Dog stance at an exhibition. Exhibition stand. Proper education of a champion. About the correct stance
The ability to take the correct stance and maintain it is important for exhibition, service and hunting dogs. But before moving on to teaching this skill, the owner should know that a stationary standing position is unnatural for a dog and requires great physical effort from the animal.
On the other hand, it is much easier for a pet to learn how to do a stand at a young age. Puppies are more receptive to learning, tolerate discomfort more easily, and respond positively to rewarding treats and affection. Thus, if you plan to participate in exhibitions with your dog, start preparing at six months, or even earlier.
Stance training sequence
The correct stance at an exhibition allows judges to visually assess the proportionality of the body and limbs, the angles of articulations and other advantages of thoroughbred representatives. To show off a dog with the best side, you will have to teach her to stand in a traditional position, in which the front legs are held parallel, the hind legs are laid back slightly, and the metatarsals are strictly vertical to the floor.
- A special leash and collar will initially help the dog tune in to appropriate behavior. If the same thin show collar is put on her before each lesson, a reflex will form. The puppy will learn to stand calmer in this type of equipment.
- During the first lessons, you will have to correct the stance manually, first exposing the front paws, then the hind paws. Having achieved the desired position, hold the position for about a minute using the collar, after which encouragement and affection must follow.
- Holding the stance. The duration should be increased gradually, since fixed poses are quite difficult for the dog. The first classes last from 15 seconds to a minute, then the duration gradually increases.
- The “Stand” command is given after the posture has been corrected. At the end of the lesson, be sure to praise the puppy, treat him generously and caress him. The animal should have a positive attitude towards the training and the stance itself, because during the evaluation process at the exhibition, judges will pay attention not only to the position of the paws, but also to the dog’s friendliness.
The owner will have to be patient while practicing the skill; in addition, one should not forget about the procedure for showing teeth and other exhibition nuances.
Gross mistakes by the trainer
Any excessive force will negatively affect the formation of the skill - for example, too sharp jerks of the leash when holding a stance or strong pressure on the sacrum. It is extremely important to maintain the combination of a characteristic hand gesture and command from time to time, as well as the distance between the pupil and the trainer.
The exposure time is selected individually, but holding it for too long will cause negative emotions and resistance. If you interrupt the exercise too quickly, the dog will not remember the pose. As practice shows, best results gives patient, persistent, but calm repetition.
Without taking a break from the game, the dog, already accustomed to the ring, is placed on the floor (or table) and given the required position with his hands, and given the command “Stand”. At first, you can support the dog for lower jaw to secure the stand. But over time you need to get away from this.
The dog must stand on its own.
When the dog froze in correct position for at least 3 seconds, she needs to be given one piece of treat, fixing the stand.
You need to command “Stop” again, and when the dog does not take his eyes off the treat held in his hand, the owner must draw with a smooth movement of his hand big circle in the air.
After this, give the treat again. And so on for each next piece after the command and circle by hand. This is done so that the dog calmly waits for the treat in the stand.
The movement of the hand seems to hypnotize her, she freezes and waits for a treat. In addition, the dog gets used to the fact that the owner can make movements with his hand, for example, adjusting the ring, and at the show he will not jump in search of a treat. A circle is “drawn” by hand only at the initial stage of training. When the dog stands still long time, this maneuver will no longer be needed.
The treat should be given as long as the dog stands nice and motionless. Then she will remember the correct position faster and for a longer period of time. If the dog sits down or moves its paw, you need to sharply turn away from it and walk away for 30 seconds. After this, you need to start the training stage from the beginning. When the treat is finished, the dog should be praised and petted loudly. Even when a stance is perfect, it needs to be repeated several times at the exhibition before the performance.
When you buy a dog to participate in exhibitions, you take on much more responsibilities and responsibilities than simply acquiring a new family member. In addition to commands, you will need to teach your student special behavioral skills for evaluation by experts. One of them is the stand. How to properly teach a dog this pose?
Preparing the dog for competitions
Preparation for the first exhibition is an important and responsible stage adult life dog and owner. After all, both the owner and the dog must learn to move correctly. For this you will need a ring, a treat, and a toy. A show leash is a special exhibition leash made of metal, leather, nylon, on which your pet will be exhibited. The ring should be secured behind the dog's ears, spreading wide across the shoulder blades to the chest.
Breeders advise choosing a ring coat of the same color as the dog’s coat color. Its thickness should be calculated taking into account emergency situations in order to withstand the force of the pet. At the same time, it should look presentable.
About the correct stance
In the ring, each owner of his pupil must show the experts both in motion and in a standing position. He should remain in this position until you allow him to change it.
What does “correct stance” mean? The dog should keep its front paws perpendicular to the floor, but strictly parallel to each other. They are exactly on the same line. The dog's hind legs are slightly laid back. They must also be parallel to each other. Their metatarsals are perpendicular to the floor. Also at exhibitions it is allowed for one of the hind limbs (farthest from the jury member) to be placed under the dog’s body. The exhibitor must keep his tail and head parallel to the floor.
There are two options for showing your pet's stance. The first one is manual. The owner, who is also the handler, supports the tail and head of the dog with his own hands. He can, if necessary, adjust the position of his paws with his hands. The ring is fixed tightly under the cheeks; it should not collect folds of skin on the neck.
The second stand option is free. The handler takes a position in front of his pet, and his tail wags or is extended. Usually, with a free stance, the handler attracts the puppy’s attention with a toy or treat.
Method of training to stand
Like teaching commands, this skill in a dog needs to be developed gradually. The basis for learning to stand should be fluent command of the “stand” command. In this case you should put in correct posture your pet and give the command “stand”, then move a little to the side and see if your pet is standing correctly.
Sometimes breeders and handlers use a large mirror to teach a puppy to stand. Sometimes, when training takes place on a walk, you can put the dog near store windows and see how correct his posture is.
You can also involve a family member in the training so that he can suggest mistakes and evaluate the dog’s posture.
When the dog has learned to place his limbs precisely and clearly, to hold his head and tail, your task is to teach him to freeze and maintain a stance. The dog must stand until you give him another command, such as “walk.” Just don’t abuse your dog’s obedience and force him to stand for too long. A shutter speed of three minutes will be quite enough.
Stance training usually involves using your pet's favorite treat. Praise your dog, pet it, rejoice in its successes - and it will understand that you are pleased with its skills.
When preparing for exhibitions, it is equally important to accustom your pupil to examining fur and teeth. He should respond calmly to the fact that you and another person run your hand over his fur and open his mouth to examine his teeth. The dog also needs to be trained to do this while standing. But do this only after she has clearly mastered this skill.
Place the animal in a standing position. Give the command “stand.” Next, lightly run your hand back and forth across the fur. Then touch the tail, head. During the examination, the dog should be motionless and calm.
Owners should teach male dogs to be calm when examining the testes.
If there is a month or more left before the planned exhibition, then you should study with its future participant every other day, for ten minutes. When time is short, train daily with breaks of 15-20 minutes.
The first thing a dog is taught to participate in shows is the show stand.
A special stance with a certain position of the hind limbs is characteristic of each breed. This element is extremely important so that judges can correctly assess both the harmony of the dog as a whole and individual traits. Therefore, training in exhibition stand is a task of paramount importance.
How to teach a dog to show stand?
If the puppy is collar and leash trained, place him on the floor (or, if he is the size of a cocker spaniel or smaller, on a table) and give the commands “Run” and “Ring”. Then give your pet the desired position with your hands. Some dog breeds can be supported under the lower jaw and under the belly to secure the stand. But there are breeds where a free stance is necessary.
If the puppy is excitable, you can fixate it on a piece of treat or an interesting object. You stand in front of the dog, command “Ring” and hold the object at some distance from the puppy.
It is important that the puppy stands still for at least 30 seconds. But, of course, you don’t achieve this right away. First, the baby should take the desired position for a couple of seconds, be sure to praise him loudly and give him a treat.
At first, the dog is held by the collar, but if the stance is correct, the collar is released, without allowing the puppy to move.
Do not say unnecessary words, do not scold the puppy if he takes longer than you expected. Be persistent and patient.
It is important that the team completes the execution, but not “carelessly”, but “cleanly”. The puppy must understand what you want from him. And if you decide that “it’ll do” for now and then “finish it up”, you will extend the process of learning the exhibition stand for a long time. In addition, retraining is much more difficult than immediately teaching correctly.
This material will help:
— dog lovers who are just getting ready to take the first steps with their pet in the show ring, but do not yet know how to independently prepare the dog for the show;
- owners who do not have the opportunity to pay professional handlers for training sessions and for showing their dog or, due to their territorial remoteness, do not have the opportunity to use their services.
A few numbers. Today, the cost of one hour-long group lesson to prepare a dog for an exhibition starts from 500 rubles per dog. An individual lesson, of course, will cost even more.
Also, the cost of exhibiting a dog by a handler in the ring starts from 1000 rubles per ring, and this is the price for an “on-site” exhibition. A traveling exhibition (with a trip to another city) will cost you much more.
Our history. How it all began.
Chucky was my first dog, and then I had very little idea of all the intricacies of holding exhibitions, so when the exhibition career of my 12-time Champion () was just beginning, I decided to trust the professionals. I took the puppy to classes at a handler's gym (fortunately, there is one in Belgorod), to a good, trusted specialist - the handler was recommended to us by the breeder from whom we bought our Chucky.
Of course, then I didn’t even think about exhibiting it myself. At the very first exhibitions, Chucky entered the Bests and received best descriptions from experts, the highest marks and wishes to definitely pursue his career!
From the dizzying success, we “fell ill” with exhibitions!.. There were away shows and the largest Russian one ahead, but our favorite handler was going on maternity leave... I realized that then I would have to learn to get out on my own!
Sobakevich was smart and immediately understood what was required of him, but I was very worried about my inexperience in the ring. We started going to classes at the handlers' hall, mostly to prepare me for shows.
I still remember how nervous I was in the ring in Tula... I am immensely grateful to Lyudmila Vasilievna Anishchenko (international category expert, head of the Credo kennel club in the city of Tula) for the wonderful warm atmosphere at the exhibition. Newcomers, like me, received tremendous emotional support from her! I remember a couple of times she even went into the ring with the dog herself to show us a mini master class on how to properly expose the dog.
It was then that I saw and analyzed for myself that dog owners who do not bother with the services of professional handlers and ignore the need for show training exist, and, moreover, even go to exhibitions!
True, the show stance of their dogs in the ring reminds me more of the crucifix in the picture below...
Dog show stand - what is it for?
The main goal of visiting an exhibition is to get an expert description and assessment of the dog. The expert must carefully examine the dog and analyze it breed qualities and describe how closely they correspond to the existing breed standard. For this purpose, the dog is always assessed in movement and in standing position.
We'll talk about movement in the ring next time, but now let's focus on the dog's exhibition stance. A show dog must be able to stand still and calm. While the dog is standing, the expert will look at it from the side and also touch it - he will evaluate the dog’s condition, the condition of the coat, the strength of the limbs, etc.
Chucky Black Belogorye at the international dog show in Poland (Sieradz). July 2016. The examination is carried out by Jane Paradise (UK) All dogs, without exception, on the command “Teeth” must demonstrate the number of their teeth and their appearance, gum condition and bite. Here, at the expert’s discretion, there are two options for the development of events - the expert can raise the dog’s lips independently or ask the handler to do it.
International Dog Show in Minsk (Belarus) - June 2016 Natalia Levitte (Germany) examines Chucky Black's teeth Also an expert in mandatory manually assesses the condition of the testes in male dogs. The dog must be prepared for all possible manipulations of the expert and react to them completely calmly.
Keep in mind that when examining a dog, the expert evaluates not only physiological, but also psychological characteristics dogs. Dogs that demonstrate cowardice or aggression in the ring will be disqualified and will not receive a breeding assessment. This means that in the future they will not be allowed to breed!
What should a dog's show stance be like?
The beautiful exhibition stance of the future Champion should be free, natural and beautiful. This is exactly the stance a well-trained dog demonstrates.
Chucky Black in a free stance at the international dog show in Riga (Latvia). April 2016The dog that was trained knows perfectly well what and how it should do and how to behave correctly in the ring - it is confident and calm, stands motionless while the expert examines and touches it. Such a dog does not get scared and does not tuck its tail, does not grin or growl. Such a dog obviously has a better chance of winning the ring than one that is not prepared and, most likely, is under some stress or confusion from an unusual situation for it and therefore cannot show itself in all its glory.
Free dog stance
The concept of “free stance” means that the handler does not touch or correct the dog with his hands.
The dog takes the correct position on its own, on command.
You need to think about what this command will be like in advance and start training the puppy, be sure to clearly and clearly pronounce this word. There is no standard command for this case; choose according to your taste - for example, it could be the word “Show” or “Stand”.
When should you start preparing your dog for shows?
The correct stance, in my opinion, is the most difficult of all the necessary skills for a dog to participate in exhibitions, so training a dog must begin from puppyhood.
Short but regular classes can already be started from the moment the puppy moves from the breeder to the owners.
If experts are always ready to make allowances for inexperience for puppies in the “Baby” age group, then starting from juniors, and even more so in the class of young dogs, a show dog should already demonstrate a well-practised stance.
Socialization of the dog, beautiful productive movements in the ring, as well as show grooming are also very important, but these are separate topics for discussion.
How to teach a puppy to stand.
The first thing you need to start with is to completely capture the puppy’s attention. The easiest way to do this is with food or treats, so you need to train your dog on an empty stomach. Let the puppy sniff the food, lead him by your hand, luring him with a treat. Praise, sometimes give a “piece” to maintain motivation. If the puppy is not distracted and follows your hand like a magnet, you have mastered the first exercise.
Remember that the younger the puppy, the shorter your sessions should be. Start with a couple of minutes a day, gradually increasing the time. The main thing is to exercise regularly and do it positively. Your contact with your dog should be pleasant - always reinforce the dog's correct behavior with praise and treats.
The dog should “love” such activities, since they are not tiring and are accompanied by treats.
A few words about the delicacy. It should not be dry (the dog can easily choke) and should not crumble (so that the pieces do not fall to the ground and distract the dog from its activities). The pieces themselves should be small in size, otherwise the dog will quickly get full and lose interest. The person should take several pieces of treat into his fist at once and give them to the dog one at a time, as if counting out coins thumb. It is convenient to use as such “goodies”, for example, low-fat boiled sausage, frankfurters, boiled beef heart or pieces of beef or turkey scalded with boiling water.
Once the bite-magnet exercise has been mastered, you need to teach the puppy to freeze in a balanced position. Now you give food only when all four paws are firmly touching the floor. Dogs are very smart creatures, the puppy will “figure out” at what moment he receives his treat and will remember why he was rewarded by you.
Your task is to give a piece only at the moment of correct completion of the task!
Be patient and kindly persistent, remember that a puppy is a small, restless child who is bored without play and movement. If the puppy has learned to freeze for a few seconds without jumping up or trying to bite the food out of your hand, then you can try putting the puppy in a show rack.
In my opinion, the simplest and most reliable way to practice the show stand with a dog is to use a special simulator entitled - " Happy paws"or, as it is called in the "canine common people" - " happy«.
What are Happy Legs?
A dog stance training machine can be purchased on the Internet. Although, having necessary materials, happy leggings It’s quite easy to make yourself.
Today there are many designs of happy cars, but they all have the same essence - these are four not slippery elevations for the dog’s paws, which allow you to reliably hold it in a static position.
Each paw support has a limited area, so the dog will not be able to step from paw to paw, mark time, jump, much less sit down. The dog turns out to be “fixed” in a position where its front and rear, as well as right and left paws are located clearly parallel to each other - on the same line.
Various Happy Legs Designs
If you have several dogs of different sizes or a puppy (who, of course, continues to grow), then an adjustable stand trainer is your option. For example, like this:
Option 1.
Thanks to the adjustable support positions in length and width, these happy leggings are very comfortable and can be easily adjusted to suit dogs of different sizes:
Option 2.
Another model of an adjustable happy pet, built from bars on stiletto heels, which can “grow” with your pet.
There are even happy endings “in suitcases”.
Option 3.
Or “within”:
Option 4.
In handling halls they often use the simplest version of Happy Legs - two “bedside tables”.
During training on such a simulator, you will have to be more careful to ensure that the dog in the stance places its paws correctly - not too close, but not too wide.
In addition, each time you will need to “adjust” the happypick again in accordance with the “length” of your dog.
It’s great if you have the opportunity to show your dog on such happy leggings in front of the mirror. This will help you evaluate from the outside the parallelism of the paws.
Before putting the dog in a Happy Stance
Let's talk about safety precautions - once again I will draw your attention to the fact that the surface on which the dog places its paws should not be slippery. Otherwise, the situation will turn out like in the photo below - the paws will slip, and the dog will definitely begin to get nervous because of its unstable position.
The same should be noted about the surface on which the happypick is installed. It must be level so that the simulator stands level and does not wobble, distracting and irritating the dog.
Never leave your dog alone on a happy hour, be nearby and insure your pet. You need to be especially careful when working with puppies so that if they stumble, they do not fall. Therefore, it is best to work with the “baby” on the floor and not on the table.
Functions of the simulator for training the stance in dogs.
The main tasks that happypic helps to solve:
- helps to reduce the time during which the dog masters the show position,
- helps the dog feel the correct balance of the body,
- allows the animal’s muscle memory to fix the correct paw placement,
- develops the dog's endurance, obedience and ability to concentrate,
- creates a positive attitude towards work in the dog through positive reinforcement.
How did we do the dog stand trainer?
Basic Rules:
- First, you need to practice with a hungry dog.
- Secondly, do not forget about the obligatory reward of the animal not only with a “piece”, but also with praise.
- Thirdly, exercise regularly and increase the duration of exercise gradually, without overtiring your dog.
I’ll tell you how I worked with my dogs. With a piece, I “lured” the dog to the happy pick so that he would put it on the posts himself front paws. She gave her a treat, praised her, and on the command “At ease,” she let the dog go. And so on several times. This is the first stage - the dog gets used to the happy mood and a positive attitude is formed for training.
When the dog quickly and “fun” learns to stand with his front paws on the happy leggings, we help him “install” rear paws on posts. We take the leg by the joint and smooth With a movement we set it to the happy peak. When all four paws “in place” - we praise the dog, feed it and release it, but be sure to only on command!
Speaking of teams. When you start training on the simulator, Necessarily give a specific command. For example, " Rack" or " Boxing ring". Repeat it every time at the start of classes. In the future, when the dog hears this command in the ring, it will be a kind of “beacon” for its calmness and correct behavior.
Since I'm talking about teams, I'll continue. In order for the dog to be ready for manual examination in the ring, you also need to prepare - train with a dog special team, you can call it, for example, “ Inspection". Put the dog in a stand, and let someone from the family, or better yet a friend, touch and feel your dog - from the top of the head to the very tail.
Don't forget to run the command " Teeth". Start training yourself - lift the dog’s lips on one side, then on the other, and keep them open for a while. Then connect some “assistant” who can do this with you.
Don't forget to periodically praise, pat, scratch your dog for correct behavior and give him a treat.
Let's return to our simulator. When the dog calmly stands up on the happy peak, we lure it with a treat so that the dog’s body stretches out in a straight line - the muzzle and tail should be on the same “visual axis”. It is enough to fixate the baby for a few seconds and immediately allow “Free” adult dog hold longer - about 30 seconds.
Remember that the time needs to be increased gradually. After all, we will be engaged regularly, and regularly, in my understanding, this is at least once or twice a day. On the eve of the exhibition, I generally feed the dog for several days only on a happy pic.
So, our dog learned to stand on the happy pike, she remembered that it was good - she was fed deliciously there and praised. She loves to exercise! We begin to slowly but surely train endurance - increase the time the dog spends in a standing position.
To make it easier for me and more understandable for the dog, I came up with the idea of training the dog to count. I say “one, two, three, four, five” and give them a tasty treat. Pause and again - “one, two, etc.” , delicacy. And so on several times. The further (with each subsequent lesson), the slower I count, the longer I pause between words. 🙂
When the dog can easily and calmly stand for a minute and a half, we take it off the happy stick and put it in a stand next to it, on the floor (don’t forget about the “Ring” command or whatever you have). Same team, same score, same treats. Now the dog’s muscle memory, coupled with your signals, allows him to practice the stance in the desired position - without moving and with the paws positioned correctly!
A few days before a serious and significant exhibition, I start feeding the dog only on a happy pic. On such days, our time in the stand can reach up to 7-8 minutes. Since my dogs are drying (and you remember that we don’t feed dry food on the happy pike so that the animal doesn’t choke), I soak the dry food granules in warm water a few minutes before training. boiled water. I feed moistened kibble to a dog who stands quietly on his Happy Legs. I feed and count to ten. More precisely, on the contrary - at first I count slowly and only then do I give the granule! 😉
At the exhibition Chucky Black shows beautiful free rack!
I don’t even have to look at Chucky, I know he’ll do everything perfectly. MYSELF!
After all, he already has Twelve Championship Titles in Four Countries!
Chucky Black in a free stance at the international exhibition "World Cup" Moscow
Happy Legs helped my naturally balanced dogs learn to stand up and give them the opportunity to remember the correct position of their paws.
Unfortunately, there are dogs whose body balance is disturbed, and they simply cannot be in a beautiful, even stance. The owners of such dogs have to work together with dog handlers to develop a balance. One popular tool for developing balance is to use another dog stand trainer:
Balancing hummocks for dogs
I won’t write a lot about balancing bumps, but rather I’ll show you a short video, from which, I think, you yourself will understand how and why they are used in training with dogs.
Since we didn't use these simulators, I don't have much to say about them. If information about training a dog’s balance is relevant to you, you can easily find “ balancing bumps» via a search engine. And I’ll just put a couple more photos of them:
Afterword...
I have come across an opinion online that Happy Legs are ineffective. I declare with authority that the person who made this judgment has most likely never used this dog stand trainer himself...
I have two show dogs, Jack Russell Terriers. We trained with both of them at happy sessions and the result is obvious! With his eldest male Jack Russell Terrier Chucky Black we started training on happy legs when he already knew what the ring and exhibitions were, but we needed to work on free rack.
At the beginning of this article, I told you why I had to show my dog in the rings on my own. And if a handstand would have worked at local exhibitions, then we had to be perfectly prepared to go abroad to international exhibitions for new Champion titles (we now have Belarus, Latvia, Ukraine and Poland in our baggage)!
When a second dog appeared in our family, little Gabi Black, HappyPick classes again helped me “fix” this little dog, at least for a minute, in the correct position!
If suddenly, even after reading this article, you still continue to doubt your abilities - will you be able to adequately show your dog in the ring without resorting to the help of a professional handler, I will redirect you to my other material - .
Read, and you will see that even children (of course, with regular training and mentoring from elders) exhibit dogs perfectly ( large breeds including)!
Can't you do it too? 😉
I hope that the material in this article will be not only interesting, but also useful!
I wish you and your ponytails victories!
Let the rings give you only positive emotions!!!
And dogs rush through our lives...
This might be hard for someone to understand:
Dressing grounds, exhibitions, prizes...
We warn you - be careful!
Our diagnosis is accurate and cruel
And the disease, alas, is incurable.
Once I picked up a leash,
You will understand the reason for this.
Apparently our heavenly zodiac
Marked with something special.
If there were no dogs in the world,
We would come up with them, of course!