"Conformation classes" usually involve a lot of walking around in circles, stopping, and showing your dog's teeth to somebody. That's fine as far as it goes, but what about all the skills the dog needs to show himself to his best advantage?
Hand stacking, free stacking, shifting centre of gravity, giving attention and expression, gaiting, baiting, being comfortable with being examined - these are skills which divide winners from "cannon fodder" in the show ring.
This class is divided into Conformation Skillbuilding 1 and Conformation Skillbuilding 2. The two semesters will take you from rank beginner to competent owner-handler. Better yet, they'll take your dog from cheerful bouncer to competent show dog!
The best handlers always look like they're doing nothing at all, that they're only there because it isn't legal for the dog to be in the ring alone. That's because the best handlers have dogs trained so the handler is able to sit back and let the judge and gallery see the dog on display, rather than a handler struggling to get a dog to stand still.
The best dogs look like they know what they're doing and do it naturally.
If you're ready to teach your dog to show everybody the best he can be, this class is for you. You've seen dogs in the ring who don't know why they're there, don't know what's going to happen next, and don't know why the judge is staring at them. And you've seen them lose. I can't guarantee that training your dog will make him win in the show ring, but I can guarantee that without training, you're wasting your time and money. Nobody in any other dogsport would take an untrained dog in the ring. Why should you?
It's called a dog SHOW, right? Go in there and show them what a well-trained, happy, confident dog looks like!
The second 6-week session in Conformation Skillbuilding will concentrate on combining hand stacking and free stacking into a competent and professional-looking presentation, gaiting in a straight line on the diagonal, continuing to perfect the gaiting circle, meeting the judge, and being examined.
Susan Finlay Ailsby (she/her) has retired from active teaching for FDSA. She is a retired obedience and conformation judge. She has been "in dogs" for 54 years, having owned and trained Chihuahuas, miniature pinschers, miniature longhaired dachshunds, Australian cattle dogs, miniature schnauzers, giant schnauzers, and Portuguese...(Click here for full bio and to view Sue's self-study courses)
This advanced class will take the circle gaiting and basic hand and free stacking from the previous session and add gaiting on the diagonal, turns, meeting the judge, and the finer points of getting along in the ring.
WEEK 1
I Walk the Line.
Reviewing Hand Stacking.
Introducing diagonals.
WEEK 2
Handling the Handler.
Reviewing The Arcs and the Knick Flick.
The Diagonal - Takeoff.
WEEK 3
Starting the diagonal.
Backing Up.
Turning on the diagonal.
WEEK 4
Grooming Both Partners.
Stretching Her Out.
Meeting the Lead.
WEEK 5
5a. Handling - Setting the Speed.
5b. Stacking - Steering Backwards.
5c. Gaiting - The Diagonal - Communing With Judges.
- A food-motivated dog and some experience with clicker training, as well as skills from Conformation Skillbuilding 1, including appropriate focus, hand stacking, and the ability to gait in a circle with little leash guidance. You can purchase the materials from Conformation Skillbuilding 1 from our Prerequisites Purchase page.
Equipment:
- A grooming table or table of appropriate size so you can see your dog's feet while you're teaching her to stack. Some height is necessary, but larger dogs especially don't need anything over a foot high.
- Show tack. The lead and collar of your choice. If you don't know enough yet to HAVE a choice, you are welcome to begin with a small buckle collar and a narrow leash.
- Non-greasy soft bait cut in manageable pieces. If you're using wieners (hot dogs), be sure to roll them in a kitchen towel for a few minutes before you use them to remove the sticky-slippery factor.
- A copy of your own breed standard from the venue you'll be showing in - American Kennel Club, Canadian Kennel Club, Australian Kennel Club, and so on. Each club has their own breed standard and what's considered outstanding in one may be a disqualification in another, so know your standard!
At least once in each competition, you'll be asking your dog to go in a straight line from the judge to the other side of the ring, and back to the judge. This is called a "diagonal", whether it is actually done on the ring diagonal or not.
There are a limited number of ways you can do this - variations of the following patterns. I've seen classes that spent 10 weeks doing these patterns, which should actually take about 90 seconds to learn. Here they are:
Study the top two diagrams. The blue star is the judge. The green arrows are the dog's path. From here to there, and back again. Or, here to there, across there, and back again. Sometimes the "diagonal" is along one side of the ring and back. Sometimes it's in the middle of the ring from one side to the other. Sometimes the triangle goes on the diagonal first and then around the ring in either direction. Ignore the other two diagrams, you'll see them once every decade or so. Maybe. Got it? I just saved you 10 weeks of boring class. No need to thank me.
There are 4 skills your dog needs to be able to do a diagonal or triangle:
1) Get in front of the judge,
2) Trot in a straight line,
3) Do a U-turn,
2) Trot in a straight line,
4) Stop and talk to the judge.
We're taking these skills one at a time. When you've got them all, we'll put them together.
TROTTING IN A STRAIGHT LINE
Your dog has most of this already. She knows where Gaiting Position is. She knows that she's supposed to be looking in the direction she's going. She knows that she can have a tiny bit of pressure on the lead so she can tell where you are and what you're doing without turning to stare at you.
What she knows that you DON'T want her to know right now is that she'll be curling to the left around the corner at the far end of the straightaway. Remember I told you that everything you teach her will interfere with something else you want to teach her? Here it is. Curling around that corner will interfere with a straight diagonal. That's OK, though, because we're going to give her another target to go for so she knows this is a straight line.
To run your dog in a straight line, you need to tell her where she's going and let her practise it enough to be able to anticipate it. She won't be going as fast on the straightaway as she does on the circle, because she doesn't have as much room to get going. Also, depending on the build of the dog, she might show her assets better at a slower speed. Still, you don't want her dragging along half asleep. When you start asking her to go in a straight line, give her a target at the end of her run. For the first couple of days, put a chair out there with her toy or a treat on it, or her pylon to go around.
Remember to look for that light pressure on the lead that you learned while she was standing still and moving around the circle.
This is where you'll both get good at easing into a stop. Watch that video again, and watch in particular how Sonny comes to a stop. It's very difficult to describe this in words. Horse people say that the horse "meets the rein" and that's just what we're looking for. You slow the leash down gradually until it stops. There's no abrupt jerk. In Skillbuilding 1, I likened this to braking a car slowly with your grandma in the front seat. "Oh! Did we stop?" Yes, grandma, we stopped. And we don't even have to pick your groceries up off the floor!
We'll do more work on coming to a stop. Spend most of your time right now getting the dog excited about driving for that treat or pylon.
If she drives TOO hard, though, you can add in a bit of the Leash Zen you learned in Skillbuilding 1. You can put more boring treats on the chair. You're looking for the same balance of Zen and Anti-Zen that you have in the Magic Circle.
Remember to keep your left arm up, and to keep the lead pressure DIRECTLY in line with her direction so you aren't pulling her off sideways.
Oops.
As long as she's going at a reasonable speed, maintaining her trot and not pulling too hard on the lead, sometimes allow her to gait all the way to her target and get the toy/treat automatically when she arrives. Other times, let her meet the lead and stop her just short of the prize for a few seconds, then let her get it.
Note that the DOG should be heading directly toward a target. YOU are arm's-length away off to the right side of the dog (and slightly behind). The dog is trotting in a straight line towards the bait on the chair. YOU should be trotting in a straight line too, but you're not heading for the chair. You're heading for some object in the background to the right of the chair.
Here Marie is off the mat heading directly for her focal point (coincidentally, a Group First rosette!). Tigger's angling in a bit, but she's been heading straight down the middle of the mat until now.
Now Marie is turning around at the end of the diagonal to come back. She's backing up to the floor on the other side of the mat, while Tigger is turning to come back on the red line - directly down the middle of the mat. Marie will have to pick a new focal point now, off to the left of the judge to be sure Tigger trots to meet the judge head-on.
If you have an appropriate space set up, now is the time to present your dog with a straight line on the diagonal of your ring. She'll soon recognize that a diagonal is going to be a straight line which will end either in a left or right turn or an about turn.
HOMEWORK:
Is that enough things to remember? As always, try it without the dog first. Video yourself so you can check to be sure you've got everything in place before you add the dog. Ready?
Move your dog in a straight line going toward a target. Practise both letting her run right to the target, and stopping her for a few seconds just before she gets to it.
A SAMPLING OF WHAT PRIOR STUDENTS HAVE SAID ABOUT THIS COURSE ...
I have shown and won points prior to taking this class and I have a breeder that gives me information but not much instruction. However, I was never confident and always wanted to know how the others got their dogs to show well. Sue has taken the mystery out of conformation for me and given me confidence that I won't look like the amateur dweeb in the ring. In fact, I expect to come out ahead of the professionals on any given day. She works with us as individuals and has a great eye for seeing exactly what your issues are. Her wit and sense of humor are awesome even when she's critiquing your work. She needs to write a book about her ring experiences! Thank you, Sue Ailsby, for working your magic! Nell W.
I feel Sue Ailsby has a real talent at explaining Conformation in all areas both the structure and movement area as well as the purpose of the breed and the purpose of the conformation show. Bravo on a super course. Elizabeth Z.
I was extremely impressed by the time and effort the instructor put in reviewing the video submissions.
Sue does a terrific job with the videos, and is constantly adding stuff to demonstrate a point or answer a question.
Feedback is very specific for each dog and handler and Sue comes across as a friend, out to help (but an extremely knowledgeable one!).
I have shown in conformation with some success and continue to view DVDs and attend shows to observe and learn. This class is totally unique and teaches us to train our dog and ourselves like nothing I've seen before. We are still working through the course materials and progressing slowly, but most definitely surely. Lila H.
This class was absolutley awesome. I was so impressed with Conformation 1 which I took as a bronze, but taking this one at the Gold level with active participation and Sue 's feedback was fantastic. I love, love, love Fenzi classes! You get so much information, and feedback. Far more than you would ever get in a six weeks in person class. I knew I was addicted, when I found myself checkling my forums before I checked email and social networking ! MC
Registration
This is a self-study class. The lectures will appear directly in your library, under the "Self Study classes" heading. Self Study classes do not have class homework forums. You will not have any access to the course instructor for questions or feedback. Please note there are no refunds on self-study classes so review all the information provided carefully before purchasing.
You will have access to these materials in your library for one year from the date of enrollment. You can keep your library pass current by enrolling in at least one course or workshop a year. Alternatively, you can purchase a library pass for $25 per year for as long as you wish to have access to prior class materials.
DS240 Self Study
DS240: Conformation Skillbuilding 2
DS240 Retired
$50.00
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Instructor: Sue Ailsby
