Dog Show Handling Tips and Tricks

Handling “Tricks of the Trade”
Does the handler in front of you run his hand down the front of his dog? Does he tickle the dog uner the tail? Does he pull all the fur up around the dog’s head? That doesn’t necessarily mean that YOU should!

Often you will see top handlers that will be standing in front of the judge or presenting the dog to the judge in a particular manner such as placing one hand beneath the belly of the dog and placing the other hand beneath the chin...or perhaps holding the dog's tail upright or over the back or some other sort of technique. Watching this, you may say to yourself, that looks pretty cool, I'll do that with my dog! Don't make this mistake! It is a common mistake of a "newbie". Your dog may have a bad topline. Running your hand along that topline is only going to point out to the judge how bad the topline is. Your dog may have a dreadful head. Holding your hand under his chin may make him look even worse! Your job is to present to the judge and subtly point out to the judge the things that are good about your dog. If he has a bad head, you may even need to try to stand slightly out and in front of the head when the judge is coming along to see your dog...or keep the dog's head tilted slightly away so the judge cant get a good head on view. If your dog has a perfect front, then it will b your job to get that dog's head UP and out of the way while you gently brush your hand down the dog's front as the judge approaches. All of these movements should be subtle but should present to the judge those points which are good about your dog. If your dog has droopy eyes and the red haw shows when he looks upward, then you will learn to hold your hand with the bait directly in front and level with the dog’s face so that he will be looking forwards and not upwards..Practice these kinds of things when you are training and know what to show to the judge when you are showing your dog. You can be just as smart as any handler out there if you know your OWN dog!

Make no mistake. It is a "dog eat dog" world out there and the top handlers will already know this stuff. YOUR job is to know it about YOUR dog. So don't be a copycat!

Always present your dog to the judge in the manner that is correct for the breed, and correct for the individual dog.

There may be handlers who will "upstage" you. In other words, when it is time to line up the dogs for the final examination, they may position their dog slightly out in front of you and/or position their dog so that it is on an angle with its front pointing inwards to the ring instead of a straight "side view". They are doing this for a reason. They are upstaging you to get out in front because they want to beat you. They are pointing their dog inwards because their dog has a great front but a terrible topline and they dont want the judge to notice. There may be handlers who will run right into you when they come in for the final lineup. This is for a reason too. You are all stacked and ready for the judge to look at you. If they run into you, it will throw you off and you will have to re-stack your dog. This MAY mean that they consider you to be competition, that your dog is better than theirs and they know it. So take it as a compliment and just stick to your guns and show your dog.

Presenting your dog to the Judge:
Earlier in the section about movement and gaiting it was mentioned that judges select a “pattern” for their ring and do not deviate from this pattern throughout the day. This is generally true. When you arrive at the show check out the person who will be your judge of your breed and watch the pattern that he wants the handlers to run. That way you will be prepared when you enter the ring. And it doesn’t hurt to take a look at what he is “putting up”. Is he a head hunter? Does he like movement? Does he prefer bone and substance? (In other words, the bigger the better??) Check these things out ahead of time and you stand a better chance of getting a look from the judge.

Here is the 9 month old puppy who finally learned to stand on a grooming table! (Winning a five point major over "Specials" in the ring!) This puppy took the win simply because this was a Judge who always watched for good movemnt and she liked this boy's movement, even more than his size and head. It pays to know what the Judge is looking for. You always need to keep records of which Judges put your dog up, even if it is only a second or third place win, and keep records of your competition who beat you, too.