By Vicki Ronchette
I’ve been meaning to write a blog post about the topic of filming our practice and our in ring performances with our dogs. This is really helpful in conformation as well as in other dog sports. In coaching my students we oftentimes review video together to plan our training and strategizing. It’s also helpful in looking at things like the dog’s grooming and condition, the handler’s clothes in relation to the dog and so much more.
Last year I bred a litter of puppies and kept two of them, a male and a female. The female was to live with my best friend and the co-breeder of the litter. We work twice a week together at her grooming shop and see each other all the time, so it would be easier to groom, train and show the puppy. The boy I kept with me. Here’s the thing, I always knew she was superior, but I wondered if I didn’t have her I would feel he was really nice. The girl was so nice that I made the decision to not show her, but grow her out and show her only at specialties. So, I raised the male. And, during the 10 months I had him, I went back and forth. He had a beautiful head and face, amazing bone, dead level topline and he was very balanced. What I didn’t love was that he was higher on leg and shorter in back.
The time came to enter him in a show. It was a small entry but he didn’t win. Later that evening a friend from another breed sent me a video she took of him. She was just standing there so decided to film us. When I saw the video I immediately decided I would not keep him or continue to show him. His movement was balanced, but lacking in front and back. I believe the issue is shorter bones in the upper arm and lower thigh that caused him to have a restricted gait. He was entered the next day so I asked someone to film us and I saw the same thing. I also had a friend watch and give me their opinion and she agreed with me. So, I placed him in an amazing companion home. And, his sister has been shown two times, a specialties and has two 5-point majors, so I’m feeling good about my choices.
I don’t have a large house or yard that allows for all my dogs to freely move for long distances. If I did, I would have recognized it sooner. Honestly, I was able to see it because of that random video my friend took and sent. It reminded me of how important it is to video and then review it. Not only is it helpful for training, but it allows to keep track of how our dogs are developing and changing as they grow which can give us insight for future litters and individuals.
The female girl I kept, Watashi.
