# Showing tips?



## wolfebergk9 (Oct 11, 2014)

Thinking about doing UKC or SV showing next year, but not sure yet. Any tips you can give an amateur? I've shown before, but not a whole lot and haven't done UKC yet. Any common mistakes newbies often make that I should avoid?


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## anagram (Apr 24, 2017)

Hi


I would suggest you attend a local show and ask the participants. 



You have previously asked about handling of your dog by a judge under SV show. It is likely minimal , an ear check for tattoo / chip scan and teeth check is most of the interaction. While the judge will stand in close vicinity, to check eye colour for instance, touching is not a part of the process


Depending on club , affiliation and other factors the following may apply

Hip X ray results required ?

Passing of AD endurance and BH obedience more so in the older classes / open class of +2years ?

Breed survey to attain a V rating , similarly in the open class ?

Gun shot tests on the day of the show ?

IPG for the open classes to attain a V rating ?



Pups are rated VP (very promising) , juniors are rated SG (very good) and adults will then rate on the scale of VA - V - SG



You are most unlikely to be the handler in the show , you instead will be 2nd handler , calling from the corners to encourage


You have a beautiful dog , but keep in mind that the judging is in accordance with SV standards and preference is always for black/red colouring. It is not the only criteria , movement, gait, conformation, size are equally if not more important , but it is a criteria none the less. The judgement is on the complete dog.


Have fun and take it all with a grain of salt , whatever the results my dog achieves or doesn't achieve , he will always be the most beautiful perfect dog in the world  to me


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## wolfebergk9 (Oct 11, 2014)

anagram said:


> Hi
> 
> 
> I would suggest you attend a local show and ask the participants.
> ...


Thank you for the information - it was very helpful.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Train your dog. Proof your dog by taking classes. Have a handler lined up and practice with them if possible. The judge will not be pleased if the dog is not trained and your dog will be marked down for it. 

Make sure your dog is the proper weight. They like them a little thin. Don't count on blinds to be up to hide behind. Neither of the shows I've gone to had them. I trained the dogs to come to a whistle and then there was no place to hide so just train them to see you in front of them and teach them to gait. 

Pick your shows carefully. If you have a working line, find a USCA show. They will choose judges that are fair to working lines. 

To attain a V rating, you must be in the working class which means your dog has to have an AD and be at least an IGP1. If over 24 months, you'll need to be in an open, untitled, class.


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## anagram (Apr 24, 2017)

This looks pretty close to organized chaos at its best 






In addition to the good advice from Jax08 

Get a show leash and collar, use it to train the gaiting and the go around ( Open classes here have a req that the owner not handler do a lap of walk , gait off leash ) 

Make sure you are fit enough , expect to go round and round at the judges instructions and class size. The more dogs the more times

Try for a unique whistle , or call , there is a lot of noise and other people whistling 

How much you need to hide depends on you and your dog. 

The dog's do tend to settle down some after the 1st go around, following the pack comes naturally to most 

Teach your dog to stand in a stacked position 

Make sure your vaccinations are up to date, and include kennel cough 



Your dogs critique is always positive, the judge will not skip the "bad" but the emphasis is on the good. Something like "a good head and expression but the ears should be smaller/larger/closer together"


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I think the "Open" classes for anagram are the working classes here. If your dog isn't titled, then this isn't relevant. It didn't appear that any other owner except me switched off to handle the dog in that class. And then when I tried to leave he went nuts. Which is why I say, just make her deal with you out front and proof her training. And yeah...be prepared to run.  

The last show I went to, there were no blinds up to hide behind and you can not count on there being enough people around the ring to duck behind. The reason there are no blinds was that the working dogs go nuts at the sight of the blinds and the show people do crazy things to get their dogs attention. So she doesn't put them up to avoid all the added chaos.

Working dogs are so in to their owners that it's common the people can not even be seen (as in my case with my dog. If I could have a do over, I would have had someone else do the off leash portion). For my young one, she was so busy looking around that all her training in gaiting fell apart (so proof the training in classes so they see that environment). 

Whistle - I used a bird call whistle. But it's hard to whistle while you're running! The SV shows you go to here in the states really aren't so big that you will be drowned out. And yours is a long coat so will be in a class just for them. 

Last show I was at
18-24 mth Long Stock coat female - 3 entries
there were no adult untitled long coats
Working Long Stock Coat (for titled dogs) - 2

There were 7 dogs in Seger's Working Stock Coat class and that was the biggest class.

The GSDCA show I went to when Seger was younger was about the same size.

Handlers typically like their own leads but you should have one. You definitely need a collar. You can use a regular fursaver or a show collar. As you start training her, you can decide which to get. Either way, make sure that leash is hooked so your dog can not slip the collar. I saw 3 dogs do just that at the last show and not a single show line dog had a recall command or a platz. They just happily ran around playing while people chased them. 

You might want to join this page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/SVRingTraining/

You can ask questions and connections for training.


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## wolfebergk9 (Oct 11, 2014)

Jax08 and anagram, thank you very much for the information!


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