# Show puppy training



## JDandBigAm (Aug 25, 2008)

I've got a GR show puppy reserved for a litter to be born Aug. 29. This is a conformation pedigree and I want to have fun in the conformation ring. However, my particular interest will be in the obedience ring. I may not get an OTCH on this dog but I would like to get a UDX. Am I making a mistake by choosing this particular pedigree and not going for an obedience pedigree?


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## TheHooch (May 9, 2007)

Welcome to the forum. I will let the show people filed this question. As I am biased as I never found anything fun about conformation. LOL


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Happy said:


> I've got a GR show puppy reserved for a litter to be born Aug. 29. This is a conformation pedigree and I want to have fun in the conformation ring. However, my particular interest will be in the obedience ring. I may not get an OTCH on this dog but I would like to get a UDX. Am I making a mistake by choosing this particular pedigree and not going for an obedience pedigree?


 
Without knowing the actual pedigree, it would be hard to say. I know of some dogs with entirely "conformation" pedigrees that have done quite well in performance venues, but I think it safe to say that some would be better than others. A lot will be how much you put into it, as well. 

Congrats on the new puppy, have fun!


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

I think it depends. If you're getting a large, heavy boned conformation dog, I think the jumping in Open and Utility wears on them over the long haul moreso than on a smaller, lighter, "fieldier" Golden. You also want to look at drive. I've seen conformation Goldens who sorta say, "Ho hum... no real strong desire to work...sure the cookies are nice, but really, just tell me I'm pretty!" and I've seen some with lots of drive and high bidibility.

So long as the dog can physically hold up to the routine jumping, even the "ho hum" dog can move up the ranks in obedience. Then it comes down to a question of, do you want to compete or do you want to be competitive? A ho hum dog, when trained properly, can easily earn a UD or UDX with passing, respectable scores. On the other hand, it's the high drive, fieldy dog with lots of obedience behind him who is likey going to be your "flashy" worker and who, with the right training/handling, will pull in the placement scores.

When I got Quiz, I knew I wanted to be competitive and I knew I wanted LOTS of flash and attitude. I'm not happy with just "qualifying". I want to be as close to perfect as we can be at any given show. To attain that, I need a dog with a work ethic that just won't quit and fortunately, I got exactly that.

Any dog can compete... but to truly be competitive, it helps to start with the right piece of clay.


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## Goldilocks (Jun 3, 2007)

FlyingQuizini said:


> You also want to look at drive. I've seen conformation Goldens who sorta say, "Ho hum... no real strong desire to work...sure the cookies are nice, but really, just tell me I'm pretty!" and I've seen some with lots of drive and high bidibility.
> 
> This is Pippa's mantra to a T. It gets frustrating sometimes. She's a really good girl (i.e., well behaved, calm, no chewing, etc.) but I don't see that desire there to please like Cooper has. Cooper would do anything and then some for you. Pippa was a conformation dog and has her Cdn championship. We are currently taking a training class hoping I can change her ways a bit - make "working" a fun thing. Her general attitude is I'll do what I want when I want and you can just wait. I really want to do CKC rally O with her but I don't know if she'll be able to do it.
> 
> Can you tell your breeder what your plans are and have her help pick a dog with a stronger work drive for you? I've heard that the schools that train guide dogs for the disabled pick their dogs at 8 weeks of age and they choose puppies that are able to and like to retrieve (i.e., willing to work).


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

Definitely have the breeder help you pick. I'd be looking for as much toy and food motivation as you can find in the litter. If you have high levels of both, training is soooooo much easier!


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## dannyra (Aug 5, 2008)

FlyingQuizini said:


> Definitely have the breeder help you pick. I'd be looking for as much toy and food motivation as you can find in the litter. If you have high levels of both, training is soooooo much easier!


This is a bit off topic, but what if your pup just goes crazy at the sign of a treat. Training Kylee can be tiring sometimes. Have her do something, pull out the treat and she just loses it. Seems to be a catch 22, I want to reward her on-time when she does something right, but don't want to reward her when she's kind of gone ballistic.


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

dannyra said:


> This is a bit off topic, but what if your pup just goes crazy at the sign of a treat. Training Kylee can be tiring sometimes. Have her do something, pull out the treat and she just loses it. Seems to be a catch 22, I want to reward her on-time when she does something right, but don't want to reward her when she's kind of gone ballistic.


Couple ideas - see if you can find a lower value treat. Sometimes it's the high value treats that make dogs lose their minds. Ultimately, it's a self-control issue. The book Control Unleashed has some great self-control, focus and relaxation games that can also help. Available on www.dogwise.com.


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## JDandBigAm (Aug 25, 2008)

FlyingQuizini said:


> Definitely have the breeder help you pick. I'd be looking for as much toy and food motivation as you can find in the litter. If you have high levels of both, training is soooooo much easier!


I've told the breeder for sure what kind of dog I'm looking for and wrote a note with my puppy deposit reiterating I want an active, athletic puppy for obedience. I think this particular breeding will give me the best of both worlds, I hope! I'm going to be working with an AKC judge for my obedience and conformation. I won't go into that obedience ring until we are confident and trying for that HIT score. FlyingQuizini, I'm quite impressed with your Tanbark GR!!!


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## LOVEisGOLDEN (Jan 4, 2008)

My Layla brought in a score of 193 (and 1st place) in novice OB at 11 months-she lives for obedience. she is a "field" type golden & is a joy to work with.

Blush is a different story, she is almost 7 months & still acts like a goof on lead. she will never be an obedience dog. she was conformation bred & it shows. she is definitely a "look at me" dog.

Layla competed against several, much older, conformation type goldens (she beat the snot out of all of them) but they did well. I fully agree with FQ above, they can all do it-just some are much more driven than others.


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

*I want an active, athletic puppy for obedience.*

IMO, you can have high activity and athetic ability w/o having food and toy motivation. Make sure the breeder is looking specifically for food and toy drive. It makes such a difference!  Does this breeder have dogs who have gone on to do obedience? Does the breeder do any obedience her/himself? Quiz' breeder shows in obedience and her husband is an obedience judge, so she certainly knew what to look for when picking my puppy!

Thanks for the kudos on Quiz. I'm pretty smitten with him!


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## JDandBigAm (Aug 25, 2008)

10.4 on the toy/food drive! The breeder is strictly conformation however, I see one dog from that breeder has a UD so far by a different owner. I'm interested in this breeding because the sire/dam are not particularly big boned, he he! I hope to see the pups at 5 weeks and get a sense of their personalities at least for the short period of time I'm there. The bloodline is absolutely superb.


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