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MOOSE1

Fruitport, MI

MH
Posts:1789

10/24/2009 5:52 PM
I want some opinions on this. A friend of mine has asked me to take in a pup from his last litter that he feels is show quality. I do agree for the most part. Of course with a 7 month old GSP their parts are not always in proportion etc. We just got him in today (Saturday) at about 4pm so he has only been here about 3 hours. So far he is settling in well with the other dogs. I tried to take him into my training room to see what he knows. He knows SIT really really well. Almost too well. As anytime I put my hand under his hind end he tucks it. I am sure he doesn't like me touching his boy parts right now. So what I did to start to teach him to stand was take a treat right in front of his nose and tell him to stand and than put my arm under his belly area so to be mouthing the treat his back end would be in a somewhat stack position and his front end was nice and straight and the entire time he was like this I just said Stand and good boy. Had him do this for a few second and then would get the treat. We did this about 5 times. Any other opinions on a older pup GSP who knows sit really well in teaching them to stand? Or should I just keep doing this and work on improvement every day? Is he old enough to work this for 10 minutes or so twice a day or is that already pushing it for his age? All the other dogs I have taught to stack have been younger when we brought them in so I could use a table with the back feet almost hanging off technique but he is too big for the table. Thanks for the feedback and I will get pictures in the next couple days. Might not be stacked ones though!

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Texas Belle User is Offline

Austin, TX

MH
Posts:7922

10/24/2009 6:36 PM
My dogs all know sit when I start teaching them to stack, and Ringo was the worst with sitting every time he wanted something. If you think of the stack as really just teaching the obedience stand for exam which if done well comes in real handy in the show ring, it is pretty easy. I can stack Halo and tell her stand/stay and she will hold it without a hand on her indefinitely. So, the way I teach the stand is stand the dog either from a sit or a stand (and it really doesn't matter as they learn quickly the that showing is the standing game) and tell them stay. At first I don't worry about leg position or anything. Just stand/stay a few seconds and then treat. At first you should also stay next to your dog and remember only a few seconds and then reward. Progressively add time. After they are standing reliably for about 20 to 30 seconds, then I start positioning the front feet. I don't worry about the back, just the front. When they will let you position the front and hold it, then add the back. They usually have a harder time with the back legs. With Ringo he was so off balance at 7 months I just went for a nice 4 square on the stack. I didn't try to pull those back legs out too much as he looked like Gumby if I did. In parallel with all the stand training and later the positioning as the dog gets solid on the stand I start putting my hands all over them. I also will do allot of handling and treating just off and on during the day without the stand. I might be working and a dog will come up to me for attention, I take the opportunity to exam the mouth. Watching TV, we may checkout ears. Just get your hands on the dog (and don't forget to handle the tail and the little boy parts too) and remember to treat when he is good. Later you can get strangers to go over the dog. Another trick I use when Ringo is particularly fidgety is I grab (not hard, but firm) his non-show side cheek and ear in my hand and hold him while stacking with my other hand. If he gets wiggly I can give a little pressure or a small shake and tell him stand. I also do not feed or bait while I am trying to stack. I find food especially on a high food drive dog to be more of a problem than a help. So, my dogs learn ring work without food. Food is the reward for good behavior only, but I just as frequently will pull out a toy and have a good round of tug. To this day I do not take food in the ring with me. They have a focus point and for my dogs it is a key chain or with Halo the laser pointer (which I never turn on in the ring), but no food. Ringo likes the laser pointer too, but has no clue that it does anything. He just likes the rattle and the shiny chain. Saves my clothes and cleaning bills too. Just remember make it more fun than work and you will end up with a dog that loves to show. At the show today, I had a number of folks come up to me after we were done and comment about how my dogs really seemed to like showing, especially Halo. Her tail was going almost the whole time we were in the ring today. Ringo is still learning and although there is no doubt he is having fun, he sometimes is a goofball and forgets he is working. Anyway, I loved it that folks could see that my dogs were having fun. That to me was a greater success than any ribbon. Let me know how he does.

Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna) Yellow Rose GSPs "A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato

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