Welcome to the Psychology of Showing Overview…
Your thinking, how hard can it be? You just go in the ring and walk/run around and the judge picks the best dog - right?
On the surface that seems to be the way it is, however, nothing could be farther from the truth. The question then becomes, do you want the dog to “get around the ring” or do you want the dog to excell, thereby giving the judge no “easy reason” to place other dogs higher than yours?
After all, when you consider all the money you have spent keeping this/these dogs, all the entry fees for the shows, all the travel expenses and accommodation bills does it make any sense not to improve your skills? Would higher ranking in results not be a better “bang for your buck”? Are you considering hiring a “Professional” because they “know everyone and have an advantage”?
Certainly if you are satisfied to sit on the sidelines when your dog reaches that ultimate achievement then by all means..hire a handler. However, if you believe that the “Pro’s” have an advantage because..(you fill in the blank), we would suggest this notion may only hold so much merit, and may indeed be holding you and your dog back from becoming and achieveing your best.
We invite you to consider an alternative way of looking at this that we have found to be more accurate, more motovating and yes, yield the results you dream about every night for weeks prior to the actual show. Very simply put, the “Pro’s” do have an advantage…an advantage of doing the “showing dance” day in and day out, from morning until night, ring trip after ring trip. Showing is a pattern that has become hardwired into their psyche and thus shows in their smooth and effortless presentation of even an inferrior specimin. Theirs is a committment to winning at which they spare no expense at…they can do it in their sleep.
How can you, the little guy, who works all week and shows their dog as a hobby compete with experience of that calabur? It is just a matter of knowledge and an understanding of what strategies that some of the “Pro’s” use to improve and excell at their craft. It is a truly simple process to understand, but complex in all the levels required to be utilized in harmony one with another and simeltaneously to boot.
We invite you explore the topics in the rest of this section with an open mind, giving yourself permission to have the opportunity to experience different outcomes than you have before.
Cheers
KAM