# How to calm a puppy down in the ring



## Christen113 (Dec 3, 2014)

I've got Cooper in conformation classes now and by the end of the class, he really does a nice job but it's a struggle when we're in close proximity to other dogs or when the judge/instructor comes over to examine him. Do you have any tips for calming them down? I've got him in classes two nights a week (obedience and conformation) but we're really struggling with his overwhelming desire to say hello and play with everyone and everything  I think I'll start doing the obedience classes with his show collar instead of the pinch as well. I'm thinking I'll show up pretty early before the show and really walk him around and let people pet him, etc. so he'll calm down but if you have any other tips, I'd love to hear them!!


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## flatcoated (Feb 3, 2013)

Do everything you can to preserve that energy and sense of fun for him, but work on teaching him how to focus on you. He will learn the rules of the game sooner or later, and the energy and enthusiasm you're seeing now will eventually translate into attitude and a dog who looks like he loves being in the ring. Resources I have really liked for helping to teach dogs how to channel their attention and energy without eventually losing that edge that makes them a joy to watch once they are fully trained include Susan Garrett's Crate Games, DVDs of Bridget Carlsen's seminar, and for conformation-specific training, the Lams dog training workshop DVDs.

I desperately wish I had made this my focus from the beginning with my current/first show dog. I focused too much in the beginning on getting him to stand still, behave, etc and while he is generally very compliant and moves like a dream, he loses a lot of the sparkle and energy when we go into the ring that really makes a dog stand out in the long run. I'm now working on retraining him to make it as much fun as possible -- playing with him in the ring and going back to some of the resources I named -- but I wish I'd done things differently in the first place.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

We have success with young pups in the show ring by clicker training their skills, and teaching them exactly what to do so they dont have grey area in which to make a poor choice. You want them to radiate confidence and polish, and the clicker is a very precise training tool to let them now exactly how to be right. Spitting treats instead of handing them out sounds gross can be very useful bc the pup then focuses on faces, and has something to think about.


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## Christen113 (Dec 3, 2014)

Ljilly28 said:


> We have success with young pups in the show ring by clicker training their skills, and teaching them exactly what to do so they dont have grey area in which to make a poor choice. You want them to radiate confidence and polish, and the clicker is a very precise training tool to let them now exactly how to be right. Spitting treats instead of handing them out sounds gross can be very useful bc the pup then focuses on faces, and has something to think about.


Thanks! 

Saw your new baby Sayer on Facebook...She is STUNNING!!!


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## Christen113 (Dec 3, 2014)

flatcoated said:


> Do everything you can to preserve that energy and sense of fun for him, but work on teaching him how to focus on you. He will learn the rules of the game sooner or later, and the energy and enthusiasm you're seeing now will eventually translate into attitude and a dog who looks like he loves being in the ring. Resources I have really liked for helping to teach dogs how to channel their attention and energy without eventually losing that edge that makes them a joy to watch once they are fully trained include Susan Garrett's Crate Games, DVDs of Bridget Carlsen's seminar, and for conformation-specific training, the Lams dog training workshop DVDs.
> 
> I desperately wish I had made this my focus from the beginning with my current/first show dog. I focused too much in the beginning on getting him to stand still, behave, etc and while he is generally very compliant and moves like a dream, he loses a lot of the sparkle and energy when we go into the ring that really makes a dog stand out in the long run. I'm now working on retraining him to make it as much fun as possible -- playing with him in the ring and going back to some of the resources I named -- but I wish I'd done things differently in the first place.


Thanks! I got the Lams DVD (so far just disc 2 because disc 1 was rented) per your suggestion too! I'll try these out.


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