# A little help with showing my golden retriever.



## Flare's Sister :) (Feb 7, 2015)

Hi everyone! I was wondering if should start showing my golden retriever. Her name is Flare and she's my first dog. She has a great head but not a very impressive coat despite of us giving her good quality multivitamins and coat supplement. She is on Royal Canine Golden Retriever Adult. She's 16 months old. Any help would be highly appreciated.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Do you have a breeder/mentor to help you? It would be fun for you to attend handling class and some local shows and matches before hitting the ring. UKC is also a place people like to practice. Your girls has many lovely qualities, and is so pretty. I think she lacks enough bone/substance to easily compete in AKC, and she is long in her body. Her face does look beautiful, and she is a lovely girl.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

I am not sure how competitive the Golden ring in India is. Is your breeder close enough to be of help?

You could try making some contacts here

:: ::  Golden Retriever Club India  :: ::

At 16 months she is young and has a way to go before she is mature.


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## Flare's Sister :) (Feb 7, 2015)

Ljilly28 do you think her bones can be improved? We've been giving her calcium twice a day since we bought her.


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## Carmel (Feb 9, 2015)

I'm not sure if giving calcium twice daily is a good thing for her. Bone size is genetic and cannot be changed. My first Newf was NOT sold to me as a show dog, but he ended up having some excellent qualities, and I wanted to see if I liked showing, so I started attending conformation classes and showing him. He had decent bone, but not compared to the other newfs, however he did have a beautiful structure and gait, and he held his pretty head up and showed himself off in the ring. He literally pranced around the ring!But I had to work hard at growing his coat, and keeping him in top shape and ready for the ring. Below are his first show at 10 months, and then three weeks later with lots of work and switching to the best grain free food available at the time. 








And 3 weeks later:









and finally two years later!! Notice how his chest "dropped" and he filled out!









I did decide I loved showing, and I waited for a show dog from a top breeder who is my Gabe, but I basically had to prove myself first. So if you want to try with your girl, I would say go ahead, but do not expect anything more than good experience and lots of opportunity to learn. Love your girl for what she is! I used to call Rafe my "Test-Dummy Show Dog" but he really was a good experience for me to learn about Newfs because he WASN'T easy to win with. I had to work my butt off with him! He was never bred and that was never my intent, but I did get all of his health clearances just like I would be expected to for a really breeding stud. Good luck what ever you do!


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## Flare's Sister :) (Feb 7, 2015)

Wow what a drastic change!! Maybe if she has a better coat she'll look better. Here is a pic of her sire


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## Flare's Sister :) (Feb 7, 2015)

And her dam


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I know nothing about showing in your country, just wanted to say good luck and have fun with it!


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## Carmel (Feb 9, 2015)

Flare's Sister :) said:


> Wow what a drastic change!! Maybe if she has a better coat she'll look better. Here is a pic of her sire


 
Yes and Newf coats are a lot like Golden coats in that we really need to grow that hock hair, and keep the tails nice for showing. So with Rafe to help grow his hock hair I would put him up on the table daily, wash his feet and legs with warm soapy water in a bucket, rinse in clean water bucket, blow dry with the blower, and then put in a good spray conditioner to protect the hair from dirt and debris. Dirt actually breaks the hock hair off, so you want to keep it clean and protected. Also doing this really helped to teach Rafe to stand on the table and was part of his training. His hock hair NEVER reached the "show" Newf standard, as he just didn't have the genetics, but he had enough for his breed standard, and his other great qualities made many judges overlook that and pick him anyway!


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## Carmel (Feb 9, 2015)

Also just wanted to say from your pictures, that although your girl looks long in the body, hair will help that, and her rear looks much better than BOTH of her parents. Hard to be sure from a picture, but looks like both parents are too strait in the rear legs.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

A lot of what we think is bone, is actually coat, so you may see her perceived bone increase as her coat comes in. Particularly her undercoat.

My understanding is that some of the European lines are very slow maturing, and your girl may be one of those. My girls aren't really mature until at least 3 and my boys until 5 or 6.

And I agree-I wouldn't over supplement with calcium, especially if she is past the teething stage. Additional calcium won't add bone and can cause other issues.

Her parents are lovely, and she should mature out very nicely.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

My Sailor is 15 months old and right now her coat is not much thicker than your puppy and she also still has a lot of filling out to do. My breeder showed her as a puppy, but she still looks too much like a puppy to be shown in the 12- 18 month olds. We are waiting until she is done "growing out" ( she does have European lines behind her ) before actively showing her.

In the meantime, we are learning to handle through classes, learning to show groom, and will probably put her in agility in the spring. We are having a blast, but there is a lot to learn.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Carmel said:


> Hard to be sure from a picture, but looks like both parents are too strait in the rear legs.


I don't think that at all. They look like lovely, moderate, typey dogs. Really love the outline of the sire!!!

16 months can be a really awkward age. I think she has potential, just needs to grow up a LOT. Most dogs are at their best from 4-6 years of age. Just be patient and I bet she blossoms!


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Carmel said:


> I'm not sure if giving calcium twice daily is a good thing for her. Bone size is genetic and cannot be changed. My first Newf was NOT sold to me as a show dog, but he ended up having some excellent qualities, and I wanted to see if I liked showing, so I started attending conformation classes and showing him. He had decent bone, but not compared to the other newfs, however he did have a beautiful structure and gait, and he held his pretty head up and showed himself off in the ring. He literally pranced around the ring!But I had to work hard at growing his coat, and keeping him in top shape and ready for the ring. Below are his first show at 10 months, and then three weeks later with lots of work and switching to the best grain free food available at the time.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This is a great post. I also had a Test Dummy Show Horse and two Test Dummy Show Dogs, and the learning they propel is priceless. A grey area horse or dog you have to really figure out the good and weak points is so valuable. 

Have a great time with your girl as youe guide, and if she matures into a show dog perfect, and if not you will learn a ton for the next one.


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## Carmel (Feb 9, 2015)

K9-Design said:


> I don't think that at all. They look like lovely, moderate, typey dogs. Really love the outline of the sire!!!
> 
> 16 months can be a really awkward age. I think she has potential, just needs to grow up a LOT. Most dogs are at their best from 4-6 years of age. Just be patient and I bet she blossoms!


You probably are correct as I tend to look at all breeds in light of what we look for in Newfs, and really don't know much yet about show Goldens. I actually like a little longer body for an example because Newfs are required to be longer than taller, whereas I know a lot of breeds need to be square when stacked.


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## Flare's Sister :) (Feb 7, 2015)

Thank you all a lot for giving such valuable advice. I'll work on her coat and definitely give her some more time. She's a real darling. Yes her sire is from Bonett Bride kennel in Hungary and her mother has Camrose lines.:wiggle:


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

Sometimes it seems they grow their legs for awhile, then their heads, then their bodies and back and forth. Until they are done growing it's going to be a little hard to tell if she's right for the ring. Her breeder should be able to help you. Have fun!


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## Flare's Sister :) (Feb 7, 2015)

Her breeder is all in favour of us showing her.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

So go have fun! Take some handling class or ring craft as they may be called in your country. It takes awhile to figure it all out. Read your breed standard for golden retrievers. Visit some shows and watch. You've got a nice bitch.


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

Just popping in to agree that it's not healthy to over-supplement with calcium. It can cause some serious problems later on in life. Beyond that, I just hope you try showing your girl, and have great fun with her!


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## Flare's Sister :) (Feb 7, 2015)

Should I stop calcium altogether? Or a little should be continued? Our vet keeps suggesting calcium. He has a golden retriever too.


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