NASS only a few days left to enter - September 25 2011 - Page 1

Entry deadline is Friday September 25, 2010

www.wdanass.org

If you have any questions or concerns....... 

If you are having trouble with our entry system, please call Cindy and she will gladly help you with your entries. 270-776-5940

Cindy has bent over backwards to make this another fun event for all! Wait until you see the Opening Ceremony! We have a live band for the Saturday night party, which is open to everyone.

I have 9 entered so far with the possibility of a couple others. There are 7 others entered from associates.

I had difficulty with the website. Cindy was able to assist. Let her know if you are experiencing problems.

I have 2 entered, and maybe one more.....how about you?

 

This will be my first year attending the NASS and I do have a puppy entered!  A little nervous, but also excited to see all the dogs there competing. 
 

WRF - good luck and welcome!

Sitasmom, Dog1 and all those who use PDB forums frequently, if you can give your name and kennel name and/or the dogs names that  you entered, there will be chances for people to know and meet you at the event. Some of you guys are well know on this site and it would be good to know you guys in person, meet with you and greet.


Raju

I wasn't able to enter the city or country information from the drop down menu or by typing it in. It was a required field and my entries would not go through. Anyone else having this problem?

Raju,

We expect to have a large group of people at the show. Look for a group of breeders in a row of tents. There should be a blue Carolina tent in the group to help identify us. Stop by and introduce yourself. You shouldn't have any problem locating Dog1, most people know me there.

I have one dog entered. I sent my entry in via priority  mail rather than enter online because documentation must be submitted anyhow.

See you all there!

Words to first timers at NASS:
I was nervous too the first time I showed, but please do your best to relax and HAVE FUN! Especially in the puppy classes, it's not really all that serious and even if the puppy or you mess up, it's almost expected and just part of the fun and learning process for both you and your puppy. Think of it as a learning experience and that can help you relax.
Some important things to remember:

keep an eye on your dog and handler for the cues to call. One big thing that people make the mistake of is to call too much because they are nervous. Calling too much makes the puppy/dog get oblivious to it or get too excited. A well timed call is awesome to watch!

The puppy does not have to be alert ALL the time. Let him/her relax a bit when the judge is not looking directly at them.

Watch the judge also so that you know when he/she is looking at your dog

Make sure that you give your dog a bath and grooming including, ears, nails and blow drying. Normally the night before or the day of the show. When blow drying make sure that you keep the croup hair flat, all other places can be fluffed.

You should have been training your puppy before the show, but if not your handler at the show will go over the details and give you instructions on how they want you to do the double handling. Normally you can use a practice ring to warm up your puppy/dog. If you haven't trained the puppy, it will probably not place as high but like I said before, some puppy play and acting up is expected. Placings in a puppy class are not all that important until they get a little older. The young classes are mostly for training and experience.
     Training your puppy: this can be done with just 2 people. One to handle your puppy and you to be out front calling. You want to see your puppy pulling in a nice even gait and not hopping, jumping or digging in. Usually we use a command for this: Hup Hup. Puppies learn this quickly. The person should give a short jerk of the leash for the correction of the hopping, jumping etc. and lots of praise from you when the puppy is gaiting.  The handler should be a "non entity" and you as the owner should solicit all of your puppy's attention. The handler should be all business, because if you don't the puppy will want to turn his focus onto the handler instead of you. If you want, you can use a favorite toy or noise maker to get their attention, but do not over use it and make sure the sessions are short with lots of play and praise through out. Teaching the stand is hard with puppies but start with a quick subdued praise when they hold the stand for a few seconds. In the beginning don't expect them to stand very long and gradually increase the time you expect them to stand still. While they are standing the owner should be in front but at least 20 feet away and not making too much fuss. A quick short noise to keep their head and ears up is all that's needed because they need to be still and not get too excited. Also teach them to let their teeth be examined. We give a command for this and just say "teeth" so they learn what's coming. Again, just start with quick short lifting their lips and lots of praise when they let you do it with out resisting. Like the stand, the time can be gradually increased. It also helps for whomever is handling the pup during training to stick their thumb under the collar and use the palm/fingers of that hand to hold the lower jaw/head still. This helps to stabilize the puppy when they fight you. Males should also have the testicles handled so that they are not startled when the judge reaches back there.  If the puppy has a tattoo then you also need to get them used to having that examined.