making them.
1. Having an unsocialized, untrained and/or uncooperative dog
Conformation dog shows are a team sport, with half the team made up of humans and half of dogs. You’ve seen dog shows on TV and it looks so easy – take your dog into the ring, stand still for examination, run, pick up your ribbon and soon you have a champion. The ease you see on TV is deceptive – you’re watching people who have been showing dogs for years, often decades, and they make it look easy because they’ve trained and practiced so much. It is NOT easy. It takes training for both halves of the team and a lot of practice to make those two minutes in the ring look easy. Long before you enter your first dog show, look for a conformation training class. You can look for kennel clubs in your local area by googling (your city) Kennel Club. You can also try searching for (your county), (your region), etc. if (your city) doesn’t work. Ask the people at your vet’s office if they can put you in touch with a local kennel club. Ask the person you bought your dog from if they know of training classes and dog clubs in your area. Ask the person at the store where you buy dog food if they can help you find a training class. Ask anyone and everyone until you find a good training class. Join a dog club. Start early. Take a puppy kindergarten class as soon as possible so you and your dog learn to work together with other dogs. Then start taking conformation training classes so you learn to show your dog’s virtues while minimizing the flaws. You are preparing for two minutes in the ring, and the more training and practice you do, the better you and your dog will perform, and the better your chances of winning.
2. Not being prepared
Click here to read the full article
278 – July, 2024
Short URL: https://caninechronicle.com/?p=292356
