Hi, I am going to be showing a friends 3year old Dobermann soon, she has never been in the ring.....so it seems very daunting, especially as i am new to showing myself, they bought her to show (parents were shown), but they ended having children so never got round to it.
Anyway i have taken her to ringcraft a few times with me recently, and lets the judge go over her, she does stand but obviously isn't as polished as others for her age.
Has anyone got any experiences of showing a older dog in the ring? It is just gonna be a bit of fun really, so there is no pressure! LOL
Our first show is a local open show in December, we also have a match night next week so will be good practice.

THanks

We bought a puppy last year for showing as we had never done it before eaither, we took along our 3 year old male as well for a bit of fun, he actually was much better behaved than the pup was and is still to this day better behaved in the ring, he looks like he has been doing it for years strutting his stuff, unfortunatly he's not really show material but we still take him because he loves it. Just go to have some fun and treat her as if she is a pup, so if she lets the judge go over her and goes round the ring be over the moon. Baby steps.

Thanks triona , will give it a go and see how we get on.

We took an older dog to a companion show not knowing what classes to enter we entered most of the kc ones that we could we got told by the organisers we were so knew, we took 3 x 1sts and reserve best in show and she had never even done ringcraft, so i say go for it and have fun

> unfortunatly he's not really show material but we still take him because he loves it.

That is lovely! 

As long as both you and the dog genuinely enjoy the experience then you don't need much more than enthusiasm and a good eye and ear for picking up tips from fellow exhibitors

I've found my best show dogs - i.e. the ones which get real pleasure from it - are the ones I've done less schooling with.  Sometimes dogs get bored or spooked by the environment at constant ring craft or cramped indoor venues of any kind.  If it's only once and a while and you both get a buzz from it then win or lose it's the perfect hobby for you IMO.

One of my earliest mentors in the breed never once took a dog to training of any kind.  The dogs trusted her and were completely sociable and calm natured so being approached and gone over by a total stranger didn't concern them at all and they all stood willingly (and longingly) gazing at a bag of chopped liver regardless of whether their debut was 6 months or 3 years   

You sound to have the right attitude and a well mannered dog - that puts you streets ahead of many competitors already LOL
Good luck and enjoy, Teri

Thank you  We will let you know how we get on

I started showing my bitch at 3 1/2 years old. In the 6 months we have been showing my bitch has qualified for crufts 4x, got two Res BOB at open show level, I think my best moment though was when she was in AV gundog with 24 entries and was placed second (this was her second show!)and she had only been to ringcraft once. Previously she has been used for obedience, my major concern was that she was going to sit everytime we stopped but luckily my dog is rather astute, she knows that when her show lead goes on she has to show her socks off. I think having a background in obedience it is so much easier to get them to show. I don't think you need to worry about the dog, she will sort herself out once she knows what you want of her and she sounds like a cracker! What do you mean by polished? my older bitch tends to get a little bored in the ring, in order to get more drive out of her I have to wind her up a bit, once we have done our triangle I start making her spin around and treating her to make it more fun. Otherwise she will move around the ring nicely but without umph! I think older dogs have seen it done that and get too relaxed in the ring. Anyways Good luck!

Discipleofdogs,
Polished...I mean, the dogs in the older classes look more together as such and look like pros, probably showing my lack of experience LOL.
Great stories, looking forward to it

Polished...I mean, the dogs in the older classes look more together as such and look like pros, probably showing my lack of experience LOL.
I think you mean by their movement and/ or the demeanour of them when they are standing, that overall alert look at me pose yes?. You say she stands well and moves nice, the judge isn't blind if you have a good dog it doesn't matter who the handler is. If she's moving well and standing well there is nothing more that you can or need to do. If you want her to be more alert when standing thus tensing her posture and giving her a better outline, can I suggest that you practice standing her then throwing a treat for her to catch. Let her catch the treat a few times so that she learns to associate your throwing motion with being on the look out for a treat coming her way. Then practice so that you mock throwing her a treat, mock it two times before actually throwing the treat. You can gradually increase the amount you mock throw in time. If she is not paying attention around in the ring then all you have to do is motion like you are going to throw her a treat, she'll be standing alert, then when the judge is not looking at you throw her the treat. You do have to be careful though that her feet don't move when you mock throw her treat otherwise you will ruin your nicely stacked pose. I hope the tip helps.
Because the dobie hasn't been shown before you will be putting her in Novice, Graduate or Post graduate class (depending what classes the show has scheduled for your breed) so you will be with inexperienced dogs anyway, your all in the same boat, all the pro's as you put it will be in Open. If you are dissapointed with the result then pop the judge on a black list and forget them. So long as you keep the dog between you and the judge you'll be fine. lots of luck again.

> One of my earliest mentors in the breed never once took a dog to training of any kind.

She obviously never bred a 'Mia' then!   LOL.  At one point she was going to 2 different ringcraft classes per week, she was enthusiastic lets just say that but she wasn't renamed Tigger for nothing!