Show Ring Seminars Agenda
Saturday, September 19
Morning Session: 9AM to 12 Noon
Frank Sabella, Peter Green, Margery Good,
Sasha Riess, Anita Bax, Loretta Marchese
Moderated by Shirlee Kalstone
Formula for Success in the Show Ring
10 basic rules to enhance your chances of winning in the show ring
Know Your Breed
There is no such thing as the perfect dog, therefore thorough knowledge and complete understanding of your breed is a must for success in the show ring: its history, standard, type, balance, soundness, style and quality. Even regarding the subject of show grooming (which will be covered in the afternoon session), in order to successfully groom any breed, one must have a good working knowledge of that breed’s standard.
Table and Lead Training Puppies
- Establishing a rapport with your dog.
- Why a sturdy, non-slip grooming table should be one of your first investments.
- How to begin posing your puppy on the table.
- Getting your puppy accustomed to a lead.
- Teaching your puppy to pose on lead.
- Teaching your puppy to move on your left side.
- Teaching your puppy to stand naturally at the end of the lead each time it stops.
- Teaching your puppy to gait on grass, concrete floors and
other surfaces including rubber mats.
- Why it’s essential to begin crate training while a dog is a puppy
Conditioning Show Prospects
- The importance of early socialization
- Keeping dogs healthy, happy and contented.
- The right kind of exercise
Showing Dogs in the Ring
- How styles of presentation vary depending on the breed.
- Minimizing faults.
- Dealing with unanticipated problems that occur in the ring.
- The biggest mistakes inexperienced owner/handlers make.
Stacking or Posing Dogs
- On the ground: in line, with other dogs or alone.
- On the table.
- What to wear to help enhance your dog’s appearance.
The Judge’s Examination
- What to do as the judge goes over your dog
Baiting
- Reasons to bait.
- What kind of bait is best?
- Training puppies to bait.
- The best times to bait in the ring.
Gaiting
- A brief discussion of gait.
- Determining a dog’s best speed.
Patterns of Movement in the Ring
- Movement is an indicator of a dog’s conformation. It is the visual proof of a dog’s soundness. A judge evaluates conformation while dogs are posed and he also wants them to move in various patterns to determine whether or not they are sound.
- The circle
- The four movement patterns a judge uses for individual gaiting: Straight down and back, the triangle, the L-shape and the T-shape.
Group and Best in Show Handling
Afternoon Session: 1:15 to 4:15pm
Peter Green, Margery Good, Sasha Riess, Anita Bax,
Loretta Marchese, Mario DiFante, Sarah Hawks, Sue Zecco
Denise Collins and others
Moderated by Frank Sabella and Shirlee Kalstone
This session will be devoted to preparing and grooming various scissored breeds (Poodles, Bichons Frises, Portuguese Water Dogs and Kerry Blue Terriers) and several broken-coated breeds for the show ring. General subjects to be covered include:
- Grooming Profiles
- Correct coat textures/types
- Show coat care and maintenance
- Balance, symmetry and proportion
- Bathing
- Blow drying scissored breeds to prepare them for final scissoring
- Scissoring techniques
- Bathing hand-stripped breeds (how far in advance to allow the coat to return to normal texture)
- Drying hand-stripped breeds
- Hand-stripping techniques
- Carding
- Chalking
- Blown coats
- Rolling the coat
- Timing and preplanning of the various stages necessary to prepare hand-stripped dogs for the ring
- Live-action grooming demonstrations for Poodles, Bichons Frises, Portuguese Water Dogs, Kerry Blue Terriers and several short-legged (Sealyham and West Highland White) and long-legged terriers
- Fault minimizing.