Katelyn's Words of Advice

OK, now for some advice in the juniors ring for your Springer pup. Hmmm, I imagine that you already know how to stack and what not, but I'll just give ya a few pointers...When stacking him, make sure that you dont have him stacked out too much, his back should be fairly straight, not at a slant. His hocks should be straight up and down. When stacking in the line up, kinda stack him farther out than the other kids, so the judge can definatelly see you and notice you. When the judge is looking at your dog from farther back, kinda run your free hand over good parts of your boy, like his back, or neck ext... just once....dont over due because the judge understands what you are doing and will notice the better parts of your dog.

Now before the judge examines his face, use your left hand and just behind his ears kind of hold it steady there to kind of show off the head. When the judge starts to go over the head kind of get out of the way, but still holding his head with your right hand. After she is finnished examining his head, grab his two ears and pull them forward to get them out of the judges way. Dont move around too much though because that can be very distracting. When you go down and back after, do the curtesy turn and smile to your dog, and talk talk talk....communicate, so the judge can hear you, not just your dog...this shows that you are working with him, and that hes not just a push button dog. After shes done examining you, and your at the end of the line, KEEP WORKING WITH YOUR DOG!! Free stack him, make him happy ext...now, especially when the judge is looking at the whole class between dogs have him free stack. This shows the judge that your not off in space and your paying attention to what shes been doing. After shes done, relax him and play with him a bit. Then when she looks at the class again breifly, free-stack him up again. One more thing that is KEY in doing well in Juniors is paying attention! Dont talk to other kids in the ring dont talk to others outside of the ring, and look happy. Dont smile at the judge constantly, and dont stare down the judge either, they dont like that at all. Another important tip is try and watch the class before you...she how the judge acts in the ring, what he/she is looking for, and who they place...this tells you what to do and what not to do...that has always been VERY helpfull to me.
Well, I know its long, but I really hope it helped ;)
Take care, and good luck!
Katelyn