Just wondering who of you does conformation or plans to do it in the future
I have been competing in conformation with my dog for about 2 and a half years. I LOVE it!!! I had never done conformation before getting my golden but always wanted to. He is my first show dog and thankfully I had a mentor to guide me through. It was very nerve wracking in the beginning but now I am very confident in the ring. I would like to hear from all of you!!!

I'm very intrigued by confirmation. I love going to dog and cat shows actually. I don't think there is anything more beautiful than a lovely groomed golden in a show ring.

However, I don't think I or my dog would enjoy the lives some of those show dogs live. I think it's awesome when show/breeder people allow their dogs to live normal lives inside their house, but I think there are others that don't treat their dogs as well. For example, one of the breeders I researched lets his dogs live outside for part of the colder months just so they'll grow a thicker coat.

I think it would be fun to show in local shows, but I'm not so sure I would be interested in traveling all over the country often. There is a male puppy from Cooper's litter that is being shown and I understand he's doing quite well.

It's definitely fun to watch and I'm sure even more fun to be a part of! It's something I may be interested in trying in the future, but I'll for sure always be a spectator!

Sidney, I'm very interested in hearing about your show life! What's the whole experience like? Do you plan on showing more dogs in the future? Is Fisher a champion?

Yes I agree with you that some show dogs get a bum deal! I know some dogs that travel every weekend to different shows all over the country. At the shows they sit in small pens where they have to pee and poop and usually only get taken out when its time to go in the ring. :angrysmiley2 Fisher only goes into a few shows a year now since I have an 11 month old baby its hard to show alot with her and it gets VERY expensive too. I started Fisher in the dog show circuit when he was 6 months old. I was very lucky to be mentored by my breeder who showed me the ropes and I went in a few handling classes too. I got his championship just before he turned 2 years old and am happy to say I did it all by myself. It was very important for me to get his championship by myself as him and I have a great bond. I could have hired a proffessional handler and probably got his championship in a few shows but chose not to because Ienjoyed doing it myself. I made alot of mistakes but that how I learned and feel confident now in my handling skills. Fisher is now a champion so when we enter in shows he has to enter as a special which means he competes for best of breed. Its a little hectic at times but alot of fun!!! Our next show is going to be at the beginning of August.

I am most definetly going to get Jack into conformation. Right now we are just going to get trhough all basic obediance, and then will do conformation. I am like you in that I want to do it on my own. Yes I understand that chances are he will CH out a lot sooner with a experiance handler who is well known in the ring, but I don't believe it will be as satisfying as to be able to have done it myself. However if we do aquire a show female as well as we are looking into then I will probably look into another handler to help so I can work on both dogs. As of right now though I am a COMPLETE novice. I will definetly be turning to all of you experianced folks for advice as the times comes closer. :clap

WHEN BEGINNING TO WORK A PUP FOR SHOW, I HIGHLY SUGGEST GOING TO FUN MATCHES, I HELPS TO CONDITION THE PUP WITH ALL THAT GOES ON AT A SHOW!!

FUN MATCHES WILL ALSO HELP YOU WHEN DETERMINING IF YOUR PUP HAS WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A SHOW PUP/DOG!!!

THEY JUDGE THE MATCHES JUST LIKE AN AKC SHOW, BUT NO POINTS ARE AWARDED, AND GETTING A CRITQUE ON YOUR PUP FROM A JUDGE IS ONE GOOD WAY OF KNOWING IF THE ROAD TO SHOW DOG IS WHERE YOU SHOULD HEAD....

I ALSO RECOMMEND THAT IF YOU ARE GOING TO SHOW YOUR PUP THEN WHEN DOING OBED. DONT INCORPORATE THE SIT!!!!

THE DOGS MUST AT ALL TIMES BE STANDING AND WITHOUT IT BEING A FORCED STAND, THEY MUST SHOW THEMSELVES AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE WITH AS LITTLE OF THE HANDLER MAKING IT HAPPEN!!!

THAT IS ALSO ANOTHER ALONG WITH SEVERAL THAT MAKES FOR A SUPER GREAT SHOW DOG!!! THE ONES THAT SHOW THEMSELVES AND TRUELY WANT TO BE A CHAMPION!!!

Diane, when do you plan to start training Jack for conformation? Do you want to show him as a puppy? Can you post a good side shot, rear shot, and front shot of him? Thanks, it will be easier for me to get a good look at him. What lines does he come from? Its great that you are interested in conformation!!!!! Its such a fun thing to do with your dog!!! :clap :coolpartysmiley

I enjoy it but it will be ages until I have another golden, and probably even longer until I have one who would do well in the show ring. I may need to find someones dog to borrow though...!

Goodtimn/Sidney
Why is it usually said by show folks that you shouldn't teach a sit? That has never made sense in my mind...I've been to many 4-H shows where the dogs in 'showmanship' are also in obed...and have yet to see a single dog sit in the ring...haven't had that problem with Blaze either...I'd think the dogs could tell the difference between the settings?

GoldenPup

TEACHING THE SIT TO A ""PUP""" THAT YOU ARE GOING TO CAMPAIGN IS WHAT I WAS REFERRING TO.....

THE KEY FACTOR HERE IS """PUP"""" THEY ARE NOT EXPERIENCED ENOUGH TO NOT KNOW THE DIFFERENCE!!!!

THE SIT EXERCISE IS THE MOST EASIEST TO LEARN AND THAT IS WHY I TEACH IT MUCH LATER IN OBED. CLASSES.

I ALSO IN OBED. CLASSES TEACH THE STAND STAY RIGHT FROM THE START, THAT IS ONE OF THE HARDEST TO TEACH... THIS EXERCISE IS MUCH APPRECITATED BY MY VET WHEN EVER HE EXAMINES MY DOGS, THE DO JUST THAT-----STAND, STAY------DO THE EXAM

PLUS THERE IS SOME KIND OF BUILT IN MECHANISM IT SEEMS IN THE GOLDEN BREED TO """SIT"""" THE LIKE TO DO THAT AND THEN LOOK AT YOU!!!!

THAT IS NOT WHAT THE CONFORMATION JUDGE WANTS TO SEE, THEY WANT TO EVALUTE THE DOGS STRUCTURE FROM THE BEST POINT OF VIEW THAT THE ""DOG"" CAN GIVE AND THAT IS DONE WITH A """STAND"""" AND WITH ""MOVEMENT"""

HOPE THAT MAKES SENSE!!!

Agree GoodTimn. I have shown 2 of my Goldens in conformation and 1 of them in obedience AND conformation. That was my Flirt. When she was in puppy class (obedience) she was taught to stand when the other dogs were doing their sit. Later on, when she was more mature and could understand she was taught the sit. She was good in both rings - stood (never sat) in the conformation ring and sat when she was supposed to in the obedience ring. She also did some freestyle obedience.

As for the conformation ring, I too love it. Unfortunately, the Golden ring is SOOOOO competitive there are many more losses than wins. I had Dakota with a professional handler for awhile but he hated being away from me as much as I hated him being away. He really didn't like the show ring either and it was so expensive to have a handler for him when he didn't even like what he was doing. Cost me over $900 to get just the first point. He retired at the age of 3 with a few points. He was happier. Someday I will get another show Golden and be back in the conformation ring again. :clap
GoldenMom

I disagree......

All five of my dogs are show...... they were all taught to sit from a young age..... the key is that we divide things out......

we never work on obedience training and conformation training in the same night.....

we never have dogs sit when they wear a show lead.

My dogs very quickly learned the difference between a buckle collar and show lead.....

they know that when they have a buckle collar on they are doing obedience and they sit and down and heel and and and......

they know that when they have a show lead on they don't sit .......

All of my dogs have been int he breed ring since the age of six months and they have all started in obedience between the ages of 8-10 weeks...... they all learned to sit.

I disagree with the idea that you can't teach a puppy to sit when you are training in conformation. A skilled trainer can divide things out and teach a dog exactly what they are supposed to do in what ring based on your direction and what collar or lead they are wearing.

just my thoughts.
s

IT FUNNY WITH OVER 20 YRS OF TEACHING CONFORMATION, OBED, AND AGILITY CLASSES IVE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM TEACHING THE DOGS, IT ALWAYS THE OWNERS THAT HAVE THE PROBLEM WITH BEING TAUGHT!!! :laughingsmile

THE DOGS ARE EASY :thumbsupsmiley THE OWNERS ARE THE TOUGH ONES!!! :unsure:

oh man ain't that the truth........

its actually mind boggling......
s

Ok Shalva - off topic here for a minute. How did you get your signature picture to change like that? I can hardly get a signature picture to show up right! Mine are always so big. :shrug
GoldenMom

GoldenMom,

you can use Adobe ImageReady or maybe (not quite sure) Paint Shop Pro.

Or else you can PM the pics you want to me, and I'll do it for you.

Thanks Ami. Thats really sweet of you. I think I have Adobe Image Ready so maybe one of these days (time allowing) I'll try it.

GoldenMom

oh and just for the record......

I cheated and had someone else do it for me..... I have absolutely no clue how to do it myself......

I actually need to change some of the pictures so might have to learn myself (smile)
s

HeeHeeHee! And here I thought you did it! :laughingsmile
GoldenMom

This is kind of an old thread but I'm bored so I'm replying anyways :D I've been thinking about doing junior showmanship with Dusty for a while, and will probably look into it more when he is retired from agility in a couple years ... that way he can still have his time with me even though the Lab is doing all the agility stuff ...

A good dog trainer should be able to teach a dog a sit without affecting the conformation ring. My dogs all know that sit means sit and stand means stand. If I say stand, they will not sit. You can also make sure it is a very different environment when you practice obedience versus conformation like Shalva described, so there are strong environmental cues on top of the verbal cue telling him when it is appropriate to sit and when it is not.