By Elena Smith Lamberson
From the AKC Gazette Weimaraner breed column

For the novice, one of the most neglect­ed and misunderstood aspect of showing a Weimaraner is how to present the dog's movement to the judge. Too many times I have observed novices present a nicely stacked Weimaraner only to lose their competitiveness during their dog's movement around the ring. Sometimes the points are lost on movement alone. It is likely that no one has taken the time to teach the novice how to train his dog to move properly. Perhaps a few words on this topic will be useful.

Some of the most common mistakes I see are: 1) the dog is "strung up" and moves awkwardly while fighting a choking lead, 2) the handler attempts to move an untrained, out of control dog on a loose lead thereby producing an erratic zig‑zag­ging movement, 3) the handler holds bait in front of the dog's face while moving and the dog leaps and lunges for the liver, which throws elbows and everything else out of balance, 4) the handler moves too slowly, with the result that the dog paces.

When a judge sees a promising dog badly handled by a novice he may give the novice several chances to get things under control so that the dog looks good at some point in the movement exercise. However, success is only by chance if the handler really has no basic understanding of this problem and how to correct it.

KEEPING THE HEAD HIGH & MOVING ON A LOOSE LEAD: Training the dog to hold his head high and moving him on a loose lead requires training at home. Occasionally, the trainer will need a friend to help. First put a leash and flat buckle collar on the Weimaraner. With the left hand, place the fingers under the top of the collar and gently lift the dog's head into a nice high position. It is best if the dog's head is lifted with the right hand by the muzzle and sort of dropped into the high collar level to avoid choking. When the dog's head is held high he should be gently praised. Next, the trainer should begin a series of straight line move­ments with the dog on the left and head held high in the collar. If the dog chokes and trashes about, simply show him a treat to get his attention off the tantrum. WALK, do not trot or run for the first few training sessions. The goal at this point is to control the dog's head by keeping his face looking straight ahead while getting accustomed to the new high position of the collar. The dog should not be allowed to look at his handler because turning his head will cause his elbows to fly out. When the dog pulls on the collar the handler commands EASY! and gives a sharp jerk on the collar. The dog must learn not to pull on the collar. The handler should practice slow "down and back" patterns while giving soft, reassur­ing praise and showing him the treat only if he acts obstreperous. He should not be fed the treat. Rather, when trainer and dog return to the starting point the trainer should make a kissing( or some other) sound at which time the dog is give a nibble of liver. The purpose of doing this is to make the dog associate the sound with the liver and not the handler's hand. The dog should be given a treat only after hearing the special sound. In the ring, this makes the dog look very alert to the judge without having to hold a chunk of liver in the dog's face, which parenthet­ically, is a habit many judges find annoying.

Now, back to CONTROL WALKING. When the dog can go down and back in nice straight lines with the head held high and no choking or head turning he is ready for the next step. The grip on the collar can now be caut­iously loosened and the hand should grasp onto a few inches of leash. If the dog drops his head, it should be lifted up again with the right hand and he should be praised. Again, if the dog pulls on the collar give the command EASY! and jerk him back. The goal is to continue with controlled walking until the dog will move in a straight line without pulling on the lead, without moving his head in either direction, and without looking up at the handler. Once this has been accomplished it is time to build up some speed. But, how fast should the dog be moved? This is where a friend takes the dog and moves him for the handler to study. The handler should study both fast and slow movement to see when the dog looks best. The handler should try to memorize the best speed for his Weimaraner and then have the friend critique him as he moves the dog. Here, also, one needs to analyze speed relative to pacing if the dog has a tendency to pace. If the tendency is present one must keep a sharp eye out for this glaring fault. The top of the dog's body will "roll" when he paces. Many novices don't understand pacing until it is brought to their atten­tion. So if the novice doesn't know what the term means, he should have someone who does know demonstrate it for him. Often all that is needed to correct for pacing is to start the dog's movement rather quickly and then slow down to keep the dog moving at the correct trot. The "courtesy turn" (that so many judges abhor) is sometimes a way to quickly get a pacing dog off balance and into a trot ‑‑ but it is effective only if it is done quickly; a slow clumsy courtesy turn will hurt more than help. Few judges will give a pacing dog the points.

The "down and back" and "triangle" can be managed as follows. Any time the judge is looking at your dog coming at him or going away from him you need to take SHORT CHOPPY STEPS to keep the dog from reaching too much and possibly overextending (crabbing) or throwing his front. Here the judge is evaluating FOOT PLACEMENT AND STRAIGHT LINE MOVEMENT. Before moving the dog, give him a jerk and say EASY!! then do the triangle or down and back. This keeps him from pulling on the lead. When the judge is looking at side movement (2nd leg of the triangle or going around the ring) he is judging REACH AND DRIVE (i.e., how far the he reaches/extends with his front legs and how much drive there is in his back legs). .Here you want to keep the dog's head high, so move out with LARGE, BOUNDING STEPS to force your dog to produce more reach and drive.

Stack your dog with his HEAD HIGH and neck stretched out. Stand close to dog, positioned toward back of dog, your feet together and pointed toward front of dog. Turn your body toward front of dog. Study how you look when stacking your dog in a MIRROR.

When the novice shows his own Weimaraner he will need all the help he can get. A dog's poor training should never be the reason points were lost. Each dog is different and requires individual study. A little analysis and training for the novice and his Weimaraner will allow him to project a much more polished image in the show ring.