Silkshire!
- Thread starter ~Dixie's_Mom~
- Start date
Here's another picture of Dixie I just got. I worked on squaring out her feet although one of the front ones is a little off, and you can see her topline a little better although her hair, once again makes it hard to see how straigt it really is...plus she was uncomfortable, and nervous (she doesn't understand why I was holding her in place for so long when she could've been playing with lucy, lol!) so she wasn't relaxing.
No problem- you're exactly right, this is how we ALL learn. No one is born understanding this, so it's up to all of us to guide and teach one another. With a willingness to accept your own mistakes and a desire to learn how to do things correctly, you're already on the right track to becoming a scholar of your breed.
You've done a MUCH better job stacking her this time. Already her topline doesn't look half so bad as it did before. Nerves will also cause a dog to "roach" it's back- giving it a kind of wonky curved appearance. The more you work on stacking her, the less nervous she'll be, and the flatter her topline. Keep sessions REALLY short. Praise like crazy, and reward her with play- and she'll grow to love being a show dog.
Now I'm gonna pick on your hand placement a bit more. With her tail it will look more elegant if you use just ONE finger to hold her in place. You've kind of got her whole backside covered by your hand. Once again, understandable because she's young and kind of squirmy.
Do you have a show lead for her? Go ahead and get one if you don't- presentation on a flat buckle collar never looks as good, and you'll have WAY more control over her head (and thus not have to rest her chin in the palm of your hand), with a show choke. You'll also be able to make her neck more elegant. The buckle collar breaks up the "clean lines" going down into her shoulders, and will actually create the appearance of a shorter neck than she has.
When you've got her on a show choke you'll put it right up underneath her throat, so that the chain passes just behind her ears. You'll have complete control over her head, be able to emphasize arch of neck (or create the illusion of it) this way. It's much prettier looking as well.
And DO get that book- it's really wonderful.
Keep on truckin- you're doing great!
You've done a MUCH better job stacking her this time. Already her topline doesn't look half so bad as it did before. Nerves will also cause a dog to "roach" it's back- giving it a kind of wonky curved appearance. The more you work on stacking her, the less nervous she'll be, and the flatter her topline. Keep sessions REALLY short. Praise like crazy, and reward her with play- and she'll grow to love being a show dog.
Now I'm gonna pick on your hand placement a bit more. With her tail it will look more elegant if you use just ONE finger to hold her in place. You've kind of got her whole backside covered by your hand. Once again, understandable because she's young and kind of squirmy.
Do you have a show lead for her? Go ahead and get one if you don't- presentation on a flat buckle collar never looks as good, and you'll have WAY more control over her head (and thus not have to rest her chin in the palm of your hand), with a show choke. You'll also be able to make her neck more elegant. The buckle collar breaks up the "clean lines" going down into her shoulders, and will actually create the appearance of a shorter neck than she has.
When you've got her on a show choke you'll put it right up underneath her throat, so that the chain passes just behind her ears. You'll have complete control over her head, be able to emphasize arch of neck (or create the illusion of it) this way. It's much prettier looking as well.
And DO get that book- it's really wonderful.
Keep on truckin- you're doing great!
Here's a few photos of what I'm talking about with the show choke, as I don't think I did a very good job explaining it.
As you can see on this one, I'm not even touching Kimi. I have complete control over her body in that single chain. She is posting foward, because I taught her early on, leaning backward means you fall off the table. All her weight hits right at the chain. Your mantra should be: control the head, control the dog. You won't even need to touch your girl's backside if you've got her head adequately under control.
This is a close-up so you can see where exactly that chain is. I've got it coming right up behind her ears, which allows me to get her to arch her neck appropriately.
Finally- Kimi's son Jesse, owned and handled by exquisitely by Pam here: Both her hands are focused on the head of the dog. He's leaning foward and putting all his weight right into that chain. She doesn't have to worry about touching his tail, which makes for a cleaner picture.
As you can see on this one, I'm not even touching Kimi. I have complete control over her body in that single chain. She is posting foward, because I taught her early on, leaning backward means you fall off the table. All her weight hits right at the chain. Your mantra should be: control the head, control the dog. You won't even need to touch your girl's backside if you've got her head adequately under control.
This is a close-up so you can see where exactly that chain is. I've got it coming right up behind her ears, which allows me to get her to arch her neck appropriately.
Finally- Kimi's son Jesse, owned and handled by exquisitely by Pam here: Both her hands are focused on the head of the dog. He's leaning foward and putting all his weight right into that chain. She doesn't have to worry about touching his tail, which makes for a cleaner picture.
by looking at the standard, you would have to let her grow in her show coat,
she'd need a bunch of grooming, at the moment she has a wavy coat, whereas the standard calls for a straight coat, but i'm sure that could be easily groomed.
her ears might be a bit to far apart
cant really spot much else but a judge should be able to help you
she'd need a bunch of grooming, at the moment she has a wavy coat, whereas the standard calls for a straight coat, but i'm sure that could be easily groomed.
her ears might be a bit to far apart
cant really spot much else but a judge should be able to help you
Wow, those are great pictures! I do not have a show lead, we've been looking at comstom made conformation leads on eBay (my dad's favorite place to shop ) lol! but haven't gotten one yet. I do have a very light-weight chain collar that I bought about a week ago to kinda use on her to get her used to a conformation lead type feel, but I don't walk her a whole lot, as she knows 'heel' really well, and when I take her outside she stays right with me. I definately see what you mean about stacking her from the pictures. Hopefully with training, and practice she'll relate the conformation lead or the chain collar with standing corectly. Of course, I'm sure that'll take a while, but I'm willing to do it, or at least try my best. I also can understand about the one finger, it would look alot more elegant, and you could see alot more of her. Also in steve's post, he said her coat looked wavy, that's also from the placement of my hands, so holding her correctly will be able to lessen the effects of the camera. She has a straight coat, but if you can see in the picture, my hand is kinda scrunching up her hair making it look waved, plus I'd been messing with her legs to get them into position, so the hair on her legs is scruffed up. You have a Gorgeous Shiba, I thought I'd mention that. My sister LOVES Shibas, but I told her that we've already got out hands full showing Dixie, and that we don't need another dog anytime soon. Plus, from the reading I've done, Shibas have a mind of their own. As does any dog, though. http://www.cintoshiba.com/About_Shibas.htm here's where I got that info. Anyway, I'm going to take your advice, and keep working hard! I looked for that book online, and it seems I can get it for around 15-16 dollars, but I'm going to check the local library 1st to see if they have it. Thanks again, everyone, and I'll keep everyone updated with both pictures, and info. I hope that I can be a good handler for Dixie! If there's any other info you'd like to give, my email address is [email protected] Thanks again guys!!!
) lol! but haven't gotten one yet. I do have a very light-weight chain collar that I bought about a week ago to kinda use on her to get her used to a conformation lead type feel, but I don't walk her a whole lot, as she knows 'heel' really well, and when I take her outside she stays right with me. I definately see what you mean about stacking her from the pictures. Hopefully with training, and practice she'll relate the conformation lead or the chain collar with standing corectly. Of course, I'm sure that'll take a while, but I'm willing to do it, or at least try my best. I also can understand about the one finger, it would look alot more elegant, and you could see alot more of her. Also in steve's post, he said her coat looked wavy, that's also from the placement of my hands, so holding her correctly will be able to lessen the effects of the camera. She has a straight coat, but if you can see in the picture, my hand is kinda scrunching up her hair making it look waved, plus I'd been messing with her legs to get them into position, so the hair on her legs is scruffed up. You have a Gorgeous Shiba, I thought I'd mention that. My sister LOVES Shibas, but I told her that we've already got out hands full showing Dixie, and that we don't need another dog anytime soon. Plus, from the reading I've done, Shibas have a mind of their own. As does any dog, though. http://www.cintoshiba.com/About_Shibas.htm here's where I got that info. Anyway, I'm going to take your advice, and keep working hard! I looked for that book online, and it seems I can get it for around 15-16 dollars, but I'm going to check the local library 1st to see if they have it. Thanks again, everyone, and I'll keep everyone updated with both pictures, and info. I hope that I can be a good handler for Dixie! If there's any other info you'd like to give, my email address is [email protected] Thanks again guys!!!
Hehehe thank you- my dogs are definitely my loves, so it's always great to get a compliment on them.
They're also vain as all get out- Kimi will be only too thrilled to know more people think she's pretty. LOL.
And you're dead on about Shibas having a mind of their own- they are by no means "easy" dogs to train, and would try the patience of Gandhi. If you don't like the idea of a dog that is stubborn, willfull, capable of killing animals of all shapes and sizes (as well as squeeky furniture), and also thinks you're mentally incompetent...you probably won't really like Shibas! They're also dog-aggressive, especially in same sex pairs.
Miss Dixie will definitely be enough of a handful without adding a little piece of Satan (I mean a Shiba), to your home!
Good luck with your girl!
They're also vain as all get out- Kimi will be only too thrilled to know more people think she's pretty. LOL.
And you're dead on about Shibas having a mind of their own- they are by no means "easy" dogs to train, and would try the patience of Gandhi. If you don't like the idea of a dog that is stubborn, willfull, capable of killing animals of all shapes and sizes (as well as squeeky furniture), and also thinks you're mentally incompetent...you probably won't really like Shibas! They're also dog-aggressive, especially in same sex pairs.
Miss Dixie will definitely be enough of a handful without adding a little piece of Satan (I mean a Shiba), to your home!
Good luck with your girl!
LOL! I wouldn't mind a Shiba if it was the only dog I had, but I couldn't part with my Dixie. She's my baby-literally. Shibas sound like Siberian Huskies in a way. We had one up until about 3 years ago, and she was a killing machine! Small animals, cats, etc. She would attempt to kill any dog who stepped foot on our property as well. She was a great dog though-other than that. She loved her family, and didn't mind my Silky Terrier at all(they were best friends). It was just stranger dogs she didn't like-at all. She was a wonderful people dog though. The pizza man would ring the door bell, and we'd hear Misty outside barking, and think 'oh, no', but we'd open the door, and the pizza man would be lovin' on her. She was too cute for her own good. Unfortunately, she got out of our yard a few years ago, and was hit by a car. We had that dog for 7 years....she was a real part of our life. We hope someday-when we aren't as busy- that we can get another Husky. We've moved since then and live in a pretty remote area. Thanks again for all the info, and say hello to Kimi for me!!! She's a doll!
She's my baby-literally. Shibas sound like Siberian Huskies in a way. We had one up until about 3 years ago, and she was a killing machine! Small animals, cats, etc. She would attempt to kill any dog who stepped foot on our property as well. She was a great dog though-other than that. She loved her family, and didn't mind my Silky Terrier at all(they were best friends). It was just stranger dogs she didn't like-at all. She was a wonderful people dog though. The pizza man would ring the door bell, and we'd hear Misty outside barking, and think 'oh, no', but we'd open the door, and the pizza man would be lovin' on her. She was too cute for her own good. Unfortunately, she got out of our yard a few years ago, and was hit by a car. We had that dog for 7 years....she was a real part of our life. We hope someday-when we aren't as busy- that we can get another Husky. We've moved since then and live in a pretty remote area. Thanks again for all the info, and say hello to Kimi for me!!! She's a doll!
heres a great site on yorkies http://www.yorkie.org/
you gotta start working on her coat Never brush it dry
heres a Great part on grooming
http://www.yorkie.org/dogs/grooming_yorkies.html
this is a very important part of showing a yorkie
you gotta start working on her coat Never brush it dry
heres a Great part on grooming
http://www.yorkie.org/dogs/grooming_yorkies.html
this is a very important part of showing a yorkie
Thank you for those links!! I'll check them out! She's combed everyday, and once a week she's bathed, and has her nails filed. (we have a leather couch...lol!) I do often brush her wet, but occasionally dry. I didn't know you couldn't do them dry....is it the same with combing? Because I comb her everyday....Thanks again! :
http://www.yorkie.org/puppies.html
Also, if you go to this site, Dixie's hair looks like she's about where she should be as far as length. If you look at the 5mo pup, it's about the same length as Dixie's.
Also, if you go to this site, Dixie's hair looks like she's about where she should be as far as length. If you look at the 5mo pup, it's about the same length as Dixie's.
As far as grooming, when in show, should the ears be trimmed/shaved? Do they have to be? I'm getting ready to groom Dixie (the way it says to on Yorkies.org) and it mentioned shaving the ears.... I love the hair on Dixie's ears....if it's necessary I'll do it, but If not, I'd like to leave the hair long....she's already had the inside hairs pulled....let me know. thanks!
I love the hair on Dixie's ears....if it's necessary I'll do it, but If not, I'd like to leave the hair long....she's already had the inside hairs pulled....let me know. thanks!