Questions About Boxer Standard
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JulieM
Boxer Insane
"Down on the pasterns" or "down on the feet" means that the pasterns are excessively angled, or the feet are flat and splayed. It is very not correct 
but common for puppies to go through, especially during teething when most of the calcium is going to the teeth. As long as they come back up, you're OK. (I think this was recently discussed in the show forums, and there might have been some links to illustrations.....I can't remember exactly, but it might be worth a search.)
Appropriate muscling - this is a very subjective thing, really, but the standard mentions "well-developed muscles are clean, hard, and appear smooth under taut skin." Think Rick Rossovich in the volleyball scene from "Top Gun." (Now wipe up the drool from your keyboard....
) Too much muscle would be Arnold Schwarzenegger in his Mr. Universe days; too little would be....um...Woody Allen. Females should be a bit softer - Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2 would be too much, Linda Hamliton in Terminator (1) would be too little - you want something right in between the two (well, slightly more on the T2 side).
but common for puppies to go through, especially during teething when most of the calcium is going to the teeth. As long as they come back up, you're OK. (I think this was recently discussed in the show forums, and there might have been some links to illustrations.....I can't remember exactly, but it might be worth a search.)Appropriate muscling - this is a very subjective thing, really, but the standard mentions "well-developed muscles are clean, hard, and appear smooth under taut skin." Think Rick Rossovich in the volleyball scene from "Top Gun." (Now wipe up the drool from your keyboard....
) Too much muscle would be Arnold Schwarzenegger in his Mr. Universe days; too little would be....um...Woody Allen. Females should be a bit softer - Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2 would be too much, Linda Hamliton in Terminator (1) would be too little - you want something right in between the two (well, slightly more on the T2 side). We are watching Terminator (1) on TV RIGHT NOW! How weird is that!Are judges more lenient on muscling on puppies in the show ring? I imagine they are more lenient with everything with puppies. What type of exercise/activity level should show puppies, and eventually, show dogs be at to achieve proper muscling? I know that with puppies you don't want to overdo the exercise and damage their growing bone and joint structure. Is there rule of thumb as to amount and type of exercise for dogs at different growth stages?
Is there any specific weight/body condition they should be at? I'm concerned as I plan to feed BARF and am wondering about a judges opinion on smaller, leaner puppies.
Aside from puppy socialization (meeting lots of different people, lots of new places, smells, different dogs, animals, etc) is there any thing else I can do to prepare my puppy (mentally) for the show ring? I have heard some trainers play very physical games with their dogs to boost their confidence, but that you must be careful not to allow the dog to become too dominant. Have you heard of this before? What does it involve?
What is the best resource to learn proper show ring grooming (breeder, all-breed groomer, books)?
Thanks so much! Your advice is so helpful!
Tamara
P.S. I don't have a puppy yet but I am planning to bring a brindle show bitch home in a few weeks so I am started to get excited and want to learn everything I can! Sorry I'm asking so many questions!
JulieM
Boxer Insane
Questions are good, that's how you learn! (And when I don't know the answer, that's how I learn, too )
Judges are certainly more lenient with puppies, you wouldn't expect a puppy to have the muscling of an adult. Of course, the puppy shouldn't be fat - you want to be able to see the muscles, but they aren't expected to be "clean and hard" at that age. (Of course, all judges are different and some do seem to think puppies should just be small adults - they are the exception, though!)
I think in Germany that the pre-breeding testing requires the dog to be able to run at a steady pace for 5 miles (but maybe just 1 mile...) Some dogs muscle up more easily than others - the ones that need some help are usually "road-worked" - which involves moving at a show trot (about 5 mph) for a mile or more daily. This should never be done with puppies, as it is very hard on the joints - 18 months at the earliest - and you gradually work up to that distance. Most people road work either with the dog on a Springer attached to their bicycle, or with the dog running alongside their car (or, if you have a pickup or wagon, behind, with one person driving and one sitting in the back holding the dog.) Of course, you want to find a quiet street or parking lot to do this!
For puppies, I personally don't believe in any forced exercise, but I'm more paranoid than most I let my puppies run around the fenced yard with the other dogs as much as they want, but I don't do anything other than that with them.
Specific weight/body condition is hard to say, because they are all so different. In general, at the proper weight you should just be able to see the outline of the last 3 ribs, and the rib area should feel like the back of your hand.
Socialization is the most important thing IMO for preparing your puppy for showing, but you can also work on stacking, gaiting, etc. Just make it fun and keep the sessions short - you don't want the puppy to learn to hate showing or think it is boring! There are some people who will say you should never play physical games like tug-of-war or wrestling with your dog, or it will become dominant. I personally feel (and there are behaviorist who agree ) that it is fine and beneficial to play these games with your dog, as long as the dog understands that you say when it is time to play and you say when it is time to stop. There's a good article on this at www.pawsitivebehavior.net, although I'm not sure if she's still allowing you to view them for free :mad:
As for learning grooming - a breeder or handler will probably give you the best show-specific information. There have been a few discussions here in the Showing forum, as well. Rick Tomita's book "The World of the Boxer" has a good section on grooming, and Pat Hastings "Tricks of the Trade" has some good general tips. The nice thing is that with a puppy, there is a bit of leniency, so you can learn the more "sophisticated" tricks as you go. Basically, you want to trim anything that takes away from a clean outline - whiskers, ears, the edge of the "tuck-up", etc. Nails should be clean and short (long nails cause the foot to splay, and can cause permanent damage). The nose should be soft and clean - puppies are usually not a problem, but sometimes as they get older the nose tends to dry out some. Vaseline or a similar substance helps to loosen dirt and soften the nose. Boxers are really pretty easy to groom compared to some other breeds!
)Judges are certainly more lenient with puppies, you wouldn't expect a puppy to have the muscling of an adult. Of course, the puppy shouldn't be fat
- you want to be able to see the muscles, but they aren't expected to be "clean and hard" at that age. (Of course, all judges are different and some do seem to think puppies should just be small adults - they are the exception, though!)I think in Germany that the pre-breeding testing requires the dog to be able to run at a steady pace for 5 miles (but maybe just 1 mile...) Some dogs muscle up more easily than others - the ones that need some help are usually "road-worked" - which involves moving at a show trot (about 5 mph) for a mile or more daily. This should never be done with puppies, as it is very hard on the joints - 18 months at the earliest - and you gradually work up to that distance. Most people road work either with the dog on a Springer attached to their bicycle, or with the dog running alongside their car (or, if you have a pickup or wagon, behind, with one person driving and one sitting in the back holding the dog.) Of course, you want to find a quiet street or parking lot to do this!
For puppies, I personally don't believe in any forced exercise, but I'm more paranoid than most
I let my puppies run around the fenced yard with the other dogs as much as they want, but I don't do anything other than that with them.Specific weight/body condition is hard to say, because they are all so different. In general, at the proper weight you should just be able to see the outline of the last 3 ribs, and the rib area should feel like the back of your hand.
Socialization is the most important thing IMO for preparing your puppy for showing, but you can also work on stacking, gaiting, etc. Just make it fun and keep the sessions short - you don't want the puppy to learn to hate showing or think it is boring! There are some people who will say you should never play physical games like tug-of-war or wrestling with your dog, or it will become dominant. I personally feel (and there are behaviorist who agree
) that it is fine and beneficial to play these games with your dog, as long as the dog understands that you say when it is time to play and you say when it is time to stop. There's a good article on this at www.pawsitivebehavior.net, although I'm not sure if she's still allowing you to view them for free :mad:As for learning grooming - a breeder or handler will probably give you the best show-specific information. There have been a few discussions here in the Showing forum, as well. Rick Tomita's book "The World of the Boxer" has a good section on grooming, and Pat Hastings "Tricks of the Trade" has some good general tips. The nice thing is that with a puppy, there is a bit of leniency, so you can learn the more "sophisticated" tricks as you go. Basically, you want to trim anything that takes away from a clean outline - whiskers, ears, the edge of the "tuck-up", etc. Nails should be clean and short (long nails cause the foot to splay, and can cause permanent damage). The nose should be soft and clean - puppies are usually not a problem, but sometimes as they get older the nose tends to dry out some. Vaseline or a similar substance helps to loosen dirt and soften the nose. Boxers are really pretty easy to groom compared to some other breeds!
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