Hi!
Within two weeks Julia has her first show. We've been training since she was two months old, in different environments, and she does it well (or so I think, we are new in all this ...) but now I'm getting really nervous.
Julia is a very sociable puppy, she gets pretty nervous when she sees other dogs and I do not know how she will react surrounded by so many of them. She just turned six months old.
How do you control your dogs? They do not start jumping and barking ?
I see many shows puppies behaving perfectly well and I wonder how they do it

We went to handling classes and did a lot of working with Denali in various 'high traffic' areas...Petsmart/Petco etc. to try to desensitize him to active dog environments prior to our first show. When we got to the show grounds we did a lot of walking and watching outside the ring prior to going in and he was far more settled that I was let me tell you! His first show was mine as well High value treats are a must, and a confident handler! Good luck, have fun, and keep us informed

Thank you very much for the tips. I think we'll do well!
Another thing that worries me is the grooming. I've been reading a lot, watching videos and practicing with Julia. Finally I've found that I have a lot of products and do not know which is better.
I've noticed that many huskies have much hair around the face, like lions. I think Julia is missing volume in the head.
I have Kw mousse, the texturizing-bodifier of thick and thicker, the ultra volumizing gel Pure paws, the Bodifier of Crown Royale ...
I know how to bathe her, dry and comb her (more or less) but do not know what products should I use to add volume or conceal her faults.
I will put a picture of Julia today. She took a bath a week ago. Can you give me some advice, please? I would really appreciate it.

Good luck on your first show, we want to see lots of pictures and hear how it goes!

Females don't have the 'head' piece like males do, and young dogs don't have the cheeks that adults do...so that is less of a concern. Really that is not a fault, brush up what you can and leave it. Huskies are bath, blow, and show for the most part. The most I do is add some cholesterol and chalk to the legs if I'm hoping to add the appearance of bone substance. Bath her out, make sure her whites are white, blow the coat up, and take a comb in the ring with you to do touch up as needed.

The things to work on- standing for exam, nailing the free stack, and clean movement. Movement is the most important thing in the show ring....if they can't move they won't do well. If they don't stand for exam they can be excused by the judge.

She's pretty~~best of luck to you! Where are you showing? Please let us know how it goes, and must have pictures!

Lani: I have heard of chalking the legs, but cholesterol?? Blowing up the coat? I use a K9-II dryer, but I don't really fluff Mish up. Seems to look better if I blow in one direction.

Well how do you get the chalk to stick? Cholesterol is one way, putting chalk in dry will only cause the chalk to slough off and not create the desired effect- You need to separate the hair follicles blow the hair up not down, you want the coat to stand not lay flat against the dog. A properly groomed dog will have a coat that is more fluffed not laying flat.

All of which is moot if the dog doesn't stack to move out properly.

Lani,

I have never used chalk, so that is why I was asking what the chol. was for. No, I really do not want to offend you or anyone, but I have a problem with all this grooming to hide faults, and I would think that any judge worth his or her salt can put his or her hands on a dog and feel what is truly there and is not being fooled. I can see correctly grooming the dog, and maybe even using a product to remove stains from white areas. (Not trying to bleach out areas that should be white that naturally are not). A stained dog was born with the white genes, a dog that is dyed to give the appearance of white fur was not. All this adding product to give the look and feel of a correct coat, etc, to me is wrong.

Recently, we went to a show, (a large show) and we meet a breeder that was getting ready to show his dogs. One was absolutely gorgeous, and I could tell by looking at him that he was going to win, and he did. He also had another dog with him, that looked terrible. Out of coat, missing half an ear (dog fight). Compared to all the other sibes in the ring (that looked amazing), I thought no way! She won hands down. She was a working sled team dog, and in great physical condition, despite her looks. So, yeah, it comes down to movement, most of the time.

Now, I may be new at showing, but I get the game. Yes, I want to win, but I want Mish to win on her true merits, otherwise, it is meaningless to me. Now, that does not mean that a dog with some minor faults does not deserve to win. Would I discount a dog that could not get a CH title from a breeding program? No necessarily. There are lots of reasons why a dog may not finish. (and some that have nothing to do with the dog) But, if the dog has a solid background; is a structurally correct and well rounded example of the standard, then, yeah, I would try to bred him or her to improve upon that dog for the betterment of my line and the breed.

Ok, that turned into a novel....again, just my two cents, and NOT trying to offend anyone. To each his own...it's just not for me.

Sure- to each his own. I do occasionally use chalk. For two reasons, one is if for whatever reason his whites got dingy and I don't have time to bathe whites before going in. Second was while my male was growing and maturing he did end up looking light in the legs. Structurally he is sound and does have adequate bone, but it was an illusion when comparing him to other more mature dogs in the ring. It wouldn't have mattered if he nailed his movement and stacks if he looked like a sore thumb. Chalk will not effect how the dog moves nor what the judge feels...but it may make the difference in the case of a leggy stage being dismissed or not. Denali's points have all been earned on his own merit, but it has been a long road and I know that chalk didn't make or break the dog in the judges eyes.

That's my two cents on the issue-

First of all thanks for the tips and information.
Here in Spain you can always see people using chalk, sprays and dryer at the show, just before entering the ring. That's why I bought so many products.
Personally I think huskies are a breed with a naturally beautiful coat.
I also believe that a good judge will be able to see the faults of the dog, although the dog grooming May be perfect.
I do not think there's anything wrong with using chalk and Cholestero in stained legs.
I still do not know enough to know if Julia's legs are too thin, but I will use chalk if I see it necessary.
I think that the grooming helps a good dog to look still better, you can even disguise some mistakes ... but it will not make a champion.

Lani

I think you and I are on the same page here. Please don't misunderstand me...I was not trying to imply that your dog was not sound or built correctly. I'm quite sure your dogs did win by their own merits. Last time I checked....the perfect dog has yet to be bred! I can understand using powder to cover staining. I'm sitting here looking at Mish's legs, and she has staining that I need to get out now...been raining like crazy here, and with all the in and out, she's a mess. I can see covering that up if I had to, in a pinch. That is not, however, the same, as dying yellow or buff hairs to look white. See the difference of what I am saying? I'm talking about things like trying to hide the fact that a tail set is too high or low with combing the hair this way and that, thereby giving the "illusion" of a better set. That seems nuts to me.

I have to assume it would be hard for any immature dog to beat out an older dog. Your dog going through a leggy stage in normal development is not a "fault"...just where he was at the time. I don't have a problem with that.

You are on the west coast, right?? I would think there would be more competition to beat out, and that would be tough. Not that those dogs were better...just more of them to beat.

You have been a great source of information for me, and I'm sure a lot of people...especially newbies like myself, a fact of which I am grateful for your forthrightness (there seems to be a lacking of that in some show circles!)....and I really hope I have not offended you in any way. Not my intention at all.

Nah- I don't easily offend I wouldn't last long in the show world if I did LOL! Sounds like we are definitely on the same page though. I don't get the people who try to hide the obvious structural or other faults on their dog (i.e. coat sculpting- seriously?!)....irritates me even more when those dogs get put up over dogs that are more correct to the standard and/or on actually are on working teams. But hey, we know this is a political game- the better dog doesn't always get put up.

You are so right!!! Now what can i use day to day for these stubborn mud stains on her legs!??? Tried Ivory. Works to a point. I fear these will get more stubborn the longer they are on her fur.

Try some Dawn dish soap (the blue) follow with straight whitener shampoo- the stuff I get is a concentrate so if I have some really stubborn stains I'll use it straight instead of diluting it. Denali gets stains really bad on his elbows sometimes it takes multiple whitening washes to get him stain free. I've seriously washed his elbows/legs every day during dog shows to get the stain out.

Thanks. Will try that. Yup it's her elbows too. Cannot wait to meet ya in person at the nationals!

I'm hoping I'm still going to go this year! I'm tossing around an idea for a kennel building so that might take financial priority, we'll see! I'd also like to get the last 2 Majors on Denali and get him finished- though that's not a deal breaker for me going or not.

OMG my hubby and I are talking about kennel building too!! Maybe that will be next year for us. Great minds think alike!

After building the kennel runs (5- 25'x10') I realized that it still wasn't 'right'...of course. Considering future plans for the team I'll need/want to get my building sooner than later!

I was hoping to win the lotto first, but that aint happened!

Well that would be nice too LOL!

Well this involves tearing down the old barn, and making runs in the old horse lot and starting to board dogs, too. AND have room for the tractor and al the crap in there now!
So, I will keep buying those tickets! LOL

Sounds like a plan! If you win the big one, wanna share? I'll do the same if I win, ok? I'm building mine near my current dog yard. I want an area I can pull the dog tuck into that is secure so I can just let dogs from the runs to the truck area and load or unload...plus the Hubby wants a shop so just add that to the build. The isle between the runs inside the building needs to be wide enough we can get the tractor down the middle- Such an undertaking

Sound like over a hundred grand sort of undertaking!!

Dream big or go home, right????

Pretty much how we roll! I'm terrified to see how much this is going to cost us- In the end I'm sure it will be worth it.

If she doesn't do well I can take her home with me! What a heart melting little cutie!