Dog Show Business

She strode over the field in a perfect show trot with her tail straight up and neck arched proudly with a style that up to that moment I had never seen in the show ringnot in her or any other Standard Poodle in that time frame. It was glorious! I will never forget it. As far as Horsie was concerned, hunting was legalized chicken chasing!

As time went on, down the line of descent came a carefully raised great-grandchild of Horsie. When it was time to put her on the lead for the first time, at just about six weeks, we took her favorite fuzzy toy out on the lawn with us. She begged for it, and when we gave it to her she arched her neck and proudly carried it with her for her first lead-breaking experience. It was Horsie and her first good retrieve all over again! Breathtaking.

For the rest of her life, Ch. Rimskittle Ruffian was never on a lead without having something in her mouth. Some of the time it was her favorite golf ball that she could carry without anyone knowing that she had it in her mouth, as there were those who felt it was against some AKC ruling to allow a dog to carry something in the ring. If you ever had the opportunity to see Ruffian in the Group or Best in Show ring with her collected trot at any speed you would have been impressed.

The idea behind all that I have written here is that it is up to you to do for your dog what needs to be done early in its life for it to become a good show dog. Once it learns to learnand that is the secretyou will find that you have opened a whole new dimension for you both.

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