growls and cowers-HELP!
What really shocked me was last night I took her for a walk. Someone came out to see her and she growled and cowered away from them. I had her stand, but she fought me. Finally he was able to pet her and she was fine. Then when we were almost home I made her stand since there were lots of kids outside and made her listen to the noice since it made her nervous. Once she calmed down I let her sit and relax. Then of course someone had to come over and she growled and cowered again trying to get behind me. I cannot have her growl at a judge. Any ideas what I can do to change this? Thanks, Teri |
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| I think is she's fighting you, it's not a good idea to push her at that time. Maybe rather than stopping her in a stressful situation, like the kids and noise for example, it would be a better idea to continue on walking, acting as if nothing was wrong and reinforcing her when she relaxed and moved on.
The ring, hmm, that's another story. Do you know specifically what sets her off? Is it just the mouth or the whole experience? From your post, it sounded like she was okay in class but how does she actually do at the show? How does she react then? |
My boy Luke also hated a judge looking at his mouth, also going over his rear. After being excused several times my breeder told me he just didn't enjoy the ring and that was his way of getting out of it. Since this was in the dark ages before contracts she told me not to show him again; adding a new champion to her line didn't mean anything to her if the dog didn't like doing it. An example of Luke at a show: his littermate Beau adored the ring, sure that everyone was there because he was  . At a PA specialty they were both in at the same time, when Luke saw Beau he broke free and ran over to Beau wanting to play  . The judge thought it was pretty funny and put Beau up. For his part Beau acted like he had no idea who that crazy dog was and looked very disgusted with his brother  Maybe your girl needs a bit of a break because she just isn't ready yet. Try doing some fun stuff for awhile and then go back to it, she's young and has plenty of time to finish. |
| Whoever your breeder was that told you your dog didn't enjoy the ring and to stop showing I applaud! It really should be all about the dog and not about us humans. I always felt if its not fun for my dog, then I am not doing it.
Have you ever sent your dog off with a handler without you a few days? If so, maybe something happened and she now gets skittish at looking into the mouth? Could she have any teeth or mouth health problems? I agree she may just need a break from it all. Some dogs, albeit beautiful and up to standard, just do not do well in the ring. It happens. She's still young. Maybe she just needs to "chill out" a bit longer than some other dogs. Good luck in and out of the ring! |
| Good call about the handler. They almost always grip the dog under the chin when going to and from the ring. Some dogs develop hand shyness from that. |
| It sounds like she's having problems that don't have as much to do with the ring, too. I wonder if it's all related. |
| I would not allow someone to pet Oliver or Lucy if they acted in such a way that Maddie did. Maddie was scared, she backed away, Maddie growled, warning the person to stay away. In that type of situation, Maddie could have easily bit the person, all because she was scared. And, it wouldn't have been Maddie's fault, she gave fair warning.
Just my opinion, but as the pack leader, you need to protect Maddie, not force her into a situation that scares her. |
| Have you considered trying a few semesters of obedience training with a performance based trainier? They can work wonders in building a dog's confidence for all situations. If she's not enjoying the conformation ring, pull her for now & try this for awhile. Just training in it not competing at this point. Then go back to the conformation ring after several months.....maybe even a year. You might be surprised. Above all, you dont' want your girl to hate the show ring. |
| Thanks everyone!
I would love to pull her and get her to relax and enjoy her as a pet. We are walking more and in handling class I had the breeder work with her. When someone she does not know come up to her as the Judge she was fine with the mouth, but as soon as they went to her side she almost sat on the breeder. She moved away. They worked on that quite a bit until she allowed it. But I think she was find since he has done it so many times. She does not like showing. Her sister loves it, but my Maddie does not enjoy it. It does not help that we are being pressured by our breeder to get majors. I would love to pull her and just have fun. She is my pet and my love before she is a conformation dog. I have changed her schedule so we are not going as much. Hopefully that will help her and please the breeders. Thanks, Teri |
| well you cna always remind your breeder that it is their kennel name - not yours and see what she/he says.
Other than that I agree - your dog need some major training and reassurance that she can handle all these new experiences. |
| I would probably avoid getting confrontational with your breeder about it if you can avoid it. I'm assuming that you signed a contract with your breeder? Is there a time limit set that you have to finish her by, like by a certain age? I would hope that your breeder would be understanding in that if Maddie is really stressed or, worse yet, may bite, that he would also agree that she needed to be more comfortable before pressing on. After all, it doesn't look good for anyone, breeder or handler, if someone gets bit in the ring. |
ButtersStotch wrote: I would probably avoid getting confrontational with your breeder about it if you can avoid it.
Gee - you're no fun  |
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