Last night Freighter attended his first drop-in conformation class. We have him entered in a show in a couple of weeks and this is a great place to show him what a dog show is all about. There is a dog training club near us that offers this class in addition to their obedience/rally/agility classes. The ring is set up as it would be for a show and the dogs are lined up as they would be at a show. Of course it is not exactly the same because the class is made up of all different breeds.
We have found that this class is a nice break for the dogs. It is a good way to get them out of the house in the winter and tire them out a bit. It is also an opportunity to work on obedience in an informal setting.
At first Freighter was not quite sure about the whole thing. His tail was down as he was taking it all in.
But pretty soon he figured the whole thing out and since it involved lots of treats, he decided it was a lot of fun!
Freighter’s sis Sunny was also at the class. Freighter breeder/co-owner spent some time working with Freighter in addition to her own dog, Sunny.
The handlers worked on “stacking” their dogs. One nice little drill the instructor did was called “green light-red light”. The handlers moved the dogs when she said “green light” and then stopped when she said “red light”. Once stopped, they had a very short count down to stack the dog. She suggested that if they only had time to set the front of the dog, do that and the rear would eventually follow. When you are showing a dog, you only have a matter of moments to present the dog in the best way. The object of this class is not to “judge” the dog, but to work on the handler’s skills at showing a dog.
The instructor also practiced going over the dog as the judge would in the ring.
And of course the handlers practiced moving the dogs.
My new camera takes nice pictures in this building considering the dogs are moving fast and the funky lighting. I used the view finder rather than the LCD screen and found it was much easier to get the focus correct. I can’t tell you how many blurry pictures I have taken in this building due to the poor lighting. I think I am really going to have fun with this camera. 🙂
Freighter gets his stitches out today.
I love his head so much! And he’s got reach to spare! Good boy, Freighter!
He moves very nicely and doesn’t pace at all. 🙂
Nice work Freighter! You look great.
-Bella and DiDi
I think you did a great job. You look great.
Blessings,
Goose
Freighter and Sunny both look fabulous. I can’t wait to hear the results of the show! Great about the stitches, I bet he’ll be happy. 🙂
I love going to classes! It’s fun to get out and learn new games. Way to go Freighter!
Those are awesome pictures for being inside. What setting did you use? When I use my camera I have a nikon 60 inside the pictures are dark and blurry. Who is going to handle Freighter? Was that your breeder (gal) taking him around the ring if you were taking pictures. How exciting for you to do a dog show. He had nice triangular leg placement when he was trotting around the ring. (that is about the only thing I picked up on when I was showing my gang in UKC is that Kathy said when looking at pics that you want triangles in there leg movement. Good luck!
We are just hoping Freighter doesn’t embarrass us at his first few shows. 🙂 Yes that was Freighter’s and Thunder’s breeder in the ring working Freighter and Freighter’s sis Sunny. The first two shows Freighter’s breeder is going to show him. We really want him to have a good experience and she has more tricks up her sleeve to make him comfortable. My hubby showed Thunder to his CH, but hubby is a novice handler at best.
The first setting I used on my camera was the “sport” setting. But I was having trouble making it pick the correct focus point and I felt the pictures were a bit dark. I changed to the “P” setting with continuous shutter, but let it automatically pick the ISO. I also used the viewfinder rather than the LCD screen, (viewfinder is not available with the “sport” setting), and I was able to get it to focus on the correct thing (for the most part). I also tried different zooms on my lens depending on where they were in the ring.
I took a ton pf pictures and the ones I felt were dark were when the dogs were at the back of the room. I am sure I could change something and will have figure that setting out eventually. 🙂
I’m not a judge of dogs, but I think they both look beautiful and are stacking very nicely for such young dogs. If I WERE judging, well I know who I’d choose. I think Freighter is a stunning looking dog and wish you all the best of luck at the show.
I wonder if he’ll even notice the stitches are out?
Heehee you are a bit biased. 🙂
He hasn’t seemed to notice so far. 🙂
Nice work and looking good. Your pix are fab. You have done far more than my dumb peeps. I have no action shots as peeps can’t figure it out and they are just one big blur. Maybe by the end of the year we will get some and maybe even a video. Not holding my breath though. Have a terrific Tuesday.
Best wishes Molly
I love your pictures. They are all so clever!
Looking good Freighter!!
Lovies, Miss Mindy
He looks good! I am way behind on reading blogs so I am sure you mentioned this at some point…but what camera are you using? THe pictures look great!
Freighter is such a gorgeous dog – that stride when they’re walking the ring is just beautiful. Glad to hear he’s almost done with stitches – hopefully he wasn’t hurting too much over them.
Freighter sure is looking great…In my very limited confirmation experience it was the dog who always did well and the inept handler (me) who tripped over her own two feet 🙂
That is the truth…lol.
That looks such fun and good training at the same time 🙂 XXOOXX
Mollie and Alfie
Look at those long legs! You have such handsome dogs.
Thanks. Freighter definitely needs to mature some and fill out.
Freighter sure looks like he’s ready for the show!
Looks like Freighter is having a blast. Your photos look great—can’t wait to see more!!
Freighter is beautiful and looks like a pro to me!
The drop in classes are great they help the dogs get use to people looking at their teeth and checking their build. Great pics. All the ones I use to take in the ring were dark:)
My problem was blurry pictures. If the dog moved even a bit, it was a blur.
That sounds like a really interesting class! I really only know a smidge about show handling (as the closest I’ve ever come to a conformation ring is a television or computer screen).
Freighter looks amazing! So does Sunny, of course, but I’ve got a bias 😉
At the least it is good exercise for dog and handler. 🙂
Nice job by both Freighter and Sunny. Freighter just looked great. I didn’t realize how thick Freighter’s tail is. It really stands out in these great pics. I bet he’ll do great in a couple of weeks.
His coat is really coming in nicely, including his tail. 🙂
Freighter looks good in the ring, good luck with the show. It sounds like a really good way to keep them both physically and mentally active in the off-season.