First Show coming up....advise appreciated

[Nsane4Bxrs]

Hey everyone-

Been a long time but I finally got some time to post. Not much new here except I have my pup Scarlett in her first show on Labor Day weekend. Although I have been to this show as a spectator its the first time I will be competeing. Needless to say I am a nervous wreck, I was wondering if anyone has any helpful suggestions or tips for the owner handler at a big show. I am not expecting to beat out the Pro's but I want to make as little of a fool of myself as possible..lol

Here are a few pictures of my hopeful, she is 7 1/2 months now.

[doberkim]

shes very cute!

have you taken handler classes? you may want to look into some private lessons to get some tips from pro handlers, trainers, etc on how to stack, what the process will be in the ring, etc.

i cant really evaluate her but when you stack her, make sure she has her front end under her. im not a huge fan of articially parking a dog out like its a halter horse, but it wins in the ring but definitely keep the front end under her!

[Novel]

Boxers are a very competitive breed in the ring, VERY! My short time in the ring with a Boxer was a little frustrating.

In your pic, like Doberkim said, you want to get her straight up and down , and maybe not so far out in the back. You also want her to arch her neck, so keep her head back and high. The neck should form one side of an invisible, diagonal, straight line that runs along the back of the neck, and the front of the stifles. Weimaraners and Boxers are stacked almost identically. Here is a pic of Topper. Notice the front feet are directly underneath, this makes the feet look smaller and tighter, and you want that in a Boxer. Also note that the hocks are straight up and down in back. Use them as a guide to see how far back you want to place the back feet.

[Novel]

Also, wanted to add, Boxers are known as a head breed. So you want the judge to notice her head, and the best way to attract that attention is to have her being very alert, and showing expression. You want her to be happy and looking her absolute perkiest!!

[Odetoadream]

First off, you have a very pretty girl, I wish you the best of luck in the ring!

Second, arrive early and try to relax. Observe other handlers in the ring just to refresh yourself while you wait. Don't rush yourself.

Relax, this is supose to be fun. Trust me, you can't do anything in the ring the judge hasn't seen before. You'd be suprised at some of the first show horror stories that a lot of the professionals have.

Either way, you win. Because you are gaining experiance as is your pup, so keep it fun for her and yourself. You may make mistakes, but that's how you learn, and noone will run up to you as you leave the ring and scold you or anything. :P Everyone started some place and I'm betting they was far from perfect their first show too.

Best if luck!
Cinthia

[Kymcole25]

Everyone has given great advise, but one thing you may want to do is chew minty gum...or something mint flavored. It helps hide your nerves from a dog, that way Scarlett will focus on doing good in the ring, and not worry about anything else.

[Nsane4Bxrs]

Wow! Thanks everyone, especially for the tips on improving my stacking skills. I have taken her to a few handling classes but unfortunately with 2 kids and hubby working a full schedule I don't have the ability to go to many, so mostly its all self taught. Scarlett is my first show pup so its somewhat of a new world for me. Trust me all the kind words and tips will be put to good use.

The plan is to place her with a professional handler, which is the main reason for going to this particular show, the handler we hope to use has asked us to bring her so he can evaluate her and he said he will tell us when he will take her after he sees her in person. But I figured since she is old enough, it didn't make since to go and not give her at least a taste of whats to come..lol

[Novel]

Good luck in the ring. I always get sad when someone says they're handing their pup off to a handler. Sigh. I would have missed out on so much if I had let someone else handle Topper, but there are tradeoffs, they wouldn't have made the mistakes I have, and would have finished him long ago, but there is a pride that I've handled him to where he is now, owner handler errors and all.

My only advice, Do what is best for your girl. It's different for every person and dog, but keep that in mind, and you can't go wrong.

[Nsane4Bxrs]

While I would love to do all her handling, I know I am not at a point where I am able to travel more than a few hours to go to shows (kids and such..lol), and even then it depends on hubby's work schedule. So I thought I may show her myself in local shows around here if she isn't off with the handler. Plus the contract I signed states that I have to have a certain number of shows with a handler.

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

Good luck with your bitch....I just love a good brindle on a Boxer.

Three of the biggest things I would recommend are:

If you don't have a full length mirror buy one now and practice stacking her in front of it. Not only will it give you a better angle to see how your stacking her up but you'll also get to see a bit of what the judge will be looking at.

Along those same lines, turn your yard into a ring, practice presenting her to the judge from beginning to end, the whole thing, from the first stack, once around and even the down and back. To become more comfortable handling it helps if you play it out from beginning to end until if starts to become habit.

When you work with her in the yard have someone video tape it and then go back and review it. You'll be amazed with both the mirror and the video how many things you'll see that you didn't even realize you were doing. You can then go on to correct things as needed until you like what you see.

Best of luck to you and may every show bring more points!

[RedHotDobe]

I will just say that handling classes really do help. I went to a class with one of my breeder's puppies, and learned quite a lot in that little amount of time. I'm by no means anyway near being a decent handler and can't stack worth crap, but it was still fun.