LHASA APSO AT THE DOG-SHOW

        "I take the responsibility for a lost at the dog show on myself."
       
So you have a puppy. It is a beautiful fluffy Lhasa Apso. You have a good friend for you and your family. But maybe one day you’ll decide to take part in a dog-show because your dog is the best and the most beautiful one. I think it will be a good hobby for you or a great sport competition. So I want to tell about some complications which may be (arise) before and during the show.

You always should remember that Lhasa Apso is a very careful and distrustful dog. He doesn’t like strangers. So an expert is a stranger for Apso. But the expert not only looks at the dog but also touches it and evaluates all merits and demerits of the dog. He has to do it because of Apso’s long and heavy coat. So when the expert touches the dog the proud Apso is full of indignation. It will be better if the dog only moves away (steps aside) but not bites the expert. It this case the well brought up dog will have a preference. So you needn’t think that if you have the best and the most beautiful dog that the expert will excuse your dog her bad behavior. You risk to be disqualified. So never forget about the work in the ring. It is a really difficult work for so proud and independent dog. So you must do all your best to teach your dog to be patient and obedient in the ring during the show. What can you do?

Of cause, the first training you must do at home. Ask your friends to help you and to be an expert for 5 (no more) minutes. Put your dog on the table, give her a command (for example “let’s work” or “exam”) and let your friend to touch the dog. If you do it regular your pet will understand very quickly what you want. The next step is: do it out of doors or when you go to see your friends with the dog.

Working with a very complicated dog I not only come to see my friends with this dog but also when I went for a walk with him I asked people in the yard and in the street to help me. I said him: “We are working now”, and the dog stood still. And of course I worked hard. You see Lhasas requite firmness, fairness and consistency in training. Positive rewards work far better than harsh discipline. Lhasas understand everything very quickly and remember it very well. So if you are not lazy and work with your dog constantly you will have excellent results. You may buy a book by Mrs.Karpisheva N.M. “A dog for show”. In it you will find many pieces of advice how to train a dog for the show.

In my practice I saw three types of Lhasas behavior during the show: 1. the dog runs very proudly and independently but when the expert tries to examine it the dog becomes very aggressive; 2. the dog is very calm during the examination but runs very nervously, looks around and smells; 3. the dog crawls for the owner, its tail is hang, during the examination tries to sit down, steps aside. I am sure that these dogs have never played with other dogs or other people except their owners. Remember that the person who shows your dog (a handler) also plays his part in the show. If the handler is nervous during the show the dog will be nervous too, and it will not win. So you and your handler must be sure of yourself, have confidence of success and be in a good mood. But if your dog fails don’t scold it. It is not its fault. Only you or your handler can correct this situation. Train more your dog using positive training techniques and I’m sure it will work.