# Conformation Questions about Lucy



## Kurlzygirl (Jan 8, 2014)

Hi! 

I am about to start my very first conformation class with my dog Lucy. She is about to turn one and I am excited to start expanding my skills as a dog owner - while spending fun time with my girl! This is not for serious competition or wanting to win ribbons (eventually it will hopefully become both!). Right now, I just want to learn as much as I can and have fun with my girl. Since I'm like soooo new to this world, I was wondering if I can get some opinions on her conformation in general. I don't have a picture of her stacked yet, but I will attach a general photo of her. She is still young, and ungroomed in the picture, but if anyone can give me a place to start, that would be incredible (Maybe just even suggestions for what types of pictures would help you evaluate her more)


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

If it helps (I'm a beginner here too)....

You want her to be standing like this: 










Using a short-coated dog picture so you can see where the angles and lines should be (obviously don't compare the structure! - just stacking example - I learned to stack properly asking a boxer person questions and watching her closely in class). When viewed from the front - the front feet need to be set square and the back feet need to be visible to the outside of the front feet. 

Things you are worried about while setting up your dog is the topline and getting the heads up. You can hold the tail up as well, but it's not as important, and I've been told by Bertie's breeders (two of whom are judges) that it isn't necessary to hold the tails up. 

Getting into classes will help in a huge way, as well as talking with local people who can get their hands on her and show you (physically) what you want and don't want. When I got looped into doing this thing, I only had a very vague idea of what I was looking for structure wise as being ideal as well as reading over the breed standard and lining my dog up against that. 

And even there, I still made a lot of doofy mistakes in interpretation! Good example is scissors bite vs level bite vs proper bite vs overbite. <- A recent conversation with a fellow GRF person and my one breeder had us laughing as I came to the realization that what I thought was a PANIC "overbite" with Bertie is actually a proper scissors bite!


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## Kurlzygirl (Jan 8, 2014)

Haha yeah I'm already confused by all of the terminology! I'm so excited to start this class and start "seeing" instead of just reading up on everything. I hadn't thought about looking at a shorthaired dog to see the lines and correct placement! What a great idea. I've stacked my German Shepherd and she is much easier to work with; mostly because she doesn't roll over for a belly rub every time I move her  
Anyway, thank you so much! I'll be keeping everyone posted as I take her!


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

You also might want to consider training for one of the various dog sports out there. It's a great way to spend time with your dog and break into the world of dog competitions.


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

I'm not knowledgeable about conformation but wanted to say I love her expression. I'd second the idea of checking out the other competitive areas like agility, rally and obedience.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

What a sweet girl she looks like!! Find someone to show you how to groom her ears, when she has 
'big girl ears' she is going to look totally different! You'll be surprised at how mature she will look. 
Good luck to you and to her in your new adventure~!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Kurlzygirl said:


> Haha yeah I'm already confused by all of the terminology! I'm so excited to start this class and start "seeing" instead of just reading up on everything. I hadn't thought about looking at a shorthaired dog to see the lines and correct placement! What a great idea. I've stacked my German Shepherd and she is much easier to work with; mostly because she doesn't roll over for a belly rub every time I move her
> Anyway, thank you so much! I'll be keeping everyone posted as I take her!


Teaching a good stand stay helps a ton stopping the wigglies. 

Hope you have fun in the handling classes - always keep in mind that it's a learning experience - especially if you have good people around you and always be asking questions. You want to know the good things about your dog. And you want to know the bad things.

And all and all - the take home thingy is what tools you gain towards becoming a better owner and building that relationship with your dog that can go into the other sports as well. Or hopefully, if you are doing obedience as well - you'll see where you have an advantage either way.

Obedience helps where you need a dog to be under control on leash (not chasing the dog in front of him) and holding position for what can feel like an eternity (and I've heard from other handlers that a solid stand stay is something that can put your dog up over another dog if the judges deliberation is that close). There are also thingies like moving stands and footwork which you learn in competition obedience which help you move around on the conformation mat with your dog. 

Conformation - I think if you are careful how you go about it will greatly benefit your dog's confidence - and your own.


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

She is so cute! To get an idea of her conformation, it would be great if you could post a picture of her stacked and one of her side gait motion. There are _much_ better examples out there, but I am loathe to post pictures of other people's dogs, so here are pictures of my puppy as examples. Maybe not good examples  but I hope you get the idea.

Here is a "stacked" picture (my puppy is 6 mos. old in this pic):










What you're looking for are things like a good top line, making sure the neck flows smoothly into the top line, getting her front feet directly under her with good shoulder and fore-arm angle, getting her back feet placed so that you can draw a line straight down from her butt to the front of her toes, and making sure all four legs are going straight forward, without "A-frame" or having her hocks toed in or out. Again, this is not the greatest photo for demonstration -- for instance, his back feet should be a bit farther back -- but it will give you the basic idea.

To give you a "place to start," I'm pretty new so can only give you basics. I'm sure others with more experience can give you some great tips, and you'll probably get some in your handling class. The way most people get their dog into a good stack is to start by baiting the dog into a basic standing position. Then control the head. If you control the head, you control the body. You want to get the show collar as far forward as possible, right up behind the dog's ears. The first leg to position is the left (or "show side") front leg, then the right front. Then the left rear, followed by the right rear. Practicing in front of a mirror is a really good way to see if you're doing it right. And when you've got it, try practicing with your eyes closed, then open them and look in the mirror to see how you've done. A good stack is done mostly by feel.

And here is a "side gait" picture:










Here, you want to move your dog on a loose lead, making sure she trots at a pace that is not too slow nor too fast for her, shows good reach on the front leg and good drive and extension on the back, and that the two legs in the middle on the opposite meet straight and as close as possible, without overlap or one leg getting in the way of the other. The tail should be up, carried at a "merry" angle, but not curled up and over the back. You'll want to look to see that your dog is maintaining her top line while gaiting, and that her body isn't rolling back and forth a lot.

Like I said, these pics are not necessarily good and the puppy doesn't necessarily look great in these, but they give you a basic idea of the kind of pictures to take and what to look for when you're practicing.

I'm sure you will learn a ton in your handling class, you can get a lot of really good information and hands-on practice there. I hope you post a couple of stacked and moving photos. I can't wait to see!


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## Kurlzygirl (Jan 8, 2014)

Thank you everyone for your helpful posts! This summer, I am hoping to do Rally with her as she is one of my more obedient pups  I've also kicked around the idea of hunting/retrieving but haven't found any clubs in the area that would teach me that and since I am no hunter myself, that seems like a dead end at the moment. 
A good grooming would be amazing. I haven't attempted grooming her myself as it always ends up wonky  Right now, I'm looking for a good groomer who knows Goldens and would (hopefully) show me how to do it myself. So far, the only groomer in my town was proudly showing pictures of Goldens that she had shaved for the summer so I am CERTAINLY not going to her. Anyone who shaves a Golden doesn't know much about the breed and their coats IMO. 
Went to my first class last night so now I have some basics to work on. I need to get a nice show lead and collar and will be heading to a local show tomorrow evening after work to get one! Any recommendations? 
Also today, getting started on teaching her to stand and stack. After I can get her into a semi-ok stack, I'll take some pictures and upload them here for all to see. Her gait is beautiful as far as my untrained eye can tell so I'll get some side gait pictures as well. Keep tuned


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## Kurlzygirl (Jan 8, 2014)

Oh Dana Runs, your dog is absolutely beautiful! Good luck with him/her!


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

Kurlzygirl said:


> I need to get a nice show lead and collar and will be heading to a local show tomorrow evening after work to get one! Any recommendations?


Yeah, get a nylon slip collar and an inexpensive nylon lead. You can spend a ton of money on a leather lead, and you don't need it.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Braided Snap Leads

^ This is the kind of lead I bought at a show. <- I had made a couple leads and purchased a cheap leather one, but these braided leather leads are awesome. They are soft on the hands and I don't feel like they are going to snap if I have Bertie pulling on the down and back. I bought the shortest length (I think 4 ft). It was about $60 and that seems to be a fair price. 

I was looking at some fancier leads at a show today that cost about $100. Maybe someday. 

Flat Slip Collars

And I have a gold snake chain that I use.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

I have Lucy on a nylon slip collar and a buffalo leash. I think the total setup was $25. You'll probably try different set ups and different ones will work or not for you. Don't spend a lot in the beginning or you will be sad when they don't work out. I use my show setup in field work, it's super for going to the line with.


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