handling question

[jkf]

Patrick (bearded collie)is now almost 6mths old. Ready to be shown here soon. But I am having a horrible time getting him to stand away from me. How do you you dob folks teach them to not be on top of the bait? He is ok on the go around. The standing for exam well:rolleyes::mad::confused::eek:that is joke!!! He is like a wiggly giggly boy. If the judge say anything to him it will be all over!!! But he will grow out of that. It should be worth a few laughs at least. I have to say I have never taken all this too seriously. But this little guy is determined!!
Thanks for your help.
Julie

[Sonquest]

Hi Julie,
When I am teaching a wiggly puppy to stand, I take baby steps. At first I do not use bait. While kneeling beside him, I set the puppy up saying, "stand, stay" and hold them in place with my right hand on the collar and my left hand underneath of his loin area for 5 seconds. Then release him and make a big fuss, "good puppy! what a good puppy you are!" I do this all throughout the day, in the house, outside, wherever, gradually increasing the time that I hold the stack. At this point we are not looking for the perfect stack or expression, just that they hold still when asked.

The second day I stack the puppy and then holding only the collar with my right hand, stand up beside him again repeating the words, "stand, stay." If he stays for 5 seconds, release and praise. Increase time gradually.

The third day, after I stand, I take the collar in my left hand and pivot in front of puppy (my toes practically touching his front toes) all the while giving command , "stand, stay". Hold for 10 seconds and release and praise.

Once he is successfully able to do this for 10 to 20 seconds move on to using bait, working on expression and proper foot placement.

Hope this helps! :);)
Tina

[jkf]

Tina:
Thanks for you little tips. It's always interesting to me to get others way of doing things. It's not like I haven't done t his before or am new at it. GOD NO!:p Patrick is extremely strong headed. But I like the idea of knealing down by him and the tip of your toes by his. That might work.
thanks
Julie

[Elaine]

Julie,

Do you stack him on the table... so that he knows what it is to be stacked? I’ve forgotten how Beardie people raise their babies. We Doberman people are stacking our puppies from about the time our little guys can stand. We use the grooming table, we are gentle, and not too demanding... but we try to get them used to the idea that we basically want them to keep all four feet on the ground… and stand over their fronts. Here are photo of Almé from about four weeks til about 6 months. I am using bait to ask her to stand… and we only did this for about 20 seconds, basically just long enough to take the photo. We do it for the photos each week… and every time we do nails or tape ears they are on the table… and we stack them… it is not forced… all positive with food as a reward… but by the time they are 12 weeks old they have a basic grasp of what we want when we stack them and that we’d really love it if they’d try to stand still… it sort of grows from there to, “we want them to stretch over their fronts, use their ears… use their tails… and show enthusiasm and interest in whatever we have for bait. Some dogs catch on immediately, and bait and free stack like little machines; some dogs say, “Screw you. Talk to the paw.” And, btw, it is an unwritten law that the easier they are to train, the more likely they will end up in a pet home.

So, to review: we train and train and train (photos 1-6) ... and then we say "screw it" and photoshop the dog (photo 7):D