Showing a Border Collie - advice please

Hi there,

Our little Cayley is 6 months old on Tuesday and we have been attending our local ringcraft classes twice each month for about 4 months now. However, as there are no other Border Collie people at our class to ask I thought i would post on here for some advice.

Does anyone have any tips on the following :

1) how to encourage her to keep her tail down when she is moving ....

2) She is such a good girl on the move but she keeps looking at me (great for when we do training at home but no so for showing) as what is happening is that when she looks at me - she is throwing her front out - I have been told by the people at ringcraft.

any ideas for how to correct the following ?

I really haven;t done too much with her as she is still only a baby and I dont want her to get bored and I really want her to enjoy showing.

On a final note, she seems still a bit small at only 16 1/2 inches and has lost quite a bit of bone when compared with how she was 2 months ago - I feed her on Arden Grange puppy and she is gaining weight very well currently at 15 kgs. Anyone any idea whether she will regain her bone and also if i have done anything wrong....

Many thanks in advance and sorry for the long post

here she is a piccie taken about three weeks ago

Beautiful x
Sorry no advice, hopefully some will come along shortly for you

Hi she doesn't appear to be lacking in bone to me. They do go through stages where they look leggy and skinny but its usually just that a stage.
As for her tail try to stay as calm as possible and keep her settled. Before you move give her a command such as steady then start off at a walk and gradually increase your speed even if its only to a slightly faster walk so that she is moving with a nice even gait, She may raise her tail while turning but that is for balance. A slightly higher tail than an adult BC shouldnt be penalised as she is a baby still and its more important that she enjoys herself to start of with. Also you could try holding a small amount of food in the same hand as your lead in front of her so that she focuses her attention on that rather than looking up at you. Its quite difficult to explain exactly what I mean so hope you get the gist of it.
Most of all Have Fun.

As Willowish has said I don't think she is losing bone. More as case that she is going through a growth spurt which makes them look thinner in the leg and body but it's just her age. Her size and weight ratio sound about right. Don't panic about her height, she's a baby and her lines are slow therefore she probably won't finish height wise for another year.
In terms of her tail, agree totally with Willowish. She's flying her tail for a number of reasons, she's a happy puppy and enjoying herself, nothing wrong with that but she's not paying attention to what she's doing, she's too busy looking at you. Slow everything down. Go right back to the beginning. Don't worry about running her at her right gait for now. It's better to get her moving correctly and it will be easier for you to control if you do it all at a walk for now.
Only one thing to add on top of what Willowish says. You say she is watching you. Can I just ask are you looking right at her as well? I only ask as it's a habit I used to have which did get a reaction out of my dog and he kept lifting his tail every time I looked at him. If your pup is happy running alongside you then concentrate more on where you are running to and getting her there. You know where she is at all times (at the end of the lead). If I'm wrong about this and it doesn't apply to you then ignore me Thought it was worth mentioning as I'd been picked up on it and have the video evidence of me doing it LOL.
Finally the most important thing is PATIENCE
There is no time limit on how long it will take you get her together. My boy for instance is still a surprise to me each time I go in the ring. He's a good lad but he can be a menace and completely forget all his training sometimes (Willowish can vouch for this )
Your pups a baby and judges are very forgiving at this age. Yes it is something that is undesirable in the ring when they are older so work on it now but don't push you or the dog. You find half the time that the dog is reacting because of how you are handling it, just take it slow.
I'm sorry, I'm not now going to East Anglia but the best of luck and enjoy yourself.

Hi there,

Thank you so much for all the great advice - I will be putting it into practice

Megan57 - as for the looking at her then yes I think that is exactly what i am doing - so I will concentrate on looking forward and calm the pace down a little.

I am a bit paranoid about her bone as its been mentioned a few times by people - however on the piccie shown she doesn't look too bad - it shows when she stands mostly - but like you have both said she is still very young and so much maturing to do.

Sorry that I wont see you at EABCC but I have entered Blackpool Champ show and White Rose open show so far :0)

She has her first show a week today - a little open show in Goole - no BC class so I have entered her in MPB Pastoral - so i will let you know how we get on - if the little fidget bum will stand still enough to let the judge assess - she wags her tail so hard she nearly falls over !! she loves all the attention

Bye for now and thanks again for the help

Hi i was going to say i bet you are looking at her as that what i did Anyway i will be at Blackpool Champ Show is that the open show for White rose on the 11.10.08 if so i proably might be at that as well

Hi I will also be at Blackpool so will hopefully get to meet you there .

Well best of luck and enjoy yourself.
I will be at Blackpool too. I'm handling four dogs across three breeds so i'll be the one on oxygen in open dog LOL

Thanks again for all the info.... Will make sure I try and see you at Blackpool Megan57, Willowish and Border1 :0)

Just one last question - then I will be quiet !! lol

What type of show lead do you use ?

I have been advised to get a fine chain from Deva Dog - however as they weren't at Crufts I wasn't able to get one like I had planned and they dont appear to do online ordering - is there any that you would all recommend?

At the moment I am using a slip rolled leather collar and a lead I bought at crufts its nice and soft on the hands.....

Cayley is 6 months old in the morning - I will take a couple of piccies and post them :0)

Bye for now

I would agree a fine chain with a separate leather lead. You can also use a fine leather half check. I personally don't get on with them and prefer the chains. They sit under the coat better.
I've had a look and there is a website for deva however you can't order online at the mo but you can put a phone order through. The number is 01530 560500
Deva are good but I've used luxway which you can order online or over the phone. They are just as good. I'm still showing on my original chain and lead I first had when I first started showing. If you give them a call they would be able to suggest the best chain. I will post the measurements of the chain I use tomorrow. Length and width. I think the chain and lead cost me just under £20 combined which isn't bad if you think it'll last the dogs lifetime. '