Show Help

[jack]

Hi,

We have just gotten a 9 week old Dobermann pup, and I am going to show him when he is older.

Just would like to have some handy hints and tips for preparing him etc.
He is my first proper show dog, although I have shown my Std Poodle in breed handling stakes, but very limited.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

[Dobs4ever]

Jack - when you say show him to dyou mean conformation or obedience??? I ask because in your earlier post you mentioned obedience. Regardless I teach my puppies the same thing and prepare them for both. I feel both venues have something to teach the dog. For stacking there is a good article on the DPCA web site by Michelle Santana. Just do a web search for Doberman Pinscher Club of America and go to the articles.

When doing conformation the puppy is always in his show collar for obedience he is in his flat collar til about 6 to 9 months then a pinch.

For obedience I teach sit, down, stand, come, stay heel - All taught through games to keep the puppy working and happy. It is probably too much to try to type all that out here.

[RKCM]

At 9 weeks, it's all about making that bond. Housetraining, crate training, and lots and lots of love! At 9 weeks, I'd be making sure I gave the puppy confidence and doing what's fun to build the bonds. Dobes4Ever and others can add to that and I'd take their advice.

Best Wishes on your new family member.

[jack]

I mean conformation, but obedience and agility as well.

He has settled in well and we are giving him all the love he deserves:)
I won't be showing him until the show in late november when he will nearly be six months, as we don't have very many shows here, and its long drives to other areas.

Toilet training is going well, and we so far have a nearly consistent sit, but he tends to get distracted, he just loves playing with our enlish toy terrier as they are nearly the same size, but not for long.

I just sort of meant helpful hints and tips for preparing in conformation etc.

[Dobs4ever]

Well one thing that will help you avoid problems later is teaching stand and stack now. I teach sit and down and teach stand stack 3 X's as much - Getting that tail up. The puppy has to have clear direction when doing them both or they will tend to sit when you stop and turn to stack them because that is what you have worked on the most.

You have to start stand now and honestly for a couple weeks I would stop all sits until you have a solid stand stack. Start in small increments building on time and focus.

[janterra]

I spend a lot of time just playing with puppy and getting them used to being petted and rubbed all over, manipulated and haveing their feet and mouths touched. When they are young the one exercise I always start with is 'watch'. Which is just as it sounds, holding a tasty treat and teaching them to stand and focus on the treat. I start with them watching for only a second or two and then gradually bump the time up, and then add distractions, doing the exercise in new places etc. Trust me it really comes in handy for further training, and is a great stress free exercise to teach puppy for now.

[Panama]

I am fairly new to conformation, and both Dobes4ever and Janterra both have fantastic points.

I have a DVD by Jeff Brucker and it has helped me tremendously. Unfortunately, I didn't get the DVD until my pup was much too large to table stack, but it has definitely helped a lot.

I agree wholeheartedly on the "Watch" and omitting the "sit" command.

I also contacted my local AKC affilliated Kennel Club. They offered Conformation Classes.
So far, I've only taken my male to one AKC show. He did take a 2nd in Class the first day, and gained a little ring experience the second day.

[Dobs4ever]

Many show people do not think you can train obedience and conformation at the same time and I say why not? I have done so and not had a problem with it. First when we work on stacking, gaiting around the ring, down and back etc I have them in a show lead only and never let them sit.

For obedience they are in a flat leather collar until we switch to the pinch - One exercise a dog must do successrully for even entry level obedience is stand for exam so they use standing in both exercises but from a different point of view The cues are different. They pick up the difference very quickly because they are so smart.