27 Tips for dealing with Stress at the show
Description
This article is from the Obedience Trials, by Cindy Tittle Moore with numerous contributions by others.
27 Tips for dealing with Stress at the show
Margie English (1-9) & Anne Cotton (10)
1. Keep the dog crated in the quietest spot you can find. Park your
crate in a corner or against a wall, and cover it so your pup
feels safe enough to sleep.
2. Don't keep your dog on the show site any longer than necessary. If
you're finished at noon, go back to the motel and watch the Young
and the Restless together.
3. Don't share a motel room with someone else who has dogs. Your pup
has enough to do over the weekend without figuring out a new pack
order.
4. Spend the first evening in the motel watching TV with your pup.
Don't just park him there and go out partying. You can party later
after he settles in. Actually, dogs like it best if you snuggle up
and watch TV with them every night, but, HEY, they're dogs and
we're people. The first-night rule is especially important if lots
of other exhibitors are staying at your motel. This means lots of
coming and going and (sorry to say) lots of barking. You're pup
will feel a lot better about the whole thing if you're there to
tell him to shut up and watch TV with him.
5. Never invite people to your motel room to party. Your dog needs
the peace and quiet. Encourage other people to play host, and take
them a box of wine to reinforce their hospitality.
6. If your pup is prone to any kind of digestive upset, bring water
from home, or put him on bottled spring water before you leave so
you can buy more while traveling. Bring Immodium just in case.
7. Bring some familiar toys from home for the motel room. It makes
your pup feel at home and keeps him from shredding your luggage.
8. Unless you have a seasoned campaigner, don't try to do much
training over the weekend. Showing is about as much as your pup
can take, so get him trained before you go and let him rest
between his appearances.
9. If your pup sleeps in a crate at home, bring the crate for him to
sleep in at the show and in your motel room. If he usually sleeps
on your bed at home, get a room with a big enough bed for the two
of you and don't introduce any distractions.
10. Give your pup plenty of time to sleep. IMO, the way dog shows take
most of the stuffing out of dogs is by keeping the poor buggers
awake all day. On top of that, the different evironment and
disruption of your pup's regular routine will make him want to
sleep even more than he does at home. So let him sleep as much as
he wants to. And get enough sleep yourself!
11. If you have a sleep-on-the-bed dog, BEFORE you leave home, put a
sheet on top of the covers and let the dog sleep on top of it for
a night or two. Then take THAT sheet, unlaundered, with you; put
it on top of the motel bed. First, the dog will have its familiar
smell to lie on; and second, the motel people will adore you for
not getting hair all over everything including the bedspread.
(And, as I can hear Cindy reminding, take plenty of baggies for
pickups!)
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