I am taking the plunge and have decided to put my 6 month old leonberger in to a local show.It will be my 1st time as well as his and want to know what is expected of him.Am i for example allowed to straighten his rear legs etc or do anything to enhance his stance? What about types of training leads should be used ? He is pretty big for his age and already weighs in at 30kg. Generally speaking he is well behaved but when he is at puppy training classes wants to run about as if its a playground. Should i pull out now as he is a bit too young ? I should point out that he has an exemplary pedigree and has a long oolist of Scandinavian champions in his family tree.

Hi, yes you are allowed to put them into the stance. You should look around for local ringcraft classes, they are helpful

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Dont speak to the judge unless you are asked a question - usually they just ask the dogs age

sorry for my ignorance but do i need to use a training lead / choke chain as opposed to his leather collar and chain lead (which he walks fine with) but don't know if it will show him at his best

hi and welcome , i take it it is a KC show u have entered him into to , yes you can alter his stance and use treats as well , if u can then try and get along to ringcraft training , this will help u as well as him as u miust teach him to stand as well , i also find when i take a new pup into the ring i make sure i let the judge know when he ask the dogs age that it is his first show , i would use a leather lead for showing him on and if u feel comfortable use his leather collar may i also ask which show ur goiing to ?

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I would suggest trying to find a locak ringcraft class if you can - they should be able to answer a lot of your questions - popping along to a few shows as well can be useful.

I am pretty sure Leo's are a free standing breed, therefore training is the key - positioning legs probably won't be an option.

Hopefully someone who has more breed specific knowledge will be along to help and advise on how the dogs are stood (i.e. stacked or free standing) and the best type of lead to use.

For Labs, we generally tend to use long thin slip leads - but Goldies use different leads again and some small breeds different again etc

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