SHOWING YOUR MASTIFF
Do you show your mastiff or are you thinking about it? We hope you'll find some helpful information here and, if you aren't sure if showing is for you, perhaps we'll convince you to give it a try. The Mastiff Club of America encourages it's members to participate in showing and the more activities you want to try, the better! As an incentive, the MCOA offers several collar awards and a Working Dog title which can be earned by achieving titles or certification in several different venues. Breeders can aspire to have their dog listed in the Hall of Fame. You can read more about the awards here.
To help you get off on the right foot, we've invited some of our members to share their knowledge and offer a bit of advice. They have graciously taken time out of their busy days to write these articles and we are most grateful to them for their generosity. We hope to add more articles as time goes on, so if any of you are interested in contributing to this page, or if you have any suggestions for future articles, please contact us at the address below.
Owner Handling...The Way to Go!
So you have just brought home your new bundle
of joy. You have named him "DOG". He is beautiful or at least you think so. Now
you want to show the rest of the world you are right. You want "DOG" to be a
Champion, and you want to show him yourself. Where to start?continued...........
Louise Owens
Acorn Hill Mastiffs
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Obedience Training for the Beginner
One of the things that used to annoy me just a little was when people would say "oh you have a Mastiff - no obedience for you then - they just can't do it". Well guess what - they can - and when they do - they are a wonder to behold.
continued.........
Diane Spalding
Berystede Mastiffs
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Is Therapy Work Right for You and Your Mastiff?
Have you considered doing therapy work with your mastiff? Ever wonder why some
dogs, as well as some people, are better suited for this kind of work than
others? This article is meant to help give you a little insight and possibly a
better perspective on whether or not you and your dog would enjoy pursuing this
"career". Hopefully, it will enable you to see the picture of therapy work more
clearly. continued............
Susan Krauser
Pendragon Mastiffs
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Drafting
The Mastiff Club of America held the first drafting test on May 15, 1996, at
Eureka, Missouri. It has since become an annual test that is enjoyed by both
participant and spectators at our National Specialty each year. The MCOA draft
test is a series of exercises designed to demonstrate the abilities of the
Mastiff in a working capacity. The performance of the Mastiff was intended to
show teamwork between dog and handler resulting from both natural ability and
training that are applicable to realistic work situations. continued..............
Kay Routten
Creekview Mastiffs
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Agility Trial Regulations
The purpose of AKC agility is to demonstrate a dog's willingness to work with
its handler under a variety of conditions. Agility results in a better rounded,
conditioned dog, provides good basic training for search and rescue dogs,
demonstrate higher levels of training and interaction with their handlers. It
is a good idea to take some obedience training first as agility is done all off
leash continued............
Kay Routten
Creekview Mastiffs