Evaluating a dog for show

lotus

New member
Since it takes a while before you can see "show" potential in a pup...what happens if later you see great potential in a pup but the owner doesn't want to show?
The flip side of it being if a owner has decided they what to show their beautiful "pet" and you advise against it?
Watching a show one can sometime see that some of these dogs LOVE being the center of attention...what do you do in the case of the beauty who doesn't like the ring?
 

ardeagold

New member
I have a beauty who hated showing. She started out okay and got worse and worse. Wouldn't move in the ring. Started not wanting to get in the car. Then went on to vomiting and diarrhea. What I did was stop showing her. Took her a year to want to get back into the car for rides. It wasn't worth making her miserable because I wanted a "show dog". She and her happiness are more important to me than that.

The breeders will have to answer the rest of it. :)
 

Angela

Super Moderator
...what do you do in the case of the beauty who doesn't like the ring?
This was Evan, I started showing him at 6 mths, got his Can Ch at 18 mths, but he didn't like the showring, got tired easily and it took a huge amount of me being upbeat in the ring to get him moving. That and lots of bait.

But put him in a cart and he thought he was at the Indy 500 or put him in an obedience ring and he was the clown.

I never had the reaction that Donna described above my post though, tg.
 
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Pipelineozzy

New member
You mean as a breeder or as an owner? An experienced breeder can usually tell if a pup has show potential pretty early, and they assess them before they leave.
For a dog that loves to be out and isn't show quality..there are lots of other areas they can be active...they can do obedience, water or draft..the list is endless. If someone had one of my pups that I felt absolutely had to be shown and they didn't want to do it, I'd probably offer to show it for them... :)
 

Murphy

New member
My Murphy could have been a show dog. Except the judges would have passed out cold........ :icon_bb::fce32f95::alc: Sorry.. back to the serious topic.... :eek:
 

Angela

Super Moderator
My Murphy could have been a show dog. Except the judges would have passed out cold........ :icon_bb::fce32f95::alc: Sorry.. back to the serious topic.... :eek:
lol, they would have needed a step ladder to examine him!!
 

Jeannie

Super Moderator
My Adam hated the show ring. I showed him a bit before his bite went off. I'd have stopped showing him anyway as much has he hated it.
 

Jeannie

Super Moderator
On the flip side my Chase was a clown in the ring. always upbeat and happy. She had points including one major. Her hips are bad and she has OCD so I stopped showing her. No use in wasting my money when I wouldn't breed her anyway.
 

R Taft

Active member
I have my Katy Bear, who is not the perfect newfie, but she has such presence in the Show-ring that sometimes the real beautiful not so showy dogs are surpassed by her. Katy loves to show, loves all the attention and really put on a show. She is a funny to watch ( so very happy) and very animated and has great action.

Lukey...When we first got him, he crawled when he came into our "pretend" Show at our kennel Club. We had been told he would. It was one of the reasons he was not wanted :(
We thought he should get over this, to help him. We were not interested in points or showing, but thought he needed to be comfortable. So we played a lot of pretend shows and made them fun.......We had Katy along, lots of friends with dogs and because she had so much fun, it became infectious. We only handle our own dogs in the ring and we are not just out there to win. We have kept it light for our dogs. And guess what, in amongst all the serious show people we were/are winning.....Lukey now is a Champion. Which did surprise us. We knew he had the look, but now he has the vitality in the Show-ring and he loves it now. Maybe not as much as Katy, but he gets exited and wants to "show-off".

I think sometimes Handlers make it worrisome for some dogs. So by Handling the dogs ourselves and not being "perfect" and too demanding, we have initially allowed the dogs to like it. And now we can be a little picky and expect more from them.....They are now happy in the ring.

Katy managed to lick one of the International UK Judges in her last show, whilst he was checking her teeth. I apologized and he just laughed. She has her way of making people do that...... :)
 

ardeagold

New member
Cole LOVES to show. He's so happy out there. Too happy at times. LOL He can be a handful. But it's so cute!

Molly is the one who hated it. It was awful!

Frankie is an unknown. We did show him one weekend and he hated it. He hated the site, hated the whole thing. Would not bait, and he loves his food. Cringed when another dog got near him. Cringed when people tried to pet him.

BUT, we discovered he was ill when we got home. So I took him to another show about a month later. He wasn't entered, but he enjoyed the site, the people, the whole atmosphere. I must admit, I was relieved. I was afraid he was going to be like Molly. It wouldn't make me love him any less, but I was hoping he'd enjoy it as much as Cole does. He "likes" it. We'll see how he does in the ring soon. I just want them to have fun.
 

Codes

Active member
No use in wasting my money when I wouldn't breed her anyway.
I'll probably get slammed for this but finishing a dog doesn't always come down to whether or not you're going to breed your dog. My personal opinion is that if I had a dog or bitch that didn't turn out healthwise but otherwise could finish easily, I would spend the money to do so. Often times a breeder has high hopes of getting a ROM (Register of Merit for meeting the requirement of a specific number of AKC Championship/AKC Obedience or NCA Working titled offspring on their dog.) Kind of an important event that a lot of people don't know about. Sure, it costs us money and we won't get anything in return since we can't breed our dog or use our dog at stud but IMO, it's the right thing to do. Especially if you have a close relationship with your breeder and understand how important this title is to them and possibly to the breed itself.
 
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Angela

Super Moderator
When I showed Evan I just wanted a Can. Ch on a Newf! I had never shown a dog in conformation, only draft, water, obedience and rally. I wanted to do it myself. His breeder was very supportive of the idea although she lives far away.

My point on this Mary K is that he has mild SAS so obviously would never be bred.
 
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Sound Bay Newfs

Active member
I'll probably get slammed for this but finishing a dog doesn't always come down to whether or not you're going to breed your dog. My personal opinion is that if I had a dog or bitch that didn't turn out healthwise but otherwise could finish easily, I would spend the money to do so. Often times a breeder has high hopes of getting a ROM (Register of Merit for meeting the requirement of a specific number of AKC Championship/AKC Obedience or NCA Working titled offspring on their dog.) Kind of an important event that a lot of people don't know about. Sure, it costs us money and we won't get anything in return since we can't breed our dog or use our dog at stud but IMO, it's the right thing to do. Especially if you have a close relationship with your breeder and understand how important this title is to them and possibly to the breed itself.
I agree, Mary K. Showing is one thing and breeding is another, or it should be anyway. There are many beautiful dogs in the ring, that may not get bred, and it takes a responsible breeder to make that distinction.
 

janices

New member
I'll probably get slammed for this but finishing a dog doesn't always come down to whether or not you're going to breed your dog. My personal opinion is that if I had a dog or bitch that didn't turn out healthwise but otherwise could finish easily, I would spend the money to do so. Often times a breeder has high hopes of getting a ROM (Register of Merit for meeting the requirement of a specific number of AKC Championship/AKC Obedience or NCA Working titled offspring on their dog.) Kind of an important event that a lot of people don't know about. Sure, it costs us money and we won't get anything in return since we can't breed our dog or use our dog at stud but IMO, it's the right thing to do. Especially if you have a close relationship with your breeder and understand how important this title is to them and possibly to the breed itself.
No arguments here. I see a lot of newfs that will never be bred but are finished champions. VN newfs are finished CH's but doesn't necessarily mean will be used for breeding. And owners are trying to help breeders get ROM's. Responsible breeders should be making the choices.
 

ardeagold

New member
No arguments here. I see a lot of newfs that will never be bred but are finished champions. VN newfs are finished CH's but doesn't necessarily mean will be used for breeding. And owners are trying to help breeders get ROM's. Responsible breeders should be making the choices.
Agreed. :)
 

R Taft

Active member
I'll probably get slammed for this but finishing a dog doesn't always come down to whether or not you're going to breed your dog. My personal opinion is that if I had a dog or bitch that didn't turn out healthwise but otherwise could finish easily, I would spend the money to do so. Often times a breeder has high hopes of getting a ROM (Register of Merit for meeting the requirement of a specific number of AKC Championship/AKC Obedience or NCA Working titled offspring on their dog.) Kind of an important event that a lot of people don't know about. Sure, it costs us money and we won't get anything in return since we can't breed our dog or use our dog at stud but IMO, it's the right thing to do. Especially if you have a close relationship with your breeder and understand how important this title is to them and possibly to the breed itself.
I am one of those showing for the Breeder and to have some fun.......Especially Lukey as we had to make sure his "problem" of timidness was not a character fault but a handling fault. And he may possibly still used by her as he is an imported line.....And she likes his conformation and he has health checked great. Funny how a Rescue and become a Champion :)
 
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