What a difference one week can make. I’ve seen this happen time and time again with Poodles, but it never stop amazing me how quickly you can turn a dog around when it comes to showing. Two weeks ago I entered Code in a local UKC show. I had not worked with him much or taken him to any classes, but he is calm and sweet so I didn’t expect any big issues. When we arrived at the show everything seemed fine. He was a little bouncy, but not bad. Once we hit the ring the springs in his feet became active, and keeping him under control was difficult. Cody was having a blast let me tell you. He was bouncing as we moved around the ring, prancing, looking back at me with a huge grin on his Poodle face. Eye contact is wonderful if you are showing obedience, but in conformation you want them to move looking ahead as much as possible. When they toss their head back it also tossing off their movement. He did pretty good on the exam, but he was a little wiggly. The thing that was most noticeable was when a dog was behind him he would attempt to trot and look at the other dog at the same time. This caused some spinning and even more bouncing.
On the first day there were no other Poodles competing, and he didn’t do well in the group for obvious reasons. The second day there was one male Standard Poodle entered. The first show Code was crazy dog, but he did settle down and placed best of breed for the second show gaining him his first competition win.
Gloria really wanted me to come to the Hickory, NC shows the following weekend. There are always many Standards at the Hickory show, and she really needed the help running the Rally Obedience ring. With this in mind I spoke to Keith and we decided I should give it a go. I had 5 days to get my boy under control.
I’ll just tell you how we did at Hickory now.
Friday show one: Best puppy, best male, best of winners, best of breed, made the cut in a huge group ring.
Friday show two: Best puppy, best male, best of winners, best of breed, made the cut in a huge group ring.
This finished his UKC Championship title. Occasionally, a judge will make an arm band number mistake and the win might not be recorded. A lot of people keep their dog in the lower level class for an extra ‘bonus’ win just in case. Cody was showing so well I wanted some of those other nice dogs to get some wins, so I took the risk and moved Cody up into the Champion class for the Saturday shows. This worked out well, because Saturday show one and two he took best of breed again. Other Poodles gained some much needed competition wins, but Code was the sole Champions entered depriving us of Grand Champion passes. After two days of fabulous showing I made the call to take my boy home instead of staying for the Sunday shows. My goal was to leave while he was still having a good time. Also, I was exhausted, and when I get over tired I tend to get sick. I helped set up the Obedience rings and timed each of the 3 rally shows… all three classes each show, on both Friday and Saturday. I think I arrived at 8AM on Friday and didn’t make it back to the hotel until 10pm. Code and I were beat.
How does a person take a dog from “He is nice, but can’t stand still or focus” to “Wow, I can’t believe that puppy is only 6 months old!” in one week? Practice, practice, and more practice. Code and I started some short jogging around the neighborhood. I don’t road work young dogs, but a half mile wouldn’t hurt him. Ever time he was moving next to me and looking ahead I would say “Yes”. If he started to bounce, I would pop the leash and tell him ‘Ahh’. It became no big deal to run with mom. Next I had Keith take Jazz and run her behind us. Every time he would attempt to look at Jazz or spin around, I would give him a small correction. When he was looking ahead I would stop and give him a treat. I had Keith run Jazz up on his butt. I had him stack her close. I had him run her in front and let me stack him close. We did the same thing with Lina, so he could have the experience of a little dog. Next, I stacked him 20 times a day and had everyone I knew pet him while he was in a stay. Lastly, I trotted him in moderate to small circles, so he could get use to not bumping me as we moved around the ring. He was more in control at a slower pace, so I decided to slow him way down on the circles as well as the down and back. I would rather he move slower and look good, than go for flash and get bounce!
I really wasn’t sure how much of the training would translate at the shows when his excitement would be at its peak. I think the fact that we arrived at 8AM and the first show wasn’t until 3pm might have helped take the edge off my dog. He was crated most of the day, because I was busy rolling out matting for the obedience ring, setting up tables, ring gates, and the white board. For those of you who don’t know there is a lot of work before the show even starts.
The turn around with my dog was incredible. There were between 7-9 Standard Poodles entered each day and he did amazing. The Hickory show draws a large entry for UKC. It was crowded and he never once dropped his tail. We both had a great time and enjoyed the entire weekend. I can’t wait to get him in the ring and work towards his Grand Championship title!
~Becky