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HOW TO BAIT YOUR DOG THE RIGHT WAY The judge does not care to watch your dog snarfing down and chewing his bait. Bait is exactly what it means: bait ( a lure). If you teach your dog as a puppy to bait correctly, then he will stand in the ring and stare at your hand, offering a look of intense concentration, quizzical interest, and anticipation...a look that is expressive and will capture the judge's eye. You can train this easily.Get the puppies' attention first by giving him a treat or two just so he knows you have it in your hand. Do this on a grooming table. The dog will not try to jump off if he is getting treats and it will teach him to stack at the same time. After he has had a couple of treats, close the bait into your closed hand. If he tries to nuzzle and/or lunge at your hand....tap him gently on the nose with your closed hand and tell him "wait"! Then quickly, after he has looked at your hand for even one or two seconds, give him the treat. Keep this up and he will hold it for longer periods of time, and he will begin to watch your closed hand. Lengthen the time to five seconds, ten seconds, one whole minute....and always give him the treat. In just a few days, your puppy will look fixedly at your hand. You can get him to look wherever you want just by moving your hand. Eventually you wont need a treat in your hand, and you wont need to have a closed fist either. Combine the training with the word you want to use in the ring for getting his attention, that word might be "wait" or "watch". Many handlers will carry a toy, especially if they are showing a cute little toy dog, and they will bait the dog with the toy. This is fine...
Manners are vital at a dog show. Your dog must not lunge nor bark aggressively at other dogs or people when they go by his crate. Loud barking and fierce growling can completely destroy the confidence of someone else's young puppy, to say nothing of human children attending the show. Train your dog for crate manners by takng him to the other places where dogs abound. Dog parks are great. Allow him to become familiar with other dogs. When he is in a crate, train him by rewarding him for quiet behavior. This is easy to do actually, with most dogs. If you have a dog that acts vicious in a crate, set it up. Put his crate in the midst of other dogs...or invite all the neighbors with their dogs to walk by your dog while he is in his crate next to the sidewalk in front of your house. Stand twenty feet away and quietly say "good dog, good quiet" in a soothing tone as the neighbor begins to come near. Have the neighbor stop every few feet while the dog is approaching.while you run over and give your dog a quick treat and a word of praise. Only do this if and when he is quiet. As the dog /neighbor approaches closer, if the dog gets aggressive ,each time he growls or carries on, show GREAT disapproval in your voice. Holler at him. Stomp your feet. Throw a temper tantrum. and start over again, new neighbor, new dog, or the same old neighbor and dog. Most dogs are smart enough to figure this out pretty quickly. For better control at the ringside, always hold your dog by the collar, or with a SHORT leash. Long leashes held loosely allow for great mistakes to happen. If there should be a crowd at ringside or a sudden lunge by another dog, you simply don't have control with a leash that is any longer than 6 or 8 inches. So keep that leash short , or at least short enough to keep control. You can lengthen it out when you enter the ring, of course.It goes without saying that you must be alpha dog in your home. If you can not control your dog because you have spoiled him rotten or you simply dont have the strength, then you should indeed hire a Handler. (find out what a handler is)
At A.K.C. shows, slip collars (choke collars made of chain or nylon) are allowed, or buckle collars. Prong collars are not allowed. Most handlers choose to use a chain collar on a long coated dog and the nylon collars tend to catch the hair. Good collars are a must. Many of the smoth coated breeds and breeds with long necks such as the sight hounds will wear a buckle collar that is fitted tightly around the neck. It is possible to purchase fine chain collars, and these work exceptionally well for training as you can put the collar on so that it is directly behind the dog's ears and snug tight up under the chin, and with just a short "reminder" when necessary you can help the dog to hold his head high and look proud as he is gaiting. The secret is just putting the collar up high on the dog's neck.
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a recipe for GREAT BAIT: nuked hotdogs: slice 'em thin and spread 'em out on paper towel and cook 'em till they're crispy. |
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WHAT IS THE CONFORMATION RING? THE GROUP RING AND BEST IN SHOW
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