Conformation training

What DOES a puppy learn in conformation training? Walking politely on lead is a start. And that does NOT always come easy. : ) Our first month or more of lessons were done on her regular leash and quick release collar, not a show lead. *I* had to learn to make my body language mean something to her, much like agility training.

Actually, the fun thing is, most of my body cues to her in conformation pretty much compliment what I want her to learn about body language in agility. For instance, when I want her to move forward with me, I go from standing facing her, to opening up, facing forward and moving ahead. When I want her to know we are coming to a stop, I turn my shoulders into her. Yes, in agility I would actually want her to turn, but the "inhibit forward motion" idea is the same. In agility I would continue rotating to tell her to turn. In conformation I come to a stop facing her which is supposed to tell her to STOP in a pretty little stack.

To help her with her free stacking Sami has us use a low table (as opposed to the regular grooming table where, as a small dog, she will have her judge's exam) that she steps up onto to give her a "place" to do her free stack. When I started working on her contact behavior for agility (RTO) she got a little confused about the free stack table. But after a few times of showing her again what I wanted of her there, she quit trying to offer a rear toe behavior on it. For agility training updates don't forget to check out Podengo Agility!