Should I have him evaluated?
 

Should I have Wolfie evaluated before I go to too much trouble or do it regardless for the experience?

Personally I would do both. That is if you are really wanting to get into showing. It's good practice and so much fun meeting new people and making new friends.

Thanks! I will probably wait a bit before I do. Let him grow some more plus I have to find someone willing. We will start taking conformation classes after Labor Day.

I have been piddling around working on stacking for just a few minutes a day. Been looking thru all the archives and finding websites that show how. Fingers crossed that I am doing it correctly. I have been using my ironing board until the grooming table I ordered arrives.

Any flat surface will do. I am having Cruz evaluated next weekend.

How old is Cruz? This is all foreign to me but so far I am enjoying it... lol maybe a bit too much. My brain is going to fry from all the reading

He is 13 weeks. Take it in doses, if you try to take it all in at once you may decide it's way too much to deal with. Showing is really fun as long as you aren't the type to get upset with criticism good or bad.

I think it's great for you to get into showing,it's been such a wonderful hobby for me.I've met the nicest people....and besides we all have something in common.
I am so looking forward to meeting some of my online yorkie friends at the upcoming Las Vegas and New York specialties

That is such a good point Lori :) We can learn so much from the criticism,sometimes it hurts, but sometimes it's a lesson learned. You kind of have to see where it's coming from too.

How did each of you decide to start showing? Did you already have yorkies and then got the bug to try or start with a great dog?

Well I went to my first dogshow at Cobo hall, I watched those Yorkies glide around the ring and to me that was the most beautiful sight in the world. I didn't even have a Yorkie at the time but after that I started searching. Now I know that I didn't have the best dog for the ring but I was learning and that was all that mattered to me plus I am sure that it also helped some get further with their dogs. I started setting goals for myself. I start with the smaller goals because I know I have to accomplish those before I can get to my main Goal.

I got my second yorkie as a pet companion for my first one....about a year apart from each other. That would be about a year and a half ago.

We picked him out and had to leave him with the breeder for 3 extra weeks, because of a scheduled trip. When we went to pick him up the breeder asked if I would be interested in showing because she felt that he had a lot of potential.He was 4 1/2 months old at this point. Coming from her , a longtime breeder and a very successful show person and producer of Best in Shows and Specialty shows I felt she had a good I and was quite excited to be getting a show puppy.

However , I knew nothing about showing a dog , or all the care and patience it took to acquire a full show coat, and to maintain one.

It has been quite the learning experience and I really have much to learn still, but I love it and what a sense of pride it gives you to see your dog all ready for the ring.....even better when you win some points.

We are one point away from completing his Canadian championship.We are not going back into the ring until mid September,so hopefully we'll finish then.

In November we will be attending our first Specialty Show in Las Vegas, I can't wait !

You both have very interesting starts! I cannot believe you came out of the gate with a Champion Carl! How awesome is that?? I have decided that even if Wolfie isn't AKC standard quality I may still try UKC just to find out if this is for me.

So do I not trim anything but his pads, feet and ears? Let him grow out his puppy coat? Any suggestions that will help me grow his coat out the best way?

I have been blessed with a nice dog like Sebastien, I never dreamed he'd turn out to be so nice :)

Yes, I woul trim just his ears,feet,pads and just whatever is necessary around his bum( the minimum) Get him used to being groomed and bathed a lot.Give him treats after every session.I would use a mixture of water,conditioner and Neutragena body oil ( 4oz water,1 tsp conditioner,and 1tsp oil .Shake well before spraying it on him(during brushing) This will help moisturize his coat and help prevent matts.As soon as his mustache is long enough start banding it to prevent him from chewing it off . Once his coat gets a bit longer you'll want to band his sides until they're long enough to wrap, to prevent him from peeing on his coat.You shouldn't have to start wrapping him until he's 9 months to a year old.As soon as his coat is long enough though it wouldn't hurt to wrap some of it,just to get him used to it.

Thanks for all the info! I have been bathing him once a week, should I more often? He is wonderful for the bath and falls asleep while I dry him. I actually purchased the Neutrogena about a week ago and did his final rinse with it on his last bath. Sure made a difference in how it feels!

A suggestion on stacking...practice in front of a front a mirror. It enables you to see that he is stacked correctly...eventually you'll learn the "feel" and will do it effortlessly.

Keep practice sessions short and fun. 5 - 10 minutes is plenty.

I show biewers so unfortunately AKC events are off limits to me but I am showing under AKC judges and have learned so very much.

Once a week is great, I do my 2 every Sunday

Good point Deb about stacking in front of the mirror.At my handling class there is an assistant that walks around with a big mirror and stops in front of each dog and handler, it's really great !

My grooming table will be here tomorrow so I will definitely set up a mirror behind it! I also found a local person from the YTCA who recently got out of showing/breeding who is going to evaluate him for me in the next few weeks. So I will be anxious to hear what she has to say. Probably "Lady stay home and save your money" lol

Think Positive.

Lisa,
I just got home from the Marshall show and I think it was a pretty good evaluation. He is a little steep in the shoulder but everything else is good. He wasn't nervous at all , in fact he was very curious as to what was going on. 5 different breeders went over him and it was all the same things being said. Plus he doled out tons of kisses. I am really pleased with this boy so far. Now we wait a couple months to see if he continues to go in the right direction. Can't wait to hear how Wolfie does.
Lori

Hi Lori,
So glad to hear his evaluation went so well for you! That is wonderful news! I posted on another thread about how Wolfie's went so I will just copy and paste it here. We are in wait and see mode but I am still pleased.

Lisa

"Just got home from Wolfie's evaluation. He isn't too bad lol He has a good bite, ear set, silk coat, cute face and show dog personality. Just have to keep an eye on his topline (may be a just a tad higher in the rear which I had noticed. He was pretty level when I brought him home but in the last couple of weeks it seemed his back legs grew more than his front) and see how his color breaks. Biggest hurdle is he is so dark.

So her recommendation was to not show him in anything but puppy matches until his hair hits the floor and hopefully he will be cleared up. She felt it wasn't worth risking dq's for his dark coat til I see how he comes along. She even told me she would have kept him as a pup herself to see how he turns out which made me happy of course. So we will do some conformation classes and matches in the mean time and see where that takes us. Should be a fun journey!

We will definitely be doing the match this coming weekend!"

Thanks Lisa,
I haved learned to really have Patience with these Yorks in everything.
Can't wait to hear how he does at the match. We have 2 next month. So I am going to be more diligent in getting him walking on the lead.