I Want To Start Showing My Papillon Puppy, But I Don’t Know Where Or How To Begin. Any Pointers?
September 18, 2009 by admin
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
I want to enter my 8 month old Papillon puppy in some dog shows, but I’m so confused. I have no idea on where to train her or in what areas I need to focus on for competition. I’m a true beginner, so any training tips would be awesome! I almost just want to take her to a personalized trainer who knows how to train top quality show dogs and pick her up when its over. I don’t even know what I as her handler would be expected to do. HELP!
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No matter what you want to do with your dog, you never send your dog to anyone and pick them up when it’s over! That’s not how you participate in any activity with your dog. The majority of the fun is training with your dog in whatever it is you want to do.
So, provided your puppy is show quality, find yourself a handling class and take, don’t send, your puppy. Check with any all-breed club wherever you live for classes. You’ll learn how to show her, what kind of show lead and collar you need, ring etiquette, etc.
But after that, you’ll need a papillon person to teach your about grooming for the show ring. Talking to your puppy’s breeder would be your best bet.
Actually, you can enter your dog in the “puppy” class, it’s for pups
6-8 months. It’s more for training than anything.
Talk to your dogs breeder, she should be teach you how to handle your dog in the ring. You can also find a handling class. Many obedience training clubs offer handling classes, where they teach your dog how to gait, teach you how to handle, get the dog used to being touched by strangers and for you small breed, how to stand on the table.
You can visit the AKC at http://www.akc.org to find a training club near you.
As others have said, the best source for info is the breeder of your puppy.
You can go to http://www.akc.org
search for calendar of events to find a local conformation show and go and watch. You can talk to some Pap breeders there.
you can also find a listing of clubs on the akc site. Some may offer handling classes. Also there will be Papillon clubs and you can try contacting a member for info.
Agility, rally and even obedience is very fun.
A lot of large training areas have handling lessons in a group or private setting. I would call around. Your breeder should also have the information or even be able to help you. Your dog is going to need a lot of work as are you. I used to want to show, but found out that it’s just not worth the effort to me, but I hope you enjoy it! It’s a lot more difficult than it looks!
You should start with obedience. Papillon’s are really good with that. First start off with sit. Hold a little treat and push your puppies bottom down and say “sit”. Then give it a treat. Keep on doing it until it can do it on her own. Your smart i’m sure you can do it. Or just look up puppy training classes and there great. That’s what i did with my puppy.
-Nicole
GOOD LUCK!
Talk to your breeder. If she was sold as a show quality pup then you have a chance in the ring and your breeder will be the one to help you with everything from handling classes to entry fees.
If she is not a show prospect then you arn’t going to get very far and probably waste a lot of money in the end. Try obedience or agility with her instead.
First of all is she registered with a reputable registry? If not you will not be able to show in dog shows. Second of all you should try and find classes near you or go to dog shows near you. go to infodog.com to find some in your area. You do know how much a pro handler costs right? lots of money, they get paid for every show they go to for every dog they show, and for every level they win. the higher the award the more money they get.
Any intact AKC *FULL* registered dog may enter any AKC conformation event,once it’s over 6mons.old.
If it isn’t SHOW QUALITY,it will NOT win any points & will NEVER finish.
YES OWNERS *CAN* handle their own dogs *&* WIN! The person who says pros are needed must have never had a QUALITY dog.
A conformation dog must gait on lead,stack & be gone over by the judge,w/out flinching.
GO & WATCH FIRST!!!! ALL up-coming AKC events are listed! Go watch,have a PRO look at your dog BEFORE you waste your money & time & look like a fool,OK?
Why not talk to your dogs breeder? Certainly they are showing dogs if they are breeding. Your dog isn’t old enough to show. You need to hire a professional trainer to show your dog. Amateurs don’t stand a chance in the breed ring.
Hey! How about you just let your dog be a dog. Find another hobby that doesn’t involve you putting your dog through a bunch of needless **** to make you feel accomplished. Spay her and love her.
I would join a local dog club that has training in show handling. Call around to different clubs and they will put you on the right track.
Bailey G, I haven’t had any problems with my papillon.
First you need to make sure your dog is AKC registered. I’m pretty sure if the dog isn’t AKC registered you won’t have a chance in showing her. If she isn’t AKC registered you can get her registered, you just have to have proof of her breeding lines – which means you’d need to contact your breeder. If you can contact your breeder than by all means you should also see if they can give you information or connections to someone who does show papillons – if they are good breeders they will have connections to people who do shows.
Your vet may also be able to point you in the direction of someone who does shows, or, may be able to give you information about obedience training for shows, upcoming shows in your area, etc.
I found the article linked in the bottom of this response too which seemed pretty good, it’s from the AKC & is for people interested in showing their dog.