Evening star., 1938-07-28
A Dog S Life

dog in the children's handling class
are the same as those in the regular
classes in which the dogs generally
are handled by adults This boy asked
that 1 write Ten Rules for Handling
a Dog. shall try to oblige, although
do not know whether the outcome
will be 10 rules, rules or Is.
/. Know your dog Know what sort
of disposition it has, gay or timid,
fighting or shy. and how it will react
to strange environment. That means
taking the dog with you and seeing
what it does when it meets strange
people and strange dogs. Also know
your dogs good points and weak
points according to the standard Of
its breed. That means reading and
studying the standard. seeing many
dogs of that kind that are known to
be good, and comparing your dog with
them against the mental picture you
form after studying the standard.
2. Make sure your dog is perfectly
lead-broken, that he will move when
you move and stop when you stop,
standing quietly at your side. He must
not pull when he is walking and he
must not sit or lie down when he stops
walking. He should not walk so close
to you that he is half hidden by your
leg.
3. Teach him to be interested in
one thing more than anything else.
That thing can be ball. piece of
meat or cooked liver, puppy biscuit
or anything else that can be held in
the hand to catch his attention and
make him look alive and interested.
4. Teach him to stand at attention
and in the proper pose for his breed
That varies somewhat with each breed
Learn what is proper for your kind OF
dog and stand him that way. A Ger
man shepherd, for instance, generally
is shown with one hind leg stretched
farther to the rear than the other.
This IS done to make the dogs body
look longer and also to make a long
horizontal line which makes the dog
look closer to the ground, giving a sug-
gestion of loping power The other
ways dogs are posed in the show ring
may seem queer to the people who do
not know what it is all about, but they
all have basis in some logical reason.
S. Once in the ring, forget every
thing outside Of the show ring. All
the large throng that usually assemblies
to watch the childrens handling class
Is just so much scenery. Even If your
parents and all your friends are
watching you, forget them. You have
job to do and don't think of any,
thing else.
6. Keep your attention glued to two
things, your dog and the judge. Don't
fuss too much with your dog. Brush
Ing and grooming should have been
done before entering the ring. But
don't let him slump. He must not
SIT down or start fight or stand
pigeon toed at any time. Keep look
ing over toward the judge and be
alert to do everything he says. You
as well as your dog have to be on your
toes.
7. Keep your dog on a moderately
loose lead all the time, but not too
long one. Keep the surplus lead
neatly folded in palm of your hand
sort of accordion -pleated. Then. if
you are asked to run your dog, you
can let the excess out as much as nee
essary with no effort.
8. Remember what you learned
about your dog. Stand him to show
OF his strong points and as far as
possible to cover his weak ones. If
he Is a fighter, keep him away from
the other dogs in the ring. If he Is
tlmid, keep him interested in what
ever it is he likes most, so he doesn't
have much chance to act frightened.