Spending time with your animal before the show date is wonderful, but be sure that the things you do don't encourage the rabbit in bad habits. As a person spends time with rabbits, the animals soon learn what is expected of them and will often assume certain postures without and help when they are placed on a judging table. If your training time includes incorrect posing, you can expect much the same behavior when the judge handles it.

Some argue that it is the judge's job to make sure that the rabbit is posed correctly, and they are right. However, a judge will not spend an inordinate amount of time with an animal that is either difficult to handle or that habitually returns to an incorrect pose after the judge examines it. This results in an inability to see all the rabbit's good points.

Let's look at some specifics:

First of all, make sure you know what pose your breed requires. Every year I run into several sincere young people who have spent a lot of time encouraging good posing only to find out that the pose they worked on is not the correct one. The most common misconceptions I run into are with Netherland Dwarfs and Mini Rex. These breeds are posed in the standard tucked up position right along with the vast majority of the breeds.

Almost all breeds of rabbits are posed in exactly the same way-set low on the table with the feet tucked under. It's an easy pose to teach, yet I find many problems with it at nearly every show I judge.

The front legs should be down with the rabbit off its feet and the "elbow" joint resting on the table. The hind feet should be under the body with the nails of the feet straight below the 'knee" joint. There is a growing tendency to pay so much attention to depth of loin and body, that many of us pull the hindquarters too far forward, until the hind feet nearly touch the elbows. This habit does avoid the flat look from being posed too long, but the drawbacks are deadly too. When the rabbit is posed too short, the hindquarters become undercut, another bad fault. When the hind feet are in the proper place, the loin and the hips rest in the natural position and are at their best for that animal.

There are several breeds (Belgian Hares, Checkered Giants, Tans, English Spots, Rhinelanders, and Britannia Petites) that are not to be posed at all. They are to be allowed to move freely about the show table. Here, major problems arise with exhibitors that misinterpret the idea and take it to the extreme. A breeder must still handle his animals so that they are used to being checked for deformities and are not so panicked on the show table that they race around, scared nearly to death. With a little regular attention, they will move about out of curiosity and show off their graceful bodies and glorious markings. How fair can a judge be to you or your rabbit if it is jumping about and racing here and there with no chance for evaluation and consideration?

Another exception is the Holland Lop. This short, heavy-boned little animal should be encouraged to raise up slightly, resting lightly on the front feet to show off the beautiful and unique head, ears, and crown. Stretching should be avoided as well as teaching them to pull down like a commercial rabbit. Both extremes take away from the stocky and tight appearance of the breed. There is no proven method that always works in teaching this, but lots of TLC and attention seems to pay off for most breeders.

I hope this short discussion helps. The best way to learn accurately is to get with someone who knows the breed and its pose and have them show you-better seen than talked about.