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Frequently asked Questions?
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Why should one get a pet
from dog show lineage?
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What is the Breed Standard?
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Why is structure so
important in a dog?
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Why is showing at AKC
events important to good breeders?
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What is OFA, CERF, SAS?
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Training & Handling
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Training Your Dog
Every dog needs to
be taught basic good manners. A critical goal of training is to help
your dog recognize you as its leader. You must be firm and decisive in
setting the boundaries.
Working with your
dog on a regular basis, set the rules, and stick to them; before long,
your dog will know what is and what is and what is not acceptable. A dog
that knows the five basic commands “sit”, “down”, “come”, “stay”/ and
“heel” is a lot easier to be around. Rather than cramping its style,
training will allow your dog more freedom than dogs without any training
at all. A well behaved dog who reliably comes when called, for example,
is able to enjoy more off leash playtime.
It is never too
early to start training. Keep sessions short, but do not confine
training to specific times. Incorporate exercises into your daily
routine so that your dog can practice what it has learned. Some dogs
learn commands in hours, while others may take weeks. A daily routine
builds good learning habits. Choose a quiet area at first, with few
distractions or interruptions, then graduate to somewhere more
challenging.
Training Tips
- When, where, and
how often: With your dog facing you, point to your eyes and say
“watch me”. Maintain eye contact for about 10 seconds. Release your
dog and say “good dog!” Repeat frequently at various locations.
- As leader you
need to set firm rules about what it is you want from your dog. Give
consistent commands, in the same tone of voice, and in same order.
- Never hit or
shout at your dog. Harsh correction can result in fear and aggression,
both of which will hinder learning. Reprimand your dog immediately or
it will not know why it is being reprimanded.
- With positive
reinforcement, never let good behavior go unnoticed. Your dog knows
that behaving well makes good things happen, and therefore makes it
happy. Rewarding your dog with snacks, pats, and plenty of praise, you
will find that its good behavior will increase only if it is followed
by a reward.
Leashes and collars
Before
leash-training your dog, make sure it has a comfortable collar. A good
first collar is a nylon, leather buckle, or snap-on collar. It should
fit snugly around the neck. Although now falling out of favor, choke
chains and pinch collars are still sometimes used for training. They
should be used only by experienced owners. (Choke chains, when put on
backward will not loosen and could suffocate your dog. Check the ring
end attached to the leash comes over the neck and the chain will be able
to loosen.)
Getting used to a
leash, every dog reacts differently when it hears the click of a leash
and feels the tug on its collar. If you train your dog correctly, you
will soon have it walking politely on a leash. Have your puppy drag the
leash around the house for short periods. Start by putting on your dogs
training collar, then attach the leash to this. Do not tug your dog.
Gradually coax it to move with you. If its concentration wanders, give a
quick pull on the leash. Your dog will soon understand that whenever you
put the leash on it, you want it to pay attention to you.
Teaching “Sit”
The fact that a dog
has a relatively inflexible spine means that if it tips its head up far
enough, it will sit. You can use this to your advantage when teaching a
dog to sit in response to a spoken command. By raising a food treat, you
can easily get your dog to sit. Repeat the process below six to eight
times, praising it each time. Only say the word “sit” once as you
maneuver the puppy into a sit. Be careful not to hold the food too high
above the dog’s nose as it might jump up to reach it.
- With your dog
facing you, hold a food reward between your fingers and thumb, with
your palm face up, in front of its nose.
- Move the reward
up and slightly back over your dogs head. Say “sit” once as you do
this. As your dog follows the treat with its eyes and head, it will
sit down.
- Praise your dog,
saying “good sit”, and give the food reward
Teaching
“Down”
Use food to help
guide your dog into position when you want to teach it to lie down. You
can try pushing the treat between its front legs to get in position. As
it tries to follow the treat, its back end will slide into a down
position.
- Place your dog in
a sit. Hold a food treat in front of it, say “down” and quickly bring
the food down to the ground so its head follows.
- If your dog needs
help, gently guide its shoulders downward. When your dog is lying
down, praise it, and give it the treat.
- Once your dog
associates the word “down” with the action you can be less reliable
with the food treats – but keep praising it each time it obeys.
Teaching “Come”
Teaching a dog to
come is an extremely important and often difficult task. Never call your
dog to you and punish it. Take care not to call it away from something
fun. Practice calling your dog and when it comes, praise it and send it
back to play.
- Stand close to
your dog with a food reward in your hand.
- Back up a short
distance, wiggle the treat and say “come”.
- As your dog
approaches, say “good come” and give it a treat when it gets to you.
Teaching “Stay”
Teaching your dog to
stay on command may avoid a disaster, especially if you live in a busy
urban area. Aim for small successes, not long stays. At first, reward a
stay of five seconds, then gradually increase the duration of the stay.
- With your dog in
sit, place your hand, palm open, in front of its face.
- Slowly walk
backward from your dog, all the while making eye contact and telling
it to “stay”
- If your puppy
does not move for 5 seconds, go back and reward it with food and
praise.
Teaching “Heel”
There are two ways
to teach your dog to heel. The first is an extension of the “watch me”
command. Repeat this command several times and add the command “heel”.
At first move only short distances, but gradually move farther and for
longer periods as your dog learns to stay with you. This exercise cannot
be practiced easily inside. Be prepared to spend a lot of time outdoors.
- Have your dog on
a leash at your left side. Hold the leash with your right hand so that
it crosses your body. Keep your right hand at your wrist.
- As you start
walking, say your dogs name and “heel”. If necessary, hold on the
leash with your left hand until the dog is beside you, then release.
- If your dog
starts to pull or lag, turn in the opposite direction. Do not worry if
you collide. It will soon realize it should be watching you.
- When your do is
walking nicely by your side, praise it verbally, saying “good heel”.
You can also reach down and pet it.
- Why
should one get a pet from dog show lineage?
If you are looking for
a pet for your family, or as your companion, it is of paramount
importance to select the right breeder to at least direct you toward the
right lineage, then to the right litter, and ultimately to the right
puppy. It truly starts with the breeder. If you can find a breeder you
can trust, who has a sufficient amount of experience and knowledge, and
is avidly involved with showing and breeding show dogs, then you are
taking the first step. Those who breed to improve on the lines they
possess will breed in hopes to acquire that particular puppy who will
win over other breeders and judges alike. It is a satisfaction that is
rewarded from having the respect of the breeders in the golden retriever
community. However, not all puppies in the litter can be kept by the
breeders. Eventually, these puppies must find great, solid homes. Just
because a breeder selects a particular puppy as third or fourth pick
puppy in the litter, it does not mean that it lacks all the other DNA
information passed down from generations upon generations of healthy
champions whose owners loved and improved upon. Sometimes breeders may
select a puppy to show in the litter because of certain anatomy
angulations in structure or height in rear pasterns. Generally, the
entire litter will share in the basic characteristics of substance,
disposition, and coat type. The qualities in these characteristics
usually outshine other litters that have been bred blindly and for
profit
- What is the Breed Standard?
The
breed standard is a set of written guidelines put together by the
Golden Retriever Club of America, the parent club of all golden
retriever clubs in the United States, our national club. These
guidelines help all breeders to conform to certain character features
when breeding. It helps us to stay within certain height
measurements, eye color, pigment color, and general disposition of the
breed. Without such outlines, we would have an array of golden
retrievers and no common objective when breeding.
These
guidelines also help to assist AKC judges make their selections in
competition. In turn, it conveys to the breeders which dogs comes
closest to their interpretation of the Breed Standard. Top winning
dogs and show champions are then highly considered as high quality
breeding stock. Of course, they are all critiqued and scrutinized a
million times over, but it serves the purpose in choosing the right
dog when breeding. Which is why showing dogs in conformation is so
important if one would like to breed.
The breed standard helps
to impose and perpetuate the true character and type of the Golden
Retriever. It also maintains the importance of function and purpose,
which is essential to its history and origin.
- Why is structure so important in a dog?
My
definition of structure is the anatomy of the canine species that
relates to the overall health of the dog. Depending on the purpose of
each breed, structure plays a key role in its intended use. Golden
retrievers were originally bred to retrieve game in field and water. It
is important that this trait is not lost in haphazard breeding practices
by so many profit seeking breeders who do not participate in any of the
AKC events. These breeders lack vital knowledge in their dogs’ pedigree
and ultimately do not know what they are breeding. If these self
proclaimed high quality breeders do not participate in AKC events, how
well can they truly understand structure? Their strategy to purchase
dogs out of champions to then breed the same dogs over again limits
their abilities as breeders to minimize certain faults and frailties in
structure from the breed as a whole. There are too many unwanted dogs
and puppies in this world to produce more puppies just for the sake of
making money. Dogs should be bred as an enhancement of its
predecessors, so that we can enjoy and entertain its intended purpose
and other assets that is beneficial to its families.
Retrieving game on land or water requires more than just four legs, a
tail, and teeth. There are so many specific anatomy traits that help
the endurance level of a dog, as well as overall health. For example, a
well sprung rib cage and depth of chest can actually allow for more lung
capacity. A well placed shoulder can ease more comfort in a dog
trotting all day. A thick tail base is an important rudder appendage.
These are just a few examples of what is truly needed in the breed,
which most self proclaimed breeders do not know. It is important to
know that if your breeder does not know structure and the written
standard, then your breeder is pretending to be a breeder and has made a
lot of money with no regard to improving the breed, but their bank
account.
- Why is showing at AKC events
important to good breeders?
Good and
reputable breeders strive to convey an open and honest line of
communication amongst other breeders. Because they love their dogs,
they participate in activities such as field, obedience, and
conformation show events to enhance their dogs’ highest points of
characteristics. Granted, there is a distinct pride in achieving wins,
but these events allow breeders, exhibitors, and participants to take
note of accomplishments made by these dogs. Breeders are then able to
use their observations to learn more of what each dog can offer. It is
a cycle which was initiated by the American Kennel Club to improve or
develop each breed to its full purpose and capacity.
Good breeders breed to
improve the breed as a whole. They understand what the breed is
currently lacking and keep track of profound faults in the majority of
the golden retrievers. They study pedigrees, memorize dogs and converse
with other breeders about dogs they do not know. (There truly is a
fascination with delving into the history of past generations of golden
retrievers.) Most importantly, good breeders consistently screen their
breeding stock for health issues and eliminate a breeding program which
may be a detriment to an entire generation of golden retrievers, if not
their own.
Good
breeders understand that they are not God. Too many breeders believe
that they can breed whatever they want and that the end result will fix
itself. Breeding requires a great deal of information, analysis,
forethought, and luck. It is a science that has not proven to be
infallible. (Although there are those who believe they are close to
perfection.) There should never be an assumption that there will be a
perfect breeding without study. Good breeders can only hope, through
their endeavors, to produce beautiful, healthy, and long lived golden
retrievers. They acknowledge limitations and boundaries in breeding.
They particularly take on this enormous responsibility with the help and
guidance of others, present and especially from the past.
- What
is OFA, CERF, SAS?
OFA is an acronym for The
Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. It is an organization developed in
1966 to study, record, and limit the widespread disease of hip dysphasia.
Today, it has grown to help prevent genetic hip and elbow dysplasia
through radiographic screenings. OFA also provides evaluations on
ultrasonic screenings for heart abnormalities, such as SAS. Without the
assistance of OFA, most of all the AKC recognized breeds would suffer
widespread decline in healthy and happy dogs.
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