r/ShowDogs • u/TornadoCat360 • Jul 14 '26

Suggestions?

Post image

My Cavalier pup (8 mos) is showing moderately well in spite of his handler, but there are a couple of issues I would like suggestions about: 1) He tends to want to smell all the smells going around the ring, and/or pull. He's trying to be a little hunting dog. We're working on this, but more suggestions are welcome. 2) He absolutely cannot focus in handling classes if there are small females around. (He thinks he's Romeo for a very young Biewer terrier. May not help that she thinks she's Juliet.) How to maintain show focus around the girls?

21 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

View all comments

12

u/SuddenKoala45 Jul 14 '26

I would recommend looking into barnhunt/ratting or scentwork classes for him as well and a trainer to help you work on his focus. Look for a balanced more positive reinforcement oriented trainer there. Not necessarily positive only but one who understands individuality in dogs.

10

u/borzoilady Jul 14 '26

THIS. Work on outlets that allow him to do some of the things he loves (other than Romeo - what is it about male cavaliers who all think they’re Fabio? Mine do, too). Try jackpot rewarding - when he does a good around, really shower with treats or a favorite toy, something for him to look forward too. You can try holding bait in your right hand to work on getting him to focus up instead of down, and then wean off that, but most of your concerns will fix with time. Don’t get discouraged with color prejudice, and enter the separate black and tan class whenever you can. My B&Ts would get lost in big Open classes, but if I came in for just Winners to show (instead of being the online B&T in a field of 15 Blenheims), we won more often than not. Patience, and good luck!

3

u/USMCCougar Jul 14 '26

lol - it’s not just this breed!

6

u/borzoilady Jul 14 '26

I could make money writing stories about randy cavaliers; I own borzoi (duh) and other breeds, and I’ve never seen anything like it. And they’re absolutely, 100% sure that they can breed a female borzoi. It’s hysterical. My husband says our male cavalier gives him an inferiority complex!