Want to Show your Malamute?

Showing is an activity that may take some time to get used to and proficient at, but persevere! If you are friendly and a good sport you will get to know people, and your trip to the dog show will become an enjoyable social outing for both you and your Malamute. 

Don't expect to go to your first dog show, do everything perfectly in the ring and win. You're very lucky if that does happen, but more often than not the first few show experiences are quite daunting and leave you with the feeling that you're a complete novice in a field of professional handlers and/or that your dog may not be the perfect specimen that you previously thought it was!

If you get "knocked out" early, resist the temptation to rush off home. Stick around and watch the rest of the breed judging, and make an effort to applaud and congratulate the winners. Not only will you learn from watching more experienced handlers in the ring, but you'll also get to talk to people who are often too busy with their dogs to chat before the show. Offering congratulations to the winning handlers (and commiserating with those who didn't do so well) is also a good way to introduce yourself and get talking to other exhibitors.

If your dog doesn't do as well as you expected, don't criticize the judging or the other exhibits (especially not within earshot of the other exhibitors!), but rather think about why the other dog won and yours didn't. Be objective! No dog is perfect, so take a good hard look at your dog and the others in the ring.

All exhibits have good and not so good points, and you have to learn to recognise these. The more experienced handler will know how to make the undesirable attributes less obvious while drawing the judges attention to the good qualities of their dog. 

Start practicing for the show ring
when your Malamute is young

Of course you can't possibly do this if you don't know what your dog's good and bad features are! Not only will you need to know and understand the Alaskan Malamute Breed Standard, but you'll also have to be honest with yourself about the attributes of your dog!

You also need to understand that all judges prioritise the breed standard differently and will place the exhibits accordingly. For example, a dog that has good movement but is light on coat won't do so well under a judge that thinks good coat is extremely important, but will do better under a movement orientated judge who doesn't place as much emphasis on coat. Unfortunately you won't know the judge's preferences unless you enter and find out for yourself. It might help when entering shows if you've kept a record of the judges that you've entered under in the past, their choices on the day and what they appeared to prefer in terms of the attributes of the exhibits.

Another aspect to consider is your performance as a team in the ring. Perhaps the other dogs were exhibited better, were groomed better or behaved themselves better. All these things can count in the show ring, and remember that you only have a very short time in front of the judge to present your dog at his or her absolute best.

Be prepared - take everything you'll need to keep your 
dog secure and comfortable for the whole day.

It's a good idea if you can get someone to video you handling in the show ring while you're learning - what looks like a perfect stack and lovely gait to you as a handler may not be so perfect when viewed by the judge or spectators. It's often hard to know from the viewpoint of the exhibitor unless you're very experienced, and even very experienced handlers can get it wrong every now and then. It is said that a good handler can make a mediocre dog look good, and a poor handler can make a good dog look mediocre - how true!

So, if you do well, be modest about your win and don't turn people off by bragging about your dog. Remember that even though the wonderful Fido may have been placed first today, he could just as easily be placed last tomorrow. In showing it's certainly true that every dog has his day, but you may need to be patient!

There are a number of books available on showing dogs and these can be quite helpful, but of course what you learn must be backed up with practice. Canine associations or dog clubs may have information they can send you, or conduct workshops and show training sessions for their members, so contact them and take advantage of what they offer.

Some books that you might find helpful are:
"Show Me! - A Dog-Showing Primer" by D. Caroline Coile, Barron's 1997.
"Dog Showing - An Owner's Guide" by Connie Vanacore, Howell Book House, 1990.
"Dog Showing for Beginners" by Lynn Hall, Howell Book House, 1994.
"The Winning Edge - Show Ring Secrets" by George G. Alston, Howell Book House, 1992.

If you can't get these locally, you can order them on the web through an online bookstore such as Amazon - www.amazon.com.

Site produced by Windchill Kennels.  Please do not reproduce without permission of the author.            Updated January 2010