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Hands-On Handling, Page 7
 
WAIT ON THE BAIT!
 
Bait is a very useful tool in the ring.  It should not, however, be obvious.  There are times when judicious use of bait will work to your advantage. For example, a puppy in a large class may get very bored or distracted; a small piece of bait the puppy can gnaw on can help keep their attention and interest.  You may also have a fussy bitch in season; bait may be the only thing that gets her mind off of one end and on to another. When baiting a dog, be aware of the judge and when (s)he approaches.  Which of these dogs allows the judge a positive first impression of the head and expression?
 
 
 
 
THE FUSSY DOG
 
Setting up your dog should be a simple procedure.  Set up the legs, get the tail, get the head and you are done.  But sometimes the dog does not want to cooperate.  In that event, I stand up and use bait to distract the dog while I manipulate the legs. I will let the dog chew on the bait while I move the front and rear legs – an effort that takes only a few seconds (because I practiced—further in the article) When I have the legs where I want them, I will kneel down to finish presenting the dog. The best thing to do is set up the part of the dog that needs the most help first.  If the judge is fast and you don’t have time to finish setting up, at least the weaker points are minimized.
 
 
From this, to this, to done!
 
 
WHICH ONE OF THESE PUPPY BITCHES
WILL WIN THE CLASS?
 
The following reenactment was taken from a class of 6-9 puppy bitches from a National Specialty several years ago.  Assuming that all puppies moved well and had no major problems, if you were a judge looking at the final line up, which one would you consider first? 
 
 

 

 

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