# Showdog temperament



## Jay D (Dec 22, 2021)

A breeder in our state has on her website that she's looking for a new home for a two and a half-year-old former showdog ( Ch.,). We are not looking for another dog, but made me wonder. Our 14-year-old non-show dog mini was well socialized as a puppy but starting when he was about two he's been highly reactive to people coming into our house and to people and other dogs when we tried walking. Showdogs always seem calm and totally non-reactive. Is it breeding, training, or are they ever tranquilized? And would a former showdog keep that same temperament if it went to a new home?


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## LittleCloud (Apr 21, 2021)

Nano is a failed show/breeding prospect, I got him when he was about 11 months old. He has an excellent non reactive temperament and has always been great with people or rather he doesn’t care about them. Recently he’s had some over excitement with dogs on the street but far from reactive. 

I think ideally breeders look for a temperament that is within the breed standard and also they know they can work with. As far as I know you can get disqualified if your dog acts crazy or nips a judge. But there is certainly training involved as well, to get the dog used to the things that happen at the show, stacking, walking in the ring, getting touched etc. I’ve seen ads for show handling classes.

I really hope they don't tranquilize dogs, that sound horrible and something I would hope would get you disqualified.

But that's just my 2 cents.


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## reraven123 (Jul 21, 2017)

A tranquilized dog would not show well. Judges want to see an alert, lively expression and movement from the dog.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

And they’d probably still be reactive if that was their nature. Maybe even more so. When Peggy is overtired, look out! She can get very on edge. I think she’d be a mess on tranquillizers. 

The average show dog is taught from an early age to ignore other dogs while on leash. There’s no building frustration with random face-to-face greetings _(“Can my dog say hello?” _HATE THAT) or travelling daily to rowdy dog parks. And they’re regularly surrounded by other well-socialized dogs, unlike life in the real world. (Can’t count how many times a leashed Peggy has been rushed by pushy off-leash dogs while their clueless owners just stand there helplessly. )

I’m guessing that goes a long way towards preventing reactivity.


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## NaturalPoodle (Jun 13, 2019)

This is exactly the situation that I was interested in as a prospective poodle owner (or would be interested in one day if it were right for us and the dog), so I would love to hear further replies, especially from anyone with experience. 

I spoke briefly with a well-known local poodle handler about it and she recommended retired show dogs because they are "bombproof."

I also remember reading somewhere on this forum that someone acquired (that word sounds weird to me when it has to do with a life) a retired show dog, and he was very well behaved but a bit "stiff," like he didn't know how to play and have fun. She needed to work with him on it. That kind of thing would depend on the individual, how he/she has been handled. 
If you do decide on this dog, please do share! I would be so interested to hear about it


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## farleysd (Apr 18, 2011)

A retired show dog needs to have a great temperament. They have to preform in public; sit, stand, or lay on a table in a crowded room full of strangers while being brushed, combed, banded, and sprayed. They are prodded and proved by all types of people from extremely young to very old, usually without the permission of the handler. A really strange person called a judge has the total right and duty to examine every inch of the dog, from the teeth all the way to the testicles if it is a boy. They must put up with a lot of annoying behaviors of something called a human while being expected to be calm, cool and collected!


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## I_love_dogs (May 30, 2021)

My experience with show dogs is limited to picking up puppies. The standard poodle breeder where we got Loki keep the show dogs away from our child at pick up because they aren't used to being around children in their house. 
Years ago, we attempted to get a older cocker spaniel puppy from a breeder, but both he and the show dogs completely freaked when they saw my child. My child wasn't doing anything but standing there. She claimed her show dogs were fine with children at shows.


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## Piper Bear (Apr 12, 2021)

A reputable breeder that shows dogs in conformation would be trying to create puppies that not only conform to the desired breed standard when it comes to size, shape, etc. but also breeding to a temperament that would help the dog be successful in competition. Our female mini Piper comes from a line of champion dogs through both her dam and sire and her temperament is wonderful. She is intelligent, friendly, confident, non reactive, and alert. I’m sure she has some physical fault that her breeder could see that I’m too ignorant to see, or the breeder would have kept her back. Having said all that, I think a former show dog would probably be a very nice dog to have.


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## kuriooo (Feb 17, 2010)

This would definitely be right up my alley. I’d take a nice retired show dog in a minute. If you get this dog, I will be super curious to hear more!


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## NaturalPoodle (Jun 13, 2019)

Jay D said:


> A breeder in our state has on her website that she's looking for a new home for a two and a half-year-old former showdog ( Ch.,). We are not looking for another dog, but made me wonder. Our 14-year-old non-show dog mini was well socialized as a puppy but starting when he was about two he's been highly reactive to people coming into our house and to people and other dogs when we tried walking. Showdogs always seem calm and totally non-reactive. Is it breeding, training, or are they ever tranquilized? And would a former showdog keep that same temperament if it went to a new home?


Out of curiosity, which breeder has this dog available? I'm not looking for a dog either but I always like to take a peek for fun


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

I got a "show reject" pup when she was ten months old. She was sold because she did not have a show temperament. When I got her she had to be poured out of her crate. She already had trachea damage; I suspect from trying to force her to carry her head up. While she was fine around dogs and people, she was very stand offish. I had to keep her on a long line to make her come back in the house. She shied away from brooms and rolled up newspapers. She did not like men or women who smoked cigarettes. Eventually she turned out to be a wonderful dog, did therapy work and excelled at it. I loved her dearly, but my next two poodles I got as young pups. It was much easier to raise them properly from the get go than it was to correct all those quirky behaviors.


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