The American Beagler Forum

i was wondering how you get your dogs to trot like that.I have a pup that I think will do great on the bench,wich is fine for arha,but in ukc they take that stuff very serious,it seems to me you would have to pull up on the leash alot to get them to trot beside you like that.am i on the correct path?please help cause im really really not in to bench shows at all,but if a dogs gonna be good at it i think you owe the person you got it from to do the best you can with the pup.thanks

It takes lots of 'mat time' to get a dog to trot properly. You need to work with a 'string' leash and fine collar snugged up behind the ears. The dog runs in front of the handler, not beside otherwise the judge sees your legs not the dog's. That's ok if you have great legs but... If you spend enough time gaiting on proper matting or non slip surface with dog in front and someone watching, you both will figure it out. Find a show handling class to learn all the tips and socialize your dog. Putting the dog in the environment of show is the only way to get dog working properly. Look for some fun matches, go watch, ask questions. Look for some dog shows, go watch, ask questions if handlers have visible time, not prepping next dog. Learn all the steps same as prepping for field trial. Need to learn to groom the beagle too- that's a real skill too! lol Have fun! Carolyn

Lamar, I really get a laugh out of this. I can remember the big discussion on the the UKC Board about the Foo Foo dogs. Carolyn has told you that it takes a lot of time and thats true. I have went and looked at the UKC rules and it say a dog must walk or gait to the judges descrition. It also says that dogs shall not be judged on handlers showmanship. I never have anything pretty enough to show. Go down futher in this thread to Honey pot and look at the gait on the dog from Canada that she suggested.

My Annie Mae'll trot like that but she's always chocking herself trying to put her nose on the ground!!! Maybe I need to do it without the choker leash,, she's strangling her self on it!!! Or does it just take time on the choker??? She's a real good hunter and I kind of worry about trying to get her to stop working her nose like that.. I noticed all the beagles during the video feed of the westminster beagle breed section seemed to have lost this traight, how did you show folks pull that off???

Crew Chief

Training! Beagles can learn to get their nose up and still be able to hunt. Takes a lot of time and patience though! I trained mine to agility, same thing although watching beagles do agility is pretty funny. They still tend to run with their heads down sniffing for errant bits of food. The dog needs to be rewarded when the head is up, starts with a few steps and builds. As soon as the nose goes down, forward motion stops. They soon learn (but of course takes longer with a beagle) with different collars the different expectations. Carolyn

Carolyn,, Do you know a lady whos last name is Germani??? She's reporting that most of the show dogs at westminster hate the ring!!! Its on MSNBC website now.. She says knee and leg problems are the biggest problems she hears from them plus most of the dogs told her they don't like working for handlers!! Is there anything to this??? I do believe that trialer and hunting hounds won't say anything like that cause I believe beagles love to hunt, at least mine flip out when I show em the e-collars and hunting leash!!!

Crew Chief

always chocking herself trying to put her nose on the ground!

I don't think it is any secret that a Beagles brains run out it's nose when they put it to the ground. (that's why they are so good at what they do)
But,, it really isn't all that hard for them to learn when they can go 'hounding' and when they can't.
One of the first chores as a trainer is to teach a dog the "head up" command, because they will not learn much of anything when their brain is processing all those smells. To teach this all it takes is to place the collar high up on the neck (against the lower jaw and base of the ears). Then just give a vertical "pop" of the lead along with the command "head up" when the dog tries to lower it's head. With most dogs it should only take 3-4 days for them to learn what you want.
Now that you have the dog walking with it's head held high, it is important to learn at what speed the dogs "gate" will look it's best. (this often takes the help of someone with a lot of show experence)

tom

Hey! I haven't worked with show dogs specifically but whatever that lady is saying is probably true. I would hate to be a full time show dog. The environment is awful. Stuck in crates, driving all over, running on hard concrete, being made to use an x pen every other dog at the show has messed in and so on. That's why I give up so quickly on showing! Rather run in the bush and listen to my hounds tongue. Carolyn

All training begins with repetition. If you use a different lead while gaiting than you do for hunting, they will get it. Using Blunder's method of popping the head up a few times and say "gait" (or whatever word you want to use) gait the hound to and fro, in a circle, then stack them on a bench. Take them down and gate them again. Then put them away - back in the kennel. Don't go hunting - lesson over.

If you plan to hunt that day, put the hunting collar and lead on and go hunting. In other words, I feel the key is "gaiting lessons" should be kept seperate, and the easiest way for the dog to differentiate is which collar/lead is being used, and not confusing them by immediately following one activity with the other. Eventually, they will learn how to both show and hunt on the same day. They will learn the associations.

All training begins with repetition. If you use a different lead while gaiting than you do for hunting, they will get it.

Yup I agree
And on the collor thing! You bet it works I get out them Dayglo orange Collors mine go NUTS but i get out the string lead and they run and hideLMAO
Well a couple do anyways
the thing is they do learn i have a few that LOVE to show and will get thier own Leads down to go for a walk and have one that as soon as you get out the show lead his tail drops almost as low as his head LOL
Repetition on Gaitin and tabling is the key thing Try to make it FUN also one or the other trainin Time or Play time!!!!!!!

Many show dogs love to show. Certainly the best ones do. Hard to be successful with the ones that don't like it. How they are trained is a major factor in this. Starting them young and using lots of praise and play in the process is a key factor. It is important to use different types of leads so that they know what is expected of them. A show lead for showing, buckle collar for hunt, pulling harness for weight pull, training collar for obedience, etc. To get them to lead talk to them a lot when you start with them to keep their attention, use little jerks then loose lead with only slight pressure to the neck. Just enough to keep the lead at the highest point on the neck. Lots of praise whn they are doing it right, a negative sound in a different tone with the jerks and releases when the nose goes to the ground. Good luck! Dan M

I am interested in starting to show my dog what is a "string leash" and a "fine collar" and where do you go to purchase these items.
Thanks

You can purchase those items at http://www.petedge.com or at http://www.jbpet.com/Shopping/default.a ... e%5Ftest=1 or at
http://www.kvvet.com/KVVet/assets/html/ ... URLCheck=1 all these sites have a selection of colars.

mooredog wrote:I am interested in starting to show my dog what is a "string leash" and a "fine collar" and where do you go to purchase these items.
Thanks

I'd recommend one of the wider Resco leads to start with. You can also use a choke chain with a snap lead if you like. Are there some local shows you can get to? They have vendors selling leads etc.

Leah