When can you start the training for the show ring?

Just wondering at what age all you show people started the whole standing business?

Isla's 10 weeks now and to be honest think it would be impossible to get her to stand still let alone stand in a show stance!

I am planning to find a ringcraft class but was just wondering what you all did as a start.

So any hints or tips?

Our girl was standing from the moment she was born, no kidding.

You're not after the perfect stand you just need to get them into a rough position and build from that the waiting comes with age.

I stand our girls in the kitchen whist waiting for food/making a cuppa its so subtle they dont even notice it (but get rewarded afterwards)

Ok thanks for that. Would I be better off standing her on a table etc rather than on the floor, I think I might stand a better chance of still having 8 fingers and 2 thumbs when I'm finished doing it that way!

She will "stand" on command, but it's the stacking I'm struggling with. Or should I not worry about that yet?

Straight away rips, you can stand her on the table & what I do is kneel down with pup when they`re too big for table You might find she`s used to standing on a table cos breeders generally start standing them on there to assess them from quite young, take pics etc

You can't start soon enough, pups should be handled, groomed and stood on a table from the day they are born this is not to prepare them for the show ring it is to prepare them for the life they will have to lead. It is not just show dogs that have to stand still for examination, learn to walk on a lead without pulling and allow grooming without demur and be happy with the whole experience.

Yes, I agree with the others. Straight away. In my breed puppies are stood on a table from 5 to 6 weeks old. The breeder needs to be able to look at them critically to decide which pups are worth running on and which are available to pet homes.

Whenever I buy a puppy, I start stacking for a minute or two at time from the first day. Of course they wriggle and sqirm, but you don't bore them with too much at once.

It's never too early to start practising. Ringcraft classes are usually started once the puppy vax are complete.

Dawn R.

It may be custom in your breed to stack but it is not necessary and a good dog always looks best if free stood, can't believe a judge will mind not waiting for you to stop fiddling with your dog, and appreciate the fact that you dog is well enough made to stand by himself.

Mind you it takes courage when everyone else is stacking but when you start winning well you will find there are quite a few more free standing dogs appearing. Nothing like a particular style of showing to produce copycats if the dog that is being handled starts winning, hence the horrid habit of standing dogs like rocking horses, I have not met a judge yet that likes it and you find yourself trying to assess a dog despite the efforts of the handler to distort the dogs conformation.

Gosh, how true this is! When I was new to showing, I thought it was essential that the dog stood perfectly without moving a muscle. Now with a bit more experience and a few years judging, I find it offputting, when I'm judging, if handlers are stringing up and constantly stacking their dogs. Ok, a good handler can sometimes disguise faults this way but overall it presents a far better picture if the dog stands comfortably and naturally.

I've had it said to me, after a day's judging "why on earth did you put that dog up, he behaved so badly" and I've had to say that I didn't notice. So long as a dog has a good temperament, allows himself to be gone over and moves in a reasonably straight line to allow assessment of gait, I don't mind what he does for the rest of the time (within reason ).

I know some breeds are traditionally shown strung up and stacked but it seems to be now creeping in to some of the free standing breeds with the influence of American handling tecniques.

True unfortunatly, even some Spitz breeds

Coats fluffed up like candy floss, front feet pulled forward, back feet stretched out behind, head forced up so the nose it the highest part of the dog and the tail in a vice like grip, to me that is not showing a dog at it's best I think it verging on torture, it certainly offends me to see a nice dog presented thus. Blame the Champ show circuit cartel, if they did not reward dogs presented thus they would not be emulated and we could get back to seeing dogs in their natural state. These judges would be better judging contemporary art because the dogs they are looking at are not, as shown, good examples of the breed as they are too contorted, think they must have forgotten what a relaxed dog should look like.

As you may have guessed a pet hate of mine

Yep, me too!