Identifying your weak points: knowing what to work on first

At shows, weak points can relate to the dog’s characteristics, his presentation or your own handling. Identifying them lets you choose a useful goal, without trying to improve everything at once.

Here are nine tips for building a precise assessment and putting it into action.

Beginner — Observing without judging yourself

1. Start with a concrete difficulty

“I show my dog badly” is too vague to guide a training session.

Try instead: “My dog moves forward when I stand up straight” or “I slow down too much in the corner”.

Your exercise: after a session, note one difficulty, describing what happens and when. You will have an observable starting point.

2. Separate your difficulties from the dog’s

An unsteady position may come from an instruction not understood, a new environment or an uncomfortable placement. It doesn’t let you conclude straight away that there is a structural fault.

Your exercise: draw up two columns:

“What my dog does”.
“What I do at that moment”.

You’ll sometimes discover that a change in your movements is enough to make the exercise clearer.

3. Keep a strength alongside the weak point

An assessment made up only of difficulties gives an incomplete picture.

The FCI regulations take into account, among other things, overall qualities in the definition of the grade “Excellent”, which may allow some minor imperfections.

Your exercise: for each point to work on, also note a success: a calm examination, good attention or a steady performance. You will know what to build on.

Intermediate — Checking the leads

1. Look for what repeats

A one-off mistake in a corner or a single change of gait is not enough to define a lasting weak point.

Your exercise: observe several sessions and keep short videos. Note whether the difficulty always appears in the same situation or only under certain conditions.

This repetition helps you choose a priority, without turning every incident into a problem.

2. Match your observations with the critiques received

Judges’ comments can guide your analysis, provided you find exactly what they describe.

Your exercise: copy out a recurring remark, then find the matching passage in the standard. Add what you observe yourself and what remains to be clarified.

If several comments concern gait, don’t assume they are all about the same difficulty.

3. Distinguish what can be trained from what is assessed

Handling, attention and preparation for the examination can be trained. A morphological characteristic first calls for an assessment against the standard.

The Poodle standard, for example, distinguishes faults, serious faults and disqualifying faults.

Your exercise: sort your leads into three categories:

Presentation to work on.
Morphological criterion to understand better.
Observation still uncertain.

Better presentation helps to show the dog; it does not change the proportions of his skeleton.

Advanced — Choosing a useful priority

1. Check the difficulty with a knowledgeable person

Ask for an outside opinion from a handling trainer or someone knowledgeable about your breed, depending on the subject.

Your exercise: bring a specific question and a short video: “What can I change in my handling to steady this performance?”

For a characteristic of the dog, ask instead: “Which reference points in the standard let me assess this point?”

You will get a more useful answer than with “What are all our faults?”

2. Prioritise what really gets in the way of assessment

A very unsteady presentation or an examination that is impossible deserves particular attention.

At international CACIB shows, the FCI regulations provide for “Cannot be judged” when certain situations prevent the assessment of movement or the examination.

Your exercise: first choose a difficulty that prevents your dog from showing his qualities. Work on it progressively, with short sessions suited to his reactions.

3. Set a goal you can check

“Being better in the ring” doesn’t tell you when you’ve improved.

Your exercise: set a precise goal, for example: “Do three steady-trot down-and-backs” or “Hold a comfortable position during a short mock examination”.

Note what you change, observe the result, then adjust. If the exercise becomes harder, simplify it before raising the demands.

Your mini progress sheet

Difficulty observed: …
Situation in which it appears: …
Frequency and examples: …
What my dog does: …
What I do: …
Judge’s comment, if any: …
Passage of the standard to consult: …
Point to check with a trainer: …
Priority chosen: …
Planned action: …
Progress marker: …
Date of assessment: …
Strength we can build on: …

The habit to keep

Observe, check, then choose a single priority.

A weak point that has been well identified becomes a precise question or a training goal. It is that precision that will let you move forward, session after session, with your dog.