the show ring. While I totally understand the excitement and anticipation of wanting to get an exciting young hopeful into the ring, I find myself continually asking people "What's the rush"?
overwhelming, intimidating and even frightening for some puppies. Admittedly, there are puppies do fine at dog shows and even enjoy themselves, but for some, it is not a good experience and putting them into the show ring too early can actually be very detrimental. Dogs can experience "single event learning" where one single incident or event has a lasting impact on them. This can happen with dogs of any age, but taking a insecure or shy puppy into the ring and forcing it to perform can easily result in the puppy having a bad experience which can last for a long time, if not forever. There are a few criteria that should be met before a puppy is entered in a dog show and taken into the ring. First of all, the puppy should have enough training so that he understands the behaviors that he will be expected to perform. To take an untrained puppy into the ring is unfair and to expect him to show for you is unreasonable. Training the behaviors necessary for a show dog are not that complicated, but they still need to be trained. To expect an untrained dog to be able to move properly on leash, stand still when asked and accept handling from a stranger all in a novel and distracting environment is simply unrealistic. Each of these core behaviors: stacking, gaiting and accepting gentle handling must be trained to a certain reliability so that the dog understands what to do and what you are expecting of him. The puppy should be physically ready to compete. If you have a puppy that is going through a gangly stage I would not recommend entering that puppy in a dog show, unless you are entering only for fun and don't necessarily expect to win. It makes no sense to enter with a puppy that is not competitive and then get angry or frustrated when your puppy doesn't win. Why not let the puppy grow up so that he is competitive rather than rushing to get him into the ring before he is looking his best? Perhaps try finding some fun matches or a positive reinforcement handling class so he can get used to showing without being in the ring. When bringing out a new puppy I will always start by entering one day of a show. I don't recommend entering a four day show or even two days with a new puppy. For one thing, if it's the first show you have no idea how that puppy is going to do in the ring, so it's a good idea to enter one day and get a baseline idea of how the puppy responds to the show ring. Secondly, even well adjusted puppies can get tired and not be able to handle another day or more. Enter them just one day and see how they do before committing to show them for more than one day. My most important criteria for entering puppies in a dog show is that the puppy is emotionally ready. This is true for all dogs, actually, but it's really important to take note of this for puppies. If you have a puppy that is fearful, shy, uncomfortable being on a table or uncomfortable being touched by strangers that puppy is not ready for the show ring and should absolutely under no circumstances be subjected to the show ring. Above everything else the dog's emotional state must be to a point where he is ready to handle a dog show, if it isn't then he is not going to be able to perform even known behaviors because his emotional state will trump anything you have trained him to do. Many people mistakenly believe that if they just force the dog and keep showing it that it will miraculously, on his own "get better". This is typically not how it works. Forcing an animal into a situation that is frightening for it is called "flooding". The animal is forced to simply deal with it because they can't escape. Many dogs will go into "learned helplessness" when flooded where they simply shut down and give up. Unfortunately, some unknowing owners will think that the dog is now "over it" when the dog is really still very afraid he has simply just given up because he feels he cannot escape. This isn't how we want our dogs to view the show ring. So many times I hear people say that their dog is "fine" but the truth is that they just don't know how to read their dog's body language and they are missing the stress signals that indicate the dogs discomfort and fear. If a puppy won't approach people, pulls away from people, tucks his tail, keeps his head down, barks at the other dogs or at the judge, leans away from the judge or is very stiff and rigid, he is not comfortable and deserves to have his comfort level protected. So many people want the puppy in the ring so badly that they completely ignore the fact that they are terrorizing their dog every time they show them. I strongly encourage people with show potential puppies that you take your time with them and allow them to be puppies. If you have a puppy that truly seems to have a good time in the show ring then enter them but have fun and be very honest with yourself about it. Make sure that your puppy is having a good time and is not feeling afraid or overwhelmed. Our sport should always be about our dogs and the partnership we have with them, not our own egos. We should make sure that our puppies are emotionally ready, well trained and prepared for the show ring and physically ready before subjecting them to the stresses of a dog show. It shouldn't be about rushing to get them out there and get them finished, it should be about raising dogs who are happy, well adjusted and confident. Puppies have their whole lives ahead of them, what's the rush? |
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What's the Rush? By Vicki Ronchette