Today I took my 2 year old boy to a match. The judge did not put up my dog because he was pacing. She had me take him around the ring "faster" to try to correct it but it didn't help. As it turns out she is a handler and she took the time afterwards to make some suggestions and I was hoping that some of you could make some also. I should also mention that I have been doing obedience with him so I'm wondering if I have created part of the problem

Things that I have heard that work with pacers are to give the dog a jerk (bounce them on their front feet by popping the leash upward and then starting off slowly before you go into the trot) or going around in a circle before the judge before you start going around the ring. From what i've been told they pace because it is a lazy dogs way of running as it's easier to pace than to move correctly.
Aloha,
Jackie

Well geez...I went to my first show TODAY with my 7 and a half month old puppy,and guess what? Yep,she was pacing.We practiced for two months at conformation classes and she never paced.This is what i was told and shown at the show today: what Jackie said and you can put your hand under his chin in an upward move(i never tried it)or instead of taking it slow to start moving, take a bigger step to start and then adjust .Now in my case it's the slip lead i'm pretty sure ,in my conformation classes my ''teacher''
always lends me one of hers(a small choke chain and small lead,she hated mine ,a normal beige slip lead,because she noted that my dog didn't work well with it ,she was right.But money is tight right now and i didn't think it would matter,wrong.
Hope this helps and good luck with your dog!!

I also have a dog that paces. I trained him not to in the conformation ring. Like Jackie said, I use a key word with him "Ready" then I would start my movement and give him a little pop of the lead, if he paced I would stop him and say "No", then try again. When he got it right I would say "yes" then a reward. After a few weeks of training maybe 10 minutes a day, he understood that not pacing was the way to go to get the rewards. I find you have to get the exact speed down pat so they won't pace. Now when we go into the ring all I say is "Ready" and away we go. Best of luck. Don't get frustrated, your boy will learn. Remember to end your training session on a positive note.

All of the above methods may help to get him not to pace in the ring. But I disagree with Jackie that it just a lazy dog. Most dogs that want to pace all the time most likely have an orthopedic problem of some kind. It is less painful for them to pace. Have you had him xrayed yet? I also have noticed that dogs that want to sit all the time usually have a problem. I don't mean sitting because they have had obedience training, and they are getting confused, but dogs that just sit more than others, whether in or out of the ring.

Does anyone know of a GOOD video that may be available for conformation...

My 5 and a half YEAR old dog will pace in the ring ..
I did the same thing as the above poster - my key word's are "Let's Go" and I give him a bit of a pop with the lead just before starting .. on the down and back if you do a courtesy turn before you start that helps..

Sometimes it is a conformation problem, but sometimes it is due to the fact that the owner takes the dog on nice long leisurely walks! Where better to pace, and get the habit down pat? If you are doing walks, you need to walk a little, run a little. Get the dog into the trot, so he will "memorize" the rhythm.

I was told a dog paced because it has poor structure. One of my females paced all the time in the ring and on walks. She did not pace as a young puppy, it was not until she was about 10 months that she started to pace. I did everything to teach her not to pace. Running in sand, moving over pvc pipes and quick pulls on the lead. I also tried moving faster and slower, do the courtesy turn on the up and back and nothing worked for this girl. I finally decided that it was not my responsibility to teach a dog how to move and I gave up on her. She did not win in the show ring because of the pacing and the judges told me that was the reason why. I think some dogs can learn to stop pacing, but mine just did not.

Can someone explain what "pacing" is??

To Very New,

The pacing dog moves both legs on the same side in unison(we don't want). The trotting dog(it's what we want) moves diagonal legs in unison.

I disagree with you on that, the dogs i've seen that pace do not have any orthopedic problems, all are OFA certified with good or better gradings.
Aloha,
Jackie

My old Egan could be made to trot or pace, as I preferred. If I eased him into a faster gait, he paced. If I started him quickly- the jerk that several other people mentioned - he trotted. When moving on his own without me at his side he always trotted. I think the pacing came about because he was trying to match my gait in the obedience ring. What does your dog do when he's on his own? Does he trot or pace? If he trots, then I would say that there is nothing wrong with him; he is just trying to be a good boy and stay right at your side. Try starting him off with a little jerk when you gait him, and he will probably be fine. If he paces when moving on his own, he may have an orthopedic problem. I had another dog that always paced, and she had bad elbows. She lived an active life for 13 years going for walks with her family, but was never shown or bred.

This has been an excellent learning thread. Thanks to those who have taken the time to post.

Thanks for all of your suggestions!! He is a bit of a lazy boy by nature(unless there are ducks involved!)
and sometimes he paces and sometimes he doesn't. I would be very surprised if there was an ortho issue but as we all know anything can happen!! He just turned 2 last month so I haven't xrayed him yet but plan to soon. I just ordered a metal choke so hopefully it will arrive in time to try these things at handling class on Thursday!

To L.T.-I also took my 7 1/2 month old bitch to the match and I would have been happy if she was pacing...that would have meant that all 4 feet were on the ground!!!! Lots of work to do there-good thing she's cute!! Good Luck with your pup!

Pacing is an energy saving gait often used by the wild canine when covering great distances. In dogs we see it for two reasons mainly: a dog with a very short back will pace to keep out of his own way and as has been mentioned the dog that is trying to move slowly. If you want your show dog to stop pacing, try moving faster yourself. Also, when people mention a leash pop, it is most effective when you use a quick pop to just slightly pull the dog off balance as he starts to pace. By moving his weight to the other foot he won't be able to pace. Take a long hard look at his conformation and if all is well there, look to your pace in the ring.

Would a very short back (out of balance with length of leg) be considered a conformation problem?

Would a dog who consistently tries to pace at fast speeds when NOT fatigued probably/likely/maybe have conformational or orthopedic issues (not necessarily limited to hips and elbows)?

Pacing could be an indicator of a problem but most likelyis just the way he learned to move or maybe its something like left and right handedness where some dogs just prefer to pace. There are horses who pace naturally. They go faster than trotters in harness racers. I had a pacer anx when I did his clearances I did all of his joints to see if something was causing it. He was perfect. Workouts on the treadmill helped a lot.

Pacing can occur for a variety of reasons, including poor handler technique, poor conformation, poor fitness, anxiety (both handler and dog), fatigue, and infrequently laziness.

Look at all the times your dog paces to evaluate what kind of problem you have. List the places and times where it occurs. Have someone else watch the dog to see when he paces and when he trots.

If the pacing only occurs only in performance rings, I would strongly encourage you to consider anxiety as a reason. Pacing is most frequently done at a slow pace (which is why increasing speed and quick pops of the lead were recommended to increase speed and encourage a regular trot). It's true that some dogs are lazy. But many dogs slow down, not out of laziness but out of fear of doing the wrong thing. You can see this clearly in the obedience/rally ring when dogs lag. You can also see this slowing down when dogs are meeting a new dog or person and slow down to get the lay of the land before going forward.

Had a HD girl many years ago and she paced most of the time - even while walking. It was easier/less painful on her hips.

I was at a George Alston seminar and there was a Newfie that paced. Alston said it is a "lazy" gait. He told the owner to always do courtesy turns before gaiting and give the dog a good pop, which broke the dog out of the pace.

Of course I know there are other orthopedic issues, the poster I responded to insinuated that all dogs that pace were unsound on the hips and elbows and that is what I disagreed to :}
Aloha,
Jackie