# Learning how to handle



## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

Since both of you love the field I think a good place to train for conformation is right there in the field. Take couple minutes after practice and ask a friend to act as the judge.


----------



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Good luck showing at the National.  

Um.... I'm still learning how to handle (myself) - so totally get where you are at or what you're going through. 

Had Bertie's breeders taking a huge interest in getting me up to speed. I've taken lessons from them and just this past weekend, I had one of them handling ME while I handled my dog (LOL). She was right outside the ring and giving me feedback and suggestions and prepping me as far as getting the collar and head right. And I got a lot of one on one drilling on stacking efficiently to show him at his best. <- ie, getting the front end right underneath him and rear far enough back and getting the head up and crested with his mouth SHUT and ears forward. A lot of it is just building habit. Working in front of a mirror. And with Bertie other thing I have to do is begin road-working with him since he has his clearances now.

I watched a golden retriever owner/handler from Wisconsin who I've never actually seen or met before - and basically THAT PERSON is who I want to be by the time I'm done learning all this.  Literally this lady was laughing and having fun out there - at one point she nearly fell down while going around the ring with her dog - but the whole time she made her dogs look good! She won the breed the one day and basically her 3 year old dog (Whiskey) looked like I want Bertie to look like in a year. And having that goal in mind is something that's having me look at bikes this week. : Um, I actually have not ridden a "not stationary" bike since I was 9 or 10 years old so this might be dangerous.


----------



## Kmullen (Feb 17, 2010)

Megora, Jennifer is great and I really like her a lot because of the way she loves the dogs. She has a special bond with them.

For me, I have been showing for 4 years now and I have to say that I am way better now than 4 years ago...obviously because of experience and practice. But, It did not happen overnight and not without constant practice. I would have my husband out in the yard videotaping me constantly! I would watch myself and see what I could have done better to make my dog/bitch look better. 

It is NOT as easy as it looks. I was very nervous the first 2 years of showing, but now as I am getting more confident...I am enjoying the ring sooo much more. I love it. I still have someone try and video tape me in the show ring for me to observe myself and the dog I am showing.


----------



## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

I agree I use video for the ring and in the field. The new cameras these days take excellent video for viewing later. My iPad is good too. But video really helps. Plus if you want to really see how your dog moves, you have to do video. I've been showing Lucy now for about 1-1/2 years. She was in the 9-12 month class when we first started. Now she's 27 months and still growing. She's 1/2 Pebwin, so she's from very slow growing lines. Which means her gait is still changing and the same with her proportions. It still surprises me how much showing a dog is different that what we perceive until we do it. 

Claudia,
Lucy has done both indoor and outdoor shows. There is no difference. I even went to the show grounds previous to a show before the tents went up and threw bumpers for her. Unfortunately the familiarity didn't help.


----------



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Stacey, now that you have someone else to handle her with you watching, you can see what her attitude is like. It's quite likely she really would love to show, IF you weren't so nervous. I don't mean for you to hire a handler, just to see how she responds when the person you are taking lessons from handles her. 
I would have sworn that Tito's handler found a different dog and brought him in the ring  .


----------



## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

Yes that's a great idea! I've never shot a video of Lucy with another handler. I will definitely do that and look for the differences and compare between them. This Friday I'll have a 10 year old handling Lucy in the junior class, then I'll handle her. That will be a good time to film them around the ring. I'll video tape the pro this weekend and compare. It can be painful sometimes watching a video of yourself showing your dog!


----------



## Eowyn (Aug 29, 2013)

Alaska7133 said:


> I've debated about throwing shotgun shells to get her attention rather than a hotdog.


That would be awesome! Really and truly, that would be awesome. She is a sporting dog, how fitting to use shotgun shells to get her to get excited in the ring…


----------



## Eowyn (Aug 29, 2013)

Alaska7133 said:


> I agree I use video for the ring and in the field. The new cameras these days take excellent video for viewing later. My iPad is good too. But video really helps. Plus if you want to really see how your dog moves, you have to do video. I've been showing Lucy now for about 1-1/2 years. She was in the 9-12 month class when we first started. Now she's 27 months and still growing. She's 1/2 Pebwin, so she's from very slow growing lines. Which means her gait is still changing and the same with her proportions. It still surprises me how much showing a dog is different that what we perceive until we do it.
> 
> Claudia,
> Lucy has done both indoor and outdoor shows. There is no difference. I even went to the show grounds previous to a show before the tents went up and threw bumpers for her. Unfortunately the familiarity didn't help.


Can you use the bumper when practicing? Go around the ring a time or two and stack her, then throw the bumper as the reward (or start in even slower increments). Gradually ween her off to where she only gets the bumper after she is done in the ring, but do it slowly enough that she stays super excited because she knows she is going to get it after.


----------



## Kmullen (Feb 17, 2010)

Haha!! I have Remi in JH sweeps and we will have a mini bumper with us!! She gets super happy with bumpers!


----------



## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Eowyn said:


> That would be awesome! Really and truly, that would be awesome. She is a sporting dog, how fitting to use shotgun shells to get her to get excited in the ring…


Lush shows with a bird wing- it is a little gross but she is electric


----------



## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

Last night I tried the shotgun shell in handling class. It was really fun. She likes to carry them around when I drop them at home, so it was easy to throw them for her in the ring. They have a noise they make when the beads inside move around. So I used a mixture of hotdogs and shotgun shell action. It worked well.

I have used a grouse wing. Lucy is super intense when I get it out. I'm not sure if I want to pack a nasty old wing to Asheville though. Maybe I'll just grab some duck feathers when I'm at the field trials.

Looks like 3 of us from GRF will be in JH bitches! How fun! There will be 11 JH bitches total. So a nice small group. I have a friend in 6-9 month puppy bitch sweeps, there will be over 50 bitches in the ring. Won't that be fun watching all those puppies jumping and chasing around! I have no idea how you keep that many puppies in the ring under control.

I'm also in AOH bitches. There will be 17 of us. The amateur in AOH name is what got my attention. I think that describes me to a T.


----------

