# The perils of showing a puppy



## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

I know several of you have given me tips on showing Jack for the first time, which are much appreciated. Yesterday was our handling class and it just did not go as well as the first one. There was a woman who brought a bitch that was in season to the class.  It's against the kennel club rules to have a bitch in season on the grounds, but no one said anything and I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. But do you those of you who have intact males think that would cause Jack to lose focus? He was just all over the place mentally. 

This left me with a couple of questions. I know that practice is the most important thing, but assuming I'm already doing that (because I am and have been for weeks) do I just need to have an arsenal of treats/toys so that if this happens on Saturday I can try to reel his mind back in? Do any of you have suggestions on how to get a puppy to not be excited/wiggly/happy when the judge comes over? I'm actually laughing as I'm typing this because theoretically, I should be happy he's friendly and happy in front of the judge, but I also know the judge needs to do his/her job and when he's wiggling the judge can't really assess him. On our last go around, I just worked to hold him as tightly as I could and that seemed to work....sort of. Any other suggestions besides just holding him tightly?

All your help is greatly appreciated.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Let it be fun! The judge will help, and, seriously - Jack will probably surprise you and be much better than you'd expect.


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Pointgold said:


> Let it be fun! The judge will help, and, seriously - Jack will probably surprise you and be much better than you'd expect.


I was told to not tell the judge that it's "my first show" but that it's ok to tell him it's Jack's first show. Is that true?

I was just kind of caught off guard yesterday because he was so good in our first class but I think he was just on another planet yesterday. He still moved nicely though.....once he stopped galloping :doh:


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

Have him stand... touch his whithers... if he's still, feed a treat. If he wiggles, do less touch the next time. After a few good reps, increase the amount of the pet. The touching is the cue to stand still. This took a while for my wiggly dog but he's working SO hard to hold still! 

We've only had a couple opportunities to work around bitches in heat, but general distraction training helped us and each session went much better. Ultimately the distraction is the cue for him to be attentive to me.


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

Well if he's going into conformation, the odds are he might be smelling some of those girlies - and he'll have to keep his brains working. So it's not a big deal and totally normal for them to be goofy about it at first. Take some time, work through it and I'm sure he'll do well!

Lana


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## Retrieverlover (Feb 8, 2010)

It's all about fun! My pup is now 6.5month old and we surrvived our first show 2 weeks ago. She did good - it was me who was a nervous wrack. But we had fun. Tattle loved all the attention she got and first thing she did when we came home from the show - roll in a big dirty puddle. 

Handling class is a great way to socialize and learn with your pup. Tattle has occassional ring sight wrestling sessions with her best pal but it's okay. Once it's our turn she can be very serious.

My plan right now is get Tattle into a couple more shows and then have a fun summer with no shows so she can grow and get mature. At this point I think the shows are just for experience and I am not planning on winning or even advance.


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## Augie's Mom (Sep 28, 2007)

How do you keep an intact male's brain straight around a female in heat?

Even though Augie's fixed he's still curious and I've seen the intact boys; bye bye brain.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I told the judge once (when it was the truth), "this is my first show". He smiled and said, "mine too".


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

You don't keep it straight, but you do try to keep it focused on you instead. And like anything else, practice helps. When people bring bitches in heat to obedience class (in bitches britches, they are allowed to do this) I make Tito do his out of sight long sit-stay and long down-stay right next to them. Practice pratice. 
It can be pretty distracting, though, if they are in full standing heat and just keep on throwing themselves at him, the little hussies....




Augie's Mom said:


> How do you keep an intact male's brain straight around a female in heat?
> 
> Even though Augie's fixed he's still curious and I've seen the intact boys; bye bye brain.


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

hotel4dogs said:


> You don't keep it straight, but you do try to keep it focused on you instead. And like anything else, practice helps. When people bring bitches in heat to obedience class (in bitches britches, they are allowed to do this) I make Tito do his out of sight long sit-stay and long down-stay right next to them. Practice pratice.
> It can be pretty distracting, though, if they are in full standing heat and just keep on throwing themselves at him, the little hussies....


That's what happened last night. She was in the line-up in front of us and kept throwing her butt in his direction with her tail up. (Flagging, right?) He kept sniffing the air like "there's something here I've never smelled before....BUT I LIKE IT!!!!!" and tried to get to her. I actually just ordered a more substantial show lead because of last night. He was fine before on my cute little braided and beaded leather lead, but my hands were rubbed raw with that sucker last night trying to keep him away from her. My fiance suggested I wear a single sparkly glove in the ring on Saturday (to cover my bandaid) and act like it's totally normal. LOL


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Retrieverlover said:


> It's all about fun! My pup is now 6.5month old and we surrvived our first show 2 weeks ago. She did good - it was me who was a nervous wrack. But we had fun. Tattle loved all the attention she got and first thing she did when we came home from the show - roll in a big dirty puddle.
> 
> Handling class is a great way to socialize and learn with your pup. Tattle has occassional ring sight wrestling sessions with her best pal but it's okay. Once it's our turn she can be very serious.
> 
> My plan right now is get Tattle into a couple more shows and then have a fun summer with no shows so she can grow and get mature. At this point I think the shows are just for experience and I am not planning on winning or even advance.


I know, that's why I'm doing this with him now. Experience experience experience. We'll keep going to the handling classes and maybe do some lessons with our handler-friend. I'm thinking of entering him in a couple more shows this year but space them out. I know the most he'll do is win his class (and even then it's probably due to lack of competition) so I'm not expecting anything out of him in that regard. Just to have fun.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

LOL,intact male. But hey, it's great to look at it as a training opportunity rather than a horrible event 

As for wiggles--training and maturity are your best bet, IMO. For the short term, support him by the side/loin (or under if necessary) and accept that he is going to wiggle some. Reddogs gave some good info for long term training--be sure to add in lots of different people as you can. The neighborhood kids always work great for me when I walk the dog...and I find with Scout kids are the hardest


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

GoldenSail said:


> LOL,intact male. But hey, it's great to look at it as a training opportunity rather than a horrible event
> 
> As for wiggles--training and maturity are your best bet, IMO. For the short term, support him by the side/loin (or under if necessary) and accept that he is going to wiggle some. Reddogs gave some good info for long term training--be sure to add in lots of different people as you can. The neighborhood kids always work great for me when I walk the dog...and I find with Scout kids are the hardest


I think supporting him "under" is what will need to happen for the time being. I'm going to start the training that RedDogs suggested and just practice practice practice. For this weekend I'm not expecting too much, but the repitition of the handling class will help. 

Man, who knew a dog could be so flipping happy all of the time. I almost wish he would be a bit more serious, but I was told last night it's a lot easier to train a happy/wiggly dog to be better behaved than train a super serious dog to have fun in the ring. So he's got that going for him I guess. :bowl::bowl::bowl:


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

If you can train it, I think it is really impressive and fun to see the dogs that stand in a beautiful stack with their tails wagging like crazy! I've seen some talented handlers accomplish this with labs. It was pretty cool and something I wish myself I could train. If you have wiggly and happy, I am sure you are more likely to get that! I actually asked me conformation instructor once how to teach it and she laughed (ok, maybe it was a big dream) and said she only knows how to do it with males. Get a cotton ball and swab a bitch in heat and keep it in your freezer. Bring it out for the show


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## rappwizard (May 27, 2009)

A friend of mine told me about a golden who could do that in conformation! The handler (who I believe was the breeder) would say his name, and then "Wag" was the command. He would wag his tail in the stack! She said it was very impressive to see sitting ringside. He became a CH!

My handler has a saying and it goes like this "Maturity Is Your Friend." I am the world's worst at gaiting and handling puppies, that's why I had Mac with a handler; I even had one of my veterans, now gone, wiggle like a puppy our first time in the veterans ring together--he was 7 years old. When the veteran sweepstakes judge posed with our photo in the stack (we took third out of fourth, and you would have though we took BOB, I was so thrilled) he shouted to the photographer--"better hurry up--he's not going to stay still for very long." We were later dumped in the regular classes (four out of four). That judge went over him and turned to me and said "With veterans, I'm just so used to them being so much more, ah hem, CALMER!" 

Just go out and have fun--these dogs of ours take us on an entertaining journey and we just need to enjoy the ride!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

not sure I would recommend supporting him "under" when there's a bitch in standing heat right in front of him 




goldenjackpuppy said:


> I think supporting him "under" is what will need to happen for the time being. I'm going to start the training that RedDogs suggested and just practice practice practice. For this weekend I'm not expecting too much, but the repitition of the handling class will help.
> 
> Man, who knew a dog could be so flipping happy all of the time. I almost wish he would be a bit more serious, but I was told last night it's a lot easier to train a happy/wiggly dog to be better behaved than train a super serious dog to have fun in the ring. So he's got that going for him I guess. :bowl::bowl::bowl:


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

hotel4dogs said:


> not sure I would recommend supporting him "under" when there's a bitch in standing heat right in front of him


True. Ew - yes - good idea. Avoid the "under" in that situation. LOL


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## Solas Goldens (Nov 10, 2007)

HI... Finn & I are all new to this, and when we went to our first handling class I was also going to bring Bella, but didn't because she was in heat. I was trying to be considerate of the other people in the class.This brought about a discussion, the consensus was that although it may not be appropriate owners of a bitch in heat will still bring them, especially if they have already paid the entry or for the class. Everyone also felt that if you have a male dog he should learn to behave around a bitch in heat. 

For the most part Finn has really done well with his training, but this week he's been whining like a baby and tries to pull his head away when I'm stacking him.It is frustrating, so I have tried to keep my demeanor happy and work through it.
Finn is just 5 months and I guess I"m wondering how other people are doing or what they are experiencing with their pups.ANy feed back would be great. Thanks


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Solas Goldens said:


> HI... Finn & I are all new to this, and when we went to our first handling class I was also going to bring Bella, but didn't because she was in heat. I was trying to be considerate of the other people in the class.This brought about a discussion, the consensus was that although it may not be appropriate owners of a bitch in heat will still bring them, especially if they have already paid the entry or for the class. Everyone also felt that if you have a male dog he should learn to behave around a bitch in heat.
> 
> For the most part Finn has really done well with his training, but this week he's been whining like a baby and tries to pull his head away when I'm stacking him.It is frustrating, so I have tried to keep my demeanor happy and work through it.
> Finn is just 5 months and I guess I"m wondering how other people are doing or what they are experiencing with their pups.ANy feed back would be great. Thanks


Our class is a drop-in class, so that's why I was a bit irritated. And I don't think she was showing this weekend because the woman was talking about how difficult the bitch was and how she needed a lot more training. I think Jack should definitely learn how to behave around a bitch in heat, but if I had known in advance I would have kept him far far far far away from her. He started lunging toward her and that's when she told me her bitch was in heat. So I agree that they should be able to come, but maybe some notice to the owners of the males just so we can keep them away.  

Overall Jack did great in his first class, but the second class didn't go as well, mainly I think due to his brain being missing around the female. LOL He still is not doing great on stacking....very wiggly. And he tries to sit or lay down a lot. But that's improving also. He's become more reliable on "stand" and I see him start to sit but make the choice to stand instead when I give that command, so I'm happy about that. He's generally pretty good on gaiting but sometimes tries to gallop...so I've been working on getting the right speed for him. He used to pace quite a bit about a month or two ago, but has stopped doing that...I'm not sure how or why but I'm happy about it! 

We have our first show tomorrow and are going to run him around and play a lot first thing in the morning so he's tired. I think that will help with his wiggles. My friend groomed him last night and I'm going to blow him out again tonight since he got some serious bed-head. And final touch ups/fluffing in the morning. I'm actually more nervous about the grooming than the show itself! I want him to look nice at his first show!


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Good luck tomorrow and have lots of fun!


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

GoldenSail said:


> Good luck tomorrow and have lots of fun!


Thanks! I'll have my fiance take pictures of us in the ring and post them. Did you get a "First Show" picture with Scout? My friend just told me last night that you can have them take that photo. I would definitely want a winners photo if he wins his class, of course, but it never occurred to me to have a "First Show" picture. But I think I might want one


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

goldenjackpuppy said:


> Thanks! I'll have my fiance take pictures of us in the ring and post them. Did you get a "First Show" picture with Scout? My friend just told me last night that you can have them take that photo. I would definitely want a winners photo if he wins his class, of course, but it never occurred to me to have a "First Show" picture. But I think I might want one


No, I did not get an official photo. I had someone take a picture of us the next day (when we didn't show). It was suggested to that I get a professional puppy picture at our last show but I just didn't do it. I had other photos taken--maybe I will regret it?


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

GoldenSail said:


> No, I did not get an official photo. I had someone take a picture of us the next day (when we didn't show). It was suggested to that I get a professional puppy picture at our last show but I just didn't do it. I had other photos taken--maybe I will regret it?


You can always get one at her next show  I just wondered if it was common to have that type of picture. Sounds like it might be.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Alright--you're killing me here I wanna see a Jack's First Show post!


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Here they are! I forgot my memory card for my DSLR so my fiance had to use his mom's camera. Not the best quality (especially of us taking our "win" photo) but they're all I've got! :

Overall the show went well. A couple things I didn't plan on: 1) that I wouldn't be able to watch any other goldens with the judge first since I was the first in the ring; 2) that there are several procedural things that people just seem to "know" to do that we didn't go over in handling class and 3) that I would get flustered and start sweating when it wasn't hot at all. LOL. I also need to get myself a cart if we're going to be lugging around a grooming table and dryer. Seriously.

Jack was the only one in his class, so when I went in the ring I forgot to set him up and just free stacked him. Oops. (See the free stacked picture.) He actually free stacked pretty nicely though. Then judge said to take him around and I didn't know where to take him after that....to the judge? to the left side of the ring? I got flustered. The judge told me where to put him and went over him and Jack was actually *pretty* good. The owner of Jack's sire (off to the left in the blurry "win" photo picture) was there and helped me prepare for the winners class and photo. Jack did MUCH better in the winners class, relatively speaking, and somewhat held still in the stacked position (in the close-up photo). Obviously, we didn't take winners or reserve in the winners class but he did better! 

Overall it was a good experience. Everyone was really helpful and answered my stupid questions (like how to put on an armband, who knew a piece of paper and a rubber band could be so complicated!?!?) And everyone was very positive with him, which I was thrilled about. It was all about making it a good experience for him. I made sure to take a "win" photo, which I think amused the judge. I told him it was Jack's first show so we wanted to document it. It was slightly amusing that the two winners didn't even take win photos but I did with my winner of a class of 1. But I'm sure I'll be glad to have it in a few years.


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## scottbldr (Aug 29, 2009)

Nice job...I like the free stack photo!

Trust me...it will get easier. My first time in the ring I was so nervous I could not set the front paw. The ring steward was very kind and said the following to me I'll never forget: "It's just a dog show...relax....there is always another dog show"

Bob


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

He looks really good--congratulations on your first time in the ring! Can't wait to see where you guys will go next!


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

scottbldr said:


> Nice job...I like the free stack photo!
> 
> Trust me...it will get easier. My first time in the ring I was so nervous I could not set the front paw. The ring steward was very kind and said the following to me I'll never forget: "It's just a dog show...relax....there is always another dog show"
> 
> Bob



Thank you! He actually free stacks pretty well, which is great for me. Now the hand stack is a whole other story, as you can tell in the third picture. I'm still working on it! 

As for the nerves, I completely agree. If I were a professional handler and did what I did it would be very bad, because someone would be paying for that. But for me it was just a first time and he did much better than I thought. So overall it was a success!


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

GoldenSail said:


> He looks really good--congratulations on your first time in the ring! Can't wait to see where you guys will go next!


Thanks! We're actually having our handler show him while we're on our honeymoon in a few weeks, since he'll be with him boarding anyway and can work with him that week before. I think it's good timing and given his wiggle-butt-ness, having him work with Jack will be a good benefit regardless of who is handling him!


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## inge (Sep 20, 2009)

Great job, both of you!


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## Solas Goldens (Nov 10, 2007)

WOW it sounds like you did great considering all the pressure you felt.


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

So, without starting a new thread and for those that are following Jack's foray into conformation shows, we entered Jack in a weekend of shows while we're on our honeymoon in a few weeks. He's going to be with our handler for boarding anyway at the time, so for a few (ha) extra bucks we're going to let him show him that weekend. It's 2 days of shows (versus the 4 last weekend) but I think he'll be fine. Both are small, 1 point shows, so it shouldn't be too crazy. We won't be there, which I think will actually be a good thing. He'll have spent a week and a half with the handler and gone to at least one class with him at that point so he'll be totally used to him. I will let you all know how he does!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

good luck, and enjoy the honeymoon!!! Let us know how he does!


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

That's exciting can't wait to hear how it went!


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

So Jack did pretty well in his second day of shows and ok the first day. The first day, evidently the judge was wearing a rather large hat and glasses which didn't bother Jack until the judge tried to go over him. Our handler said the judge seemed a bit "off" generally, but was very nice about it and gave Jack bait to help. Evidently it did a little to help the issue but not enough so Jack was totally fine. They let it go to avoid "ruining" him (so dramatic, I know) and apparently he moved beautifully when they went around. The judge gave him a hard look for reserve even despite Jack's behavior in his class. Our handler thinks he would have gotten it otherwise. The second day Jack did great, was great with the judge. No placement in winners, but that's fine.  She was also wearing glasses but that didn't bother him in the slightest I guess. So either the large hat or the person was the problem. 

Our handler had Jack for 10 days total (for boarding and showing) where he watched and worked with him quite a bit. He said he's really excited about him for the future and Jack is developing nicely. His head shape is improving as he grows, which is great, and he's starting to get the wider more masculine look to his head. The coat that Jack does have is nice and correct, but he doesn't have the coat of a mature male yet. So up against the big boys he stands out as the youngster. But that stuff will improve with age, I'm sure. It's so frustrating how males take so long to mature!!! I see bitches looking basically fully mature or close to it at less than a year old, but the boys may take until they're 3. He's also in full fledged teenager mode now and apparently humping everything that moves. Lovely. We haven't seen it yet but I'm just waiting for him to try to hump one of the cats. 

Any advice on the nervousness with the big hat and glasses judge? We wear hats outside a lot but I'm sure it's different when it's a new person. Our handler suggested that it could be just a new development stage for Jack and we need to continue to socialize/take him places to avoid any fear in that type of situation in the future. Luckily it's summertime so prime hat wearing season for strangers. We need to take him everywhere with us and have lots of people give him treats maybe? Suggestions are appreciated!


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## rappwizard (May 27, 2009)

Great report!

Some of us own girls that are slow to mature (moi) so I'm playing a bit of a waiting game, trying to decide what shows to enter while Mac develops more of a body--so the young boys aren't the only ones with the problem!

As for the hat and glasses--or maybe just hat--I've been to enough shows to see a dog or two, of various breeds, step back and act startled when they've seen a judge with a hat (or "big hair" or even an extra tall judge). 

What I would do, since you attend conformation class, is enlist the help from your conformation classmates and instructor--perhaps you can email the instructor in advance and say this has occurred, and would like some help. I know this has happened to some of my classmates and the instructor has shown up in a hat (and has other people bring large brimmed hats) to go over the dog. One dog had an issue with men's ties--when the judge would bend over and the tie would get in the dog's face, it would back away and would not return to its game. So several people (mostly women!!!) showed up wearing men's ties to go over the dog at the next conformation class.

The reason I suggest the conformation class is because people can go over your dog like a judge, in somewhat a show setting. You can also have people with hats greet your dog and give treats. . .but you're not recreating that show setting. They won't be going over your golden like a judge--and personally, I wouldn't want a "non-show" person to try to do that. Anyway, just my experience on how situations like that have been handled before.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

LOL, come out here and I will show you an immature 1 year old bitch!

Glad that Jack did well and I would totally agree with RW above. I was going to suggest the same thing but she beat me to it


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Well I stand corrected  Isn't it so frustrating? Jack's still fairly young, but I can't imagine waiting until he was 4 to start showing him! I've heard that some males just do not look put together until then! Yikes. Although Jack's sire finished his champion before he was 2 (breeder/owner handled), so I think it's safe to assume he was put together enough at that point. He's back out for SDHF right now at age 5. 

The other thing is that right now, Jack's still in the 6-9 mo. class and has been the only entry for 3 shows. I'd like to see how he does against even one other puppy! We're looking to do maybe 2 more shows this year. I think one in August and one in October. Not sure if I'll show him or have the handler.... I'd like to see our handler with him in the ring for one of the shows at least since we didn't see him this weekend! 

That's a good idea about the classes. I'm actually looking to get him into a real conformation class... not a drop in practice class. I need to find one in San Diego that's more of a learning class but I guess my current one is ok for now. I'm sure I can bring a big large brimmed hat and have the judge wear it.  I'm glad to hear he's not the only one who has been caught off-guard by a hat or something new. I was kind of embarrassed when I heard about it....like we did something wrong.


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

This is long overdue, but I finally scanned my "win" photo from our first show. My stacking left a lot to be desired but getting him to hold still was a challenge that day. Live and learn!


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

He looks good!


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Thanks! I'm not the best at grooming and that bump on his shoulder drives me crazy every time I look at that picture!! Our handler has since thinned it out so it'll look better in his next show pictures. He's entered at the end of august for 2 days at a fairly large show in Santa Barbara. Should be fun!


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## rappwizard (May 27, 2009)

Good luck in the Santa Barbara shows! That is an adorable win photo!


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## Kohanagold (Nov 5, 2008)

LOL. My bitch is 3 1/2 and is just now starting to come into herself. She was honestly quite an ugly puppy (I took pictures just to prove to a friend how "ugly" she was. LOL). But she's now starting to look really nice (well over the last year or so). There are other things going on that have made it hard to show, but she will eventually finish (I just have to set other things aside). I think it entirely depends on the lines and the dog. I've seen boys that look very nice (I'm in love with a boy that's 2 1/2 now and has been looking pretty darn good for some time). That said though, I dont really put a lot of weight into "puppy championships" because often at 6 mths, if everything is there, it can easily fall apart. Not always, but sometimes. I'd rather a dog take a longer time to come into themselves and hold it together, than have a really nice looking 6 mth old that falls apart. 

Jack really does look quite nice and I'm sure as he gains more coat and matures a bit, he will do very well. Congrats on your first shows.


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Thanks for the kind words. Kohanagold, I'm so curious to see photos of your ugly duckling! I've heard this urban dog show legend can actually happen but never seen proof of it in photos!


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## esSJay (Apr 13, 2009)

Great picture. Congrats on the win, and Jack is a handsome boy. I hope he does well in his next show!


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## Kohanagold (Nov 5, 2008)

goldenjackpuppy said:


> Thanks for the kind words. Kohanagold, I'm so curious to see photos of your ugly duckling! I've heard this urban dog show legend can actually happen but never seen proof of it in photos!


LOL. I'm almost embarassed to post these. But, this was her 7 1/2 wk picture, and then her again around 4 mths.


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