I have a 5 month old puppy, she been shown 3 times. The first time it was fun for her, I didnt stack her, nothing, just let her enjoy the ring. She seemed happy. The last two shows the other puppies in the ring were being asked to be stacked by their handlers, so I hand stacked my pup. She stacked fine, but acted like she hated it, she's not much a tail wagger the way it is, she's a very quiet, sedate, complient puppy. I was working with her today and she just does not like being stacked, and i don't know how to teach her to free stack (I'm new to this). She just focuses on me and watches for a treat, but has very little expression. Is this a good indication that the show ring just might not be for her?

It's all about the bait so hopefully she is food motivated?
Teaching her to catch bait is the way to teach free baiting.
She will learn to love the "game" or she won't.
You'll know.
Just make it fun for her!!

Rule #1 - smile. You quiet pup will pick up on your attitude. Use lots of happy talk and make a fool of yourself, but have a good time. You need to do it if your pup is not one of the bouncy ones.

Where the heck are you showing a 5-month old puppy 3 times? You can't show in the AKC until 6 months of age. Give the puppy a break! Make it fun. You're putting entirely too much pressure on a young puppy.

BTW - what is your background - I've never heard a dog person call it the "show pen" - I would imagine that's some sort of farm animal term?

What? You never heard of a match show?

they are match shows. and were well spaced out.
I come from a horse background, and we call it the ring the show pen, I guess. im new to showing dogs.

That's so funny, I knew you were going to say something about horses...show pen..


Matches...yes! they are great practice for little pups.
And actually, its the "laid back"ones that show best when you hand stack them...is that what you mean? At a recent specialty, my girl did not do as well, because the rule was you could not hand stack your dogs. Well, as soon as she got to the all breed show, she did well with her kind of personality.
So I guess she will just need more practice, if is hand stacking she does not prefer... she'll come around. Talk to a big time all breed handler or two, I just love to hear how they offer solutions to these things, they are soooo knowledgable.

Free baiting is just something its hard for me to get that occassional low key dog to do...I have to get them out MORE often to build their confidence, and it pays off...as long as I keep it fun...weeeeeeeee...you know?

I have a beautiful boy that doesn't like the ring either. Last match we went to, the judge worked with us alot. He gaits wonderfully, with the tail wagging the whole time, but whether I free bait or hand stack, his tail is down. I'm going to have to start holding it up like you see in some show photos. No matter if I am smiling, doing a sqeaky voice, use a toy, use steak or liver, nothing will get that tail wagging. And naturally, he's the one already getting stud inquiries.

I have a young girl that is a natural in the show ring and she stacks herself. She is very serious and she does not wag her tail for me. If I hand stack her she gets a little fussy about it. What I have come to believe with her is that she is able to stack naturally due to correct structure and when I attempt to stack her she does not like it although she does not mind being touched.

At this young age for your pup, I would be hands on with her as much as possible. Lay her down on her side and go over her entire body 4 or 5 times a day. Let others put their hands on her and give her more socialization. It is good that you have your puppy in the puppy matches to get it used to the show environment and as always use possitive reinforcement. Just because the puppy does not wag its tail does not mean she does not like the ring. If you want expression offer a treat find a command to associate with it and encourage the pup to move its ears a little. Once it moves its ears in anyway even just a little reward them. Practice this several times a day and before you know it your pup will be giving you ears forward all day long.

Also use this same techinque to get your girl to wag her tail. Try to get her happy and if that tail wags even a little while she is stacked reward her and make a big deal about it. Labradors are easy to train and they learn fast. Good Luck!

Thank you allfor the replies. She is like the last poster said, very serious. She does not have as natural of a "stop" as your puppy (from the sounds of it, so I do have to hand stack her to get her to look the way I want. Shes fine with me touching her and placing her feet, and then I get her to show off her nick reach of neck by asking holding the treat up a bit. Shes all into the food, just too serious to wag that tail. She will wag it and get all happy when the judge comes (something we also have to work on, because she wants then to play with the judge), she's just all business and serious.

I will try and teach her a command for her ears up, and her tail wag, we'll work on it! I've got no idea how to teach her to free stack, any ideas? Being new to dogs I'm just doing UKC at the moment and some smaller AKC shows, hand stacking seems to be accepted at the UKC ones, we have not hit an AKC show yet.

I do have a total fun match coming up the beginning of June. I don't care how we place in it, does anyone have any suggestions to make it really, really fun and pleasent for her?

It's a relif to hear others have puppies with potential who don't care for the ring, but you're able to combat it!

Hmm, not in the horse showing world I come from. It's the show ring, just as in dogs.
Maybe you are a roper or something?

For the free stacking first teach her to stand & stay and gradually move around and in front of her. Keep the stay times short in the beginning. Have her stand stay and hold first for about 3 to 5 seconds at a time and release. Reward with possitive words "good stay" when she stays, do not reward upon release. Use a command for the release like "all done" or "release". As she stays you can increase the time for staying longer, but not to long learning to stay can be very boring. Once she is pretty good at staying, start to stand and move in front of her and if she moves put her back exactly where she was and tell her to stay again. Soon enough you can have her stand in front of you and you will be able to step back and she will stand on her own and stay. Once you get to this point you can begin to clean it up. When she is standing manipulate her with bait to move her paws foward or back and line them up. Tell her step to move the front and get her to follow the bait. Walk into her to get her to move back to set the rear.
When you start working with her always get her to focus on you. When you get her to stand in front of you on her own get her to look at you and show her the bait. Keep the training times about 5 to 10 minutes 2 or 3 times a day and don't always train in the same place mix it up. Find a dog handling class in your area and take her there.

LOL! I knew you must be a reiner! Welcome to the dog show world! I left my reiner behind when I started showing dogs, its a whole different world out here but it is a pile of fun too! Show ring, show pen whatever its still the same darn thing!

Diane

Yes you can reward with a treat while still in the stay and say good stay give the treat and keep her in the stay for a few more seconds. When she is in stay each time you reward with the treat make the time durations between the reward longer and eventually she will hold the stay waiting and looking for the reward. Do not reward upon the release just use the command to release and still tell her she is good, but do not reward with a treat. If you reward with a treat upon release she will learn it is okay to move during the stay. You do not have to go into another stay right after, mix it up and make it fun.

IMHO...that was exactly what I was thinking. These are just babies. Don't ask for perfection at this stage. That is a mistake that is often made by newer folks...I did it myself many years ago when I was starting out. So eager to get in the show ring until you realize you need to let your baby grow up physically and mentally. Let's face it...conformation showing is not all that stimulating for our dogs. No need to practice, practice, practice...if you do you are asking for it to be an un-enjoyable task for them.

Thanks everyone. So, should I be working on teaching her a stay, or should I just do my best to kind of stack her while in the ring, but also just make it fun for her? Right now she doesn't seem to mind our "stay" sessions, as treats are involved, but I don't want to set her up to hate being in the ring. I am the first to say I am way new to this, so thats why I need some helpful hints! Do people expect their puppies to stack nicely in the 6-9 classes? I don't mind just letting her play around in her matches, and have a good time, but if things are more serious in the 6-9 month class, then I might have to make sure she knows her stuff???

Yep--you said that you did what I did when you are starting out, can you tell me what you do with your pups now?

She's starting to stand better naturally, although she doesn't have as much natual 'stop' as other dogs I've seen at this age.

Well, I think a lot of it has (unfortunately for you) to do with the experience (or inexperience) of the handler and what the dog is "sensing". For instance - I was working with a friend new to showing and her 7-month old girl. This girl would come right up in front, right on top of the handler, and the inexperienced handler didn't know/couldn't figure out how to get the dog away from her. I took the same puppy and it's just hard to describe, but when you gait, then stop, the dog wasn't right on top, but 2-3 feet away and she was happy to stay right there, self-stacked, and wagging - totally astonishing her owner. I think a lot is the handler's body language - which is pretty much impossible to teach.

"Yep--you said that you did what I did when you are starting out, can you tell me what you do with your pups now?"

Well..I suppose they get very little formal "show" training. They learn to free stack when I have them out for walks in the pasture. I keep treats in my pockets and walk them in groups with the older dogs. They learn by watching the other dogs free stacking and playing the catch game. We take them to a couple of conformation classes before they make their debut and that is about it. We do alot of socializing and learning basic manners but not alot of formal "show" training. They learn the "catch the cookie" game, they learn to stand politely while getting teeth checked. Mostly, I want them to look to me for direction and be confident and happy.

I do agree that dogs will pick up on body language and it can make the difference between showing off and just going through the motions. They can sense when you feel stressed or frustrated.

Keep it fun and don't demand perfection with a puppy. Also, pay attention to what judges you enter a puppy under...heavy handed, gruff judges can cause the puppy to associate shows with unpleasant people. Puppy classes should be for puppy to get exposure and experience. Very few puppies finish from the puppy classes and they are usually the exceptional ones. Be realistic in your goals and don't enter a baby at a ton of shows...you will burn them out.