Money's First Handling Class

Last night Ms. Money had her first show handling class. 

Show handling class is about teaching a dog how to work in the conformation show ring.  They must be stacked (have their feet and legs and body manipulated into the correct position), examined (have the judge go over them thoroughly, including teeth and testicles (if they have them), gait around the ring at a trot (this gait is chosen as it best shows the dogs' structure on the move) and bait (this means looking extremely appealing for the judge so he or she will be completely charmed and forget anything he or she saw that might not be perfect).  OK, OK, baiting is REALLY so that the judge can evaluate the dogs expression, the shape of his or her ears and eyes and get a feel for his temperament and willingness to interact with strangers.  Money however will likely be using her baiting skills for the former, as she is so disgustingly cute...

The MOST important part of taking a baby puppy to handling class is letting them become comfortable around as many people and dogs as you can. Socialization in new situations goes a long way to a well-adjusted, confident puppy that you can take anywhere without worry that he or she will be uncomfortable. Don't wait! The sooner you start, the better!

Anyhow, naturally I did not expect Money, at 3 months of age, to learn all of these skills in one night.  What I wanted was for her to go and see the class, hopefully interact positively with some of the people there, and learn a little bit about being stacked on the floor (thus far we've only stacked her on tables) and be gaited a few times. 

All of that went fairly well,  She was not intimidated by any of the other dogs (not even the two Komondorak, the Dane, the Chow or the Australian Shepherd).  She permitted me to stack her several times and even stood still for the instructor to pet her and play with her face a bit as a preface to checking her bite when she's gone to a few more classes.   She did gait for me on the lead, altho she had some objections to the show lead, which is not quite as loose or comfortable as her buckle collar. 

What she learned best, however, was the handling class involves SNACKS.  Lots of YUMMY, SMELLY, EXCELLENT SNACKS.  She had cheese, chicken, liver, dried lamb, dried fish, biscuits and some kind of liverwurst that I thought was quite gross.  She informed me later that all of it was lovely and we should go back inside and get some more.  

Teaching a puppy to learn to stand still and to bait is a bit of a challenge.  Especially when said puppy is apparently a CHOW HOUND and still has her pirhana-like puppy teeth.  However, we perservered.  I worked on having her WAIT for her snacks by hiding them in my hand.  Nudging her back whenever she grabbed at my fingers soon had her looking expectantly at my hand, which is the end goal of baiting.  When she is fully trained, the idea is for her to walk towards me (and the judge) and stack HERSELF in perfect position with her MOST charming and appealing expression waiting for her treat.  So, learning to stand and wait is a good start towards this.

By the way, there is absolutely NO REASON not to have your show puppy also in other classes for obedience, agility or other training.  Any dog who can learn both sit and down can also learn to STAND in show handling class.  Any dog who has shown that he or she knows it is DINNERTIME just be your behavior can understand the difference between showing in conformation and showing in obedience or rally or agility.  Don't give up that valuable time to get obedience training done just because you want to show your dog.  EVERY single one of my dogs has had training in show handling AND obedience AND field from infancy and they are NOT confused.  

That said, Money heads tomorrow for her first obedience class.  Will keep you posted....