Dog Show Handling: The Ins and Outs

By Anne Tureen

The Ins and Outs of Handling offers a concentrated tour of the handling world. Voices of handlers from Europe and the USA, some famous, some not, will share with you how they came into handling, what they found there, and what advice they would give you.
Two chapters explore basic concepts of how to rear a showdog and techniques to start handling that dog your-self.
This is an entertaining text full of anecdotes and nuggets of wisdom, inspiring handlers both green and seasoned to be their best.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anne Tureen
• Release date: Jan 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9788835360919

Book preview

Dog Show Handling

The Ins and Outs

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by Anne Tureen

2019 Digital Edition

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Cover photo by Lisa Croft-Elliot

© Copyright 2018 by Anne Tureen

1st Digital Edition – 2018

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The summary, quotation or reproduction ofr parts of works and their communication takes place under art. 70 of italian law 633 in date 22nd April 1941 as made for use of criticism or discussion, within the limits justified by those purposes and do not intend to constitute competition for the economic use of works reproduced, cited or summarized.

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This book is dedicated to Mario Canton,

a great scholar and a superior human being

Acknowledgements

The author expresses deepest gratitude to the contributors of this text for sharing their experience and advice.

Further gratitude is due to Mario Canton for the translation from the original in English language and the assistance in the publication of this digital version in Italian.

Special thanks to Jovana Danilovic, Marco Ditel, Lisa Croft-Elliott, Joyce Martin, Ross Young, Sheri Amsel from Exploring Nature Science Education, and of the breeders and handlers who made the im-ages of this book possible.

Florence (Italy), October 2018

A.T.

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Disclaimer

It has not been possible to trace the Authors of all the photos used in this book, given – particularly for some of them – the long period of time since their realization. However, the author pledges with anyone who demonstrates any copying rights on the reproduced photos, to agree the most appropriate ways to use them.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Author’s introduction

Reflections on our dog’s potential

Your responsibilities

Getting there

1. Reflections on Handling

2. The Show Prospect

Starting from Day 1

Begin to Train

Shaping or luring?

Marking: Creating the link

First Exercises

The Results

Assigning a Command

What can go Wrong?

Closing the Session

Generalization

A Showdog Infancy

More Beginner Training

I'm expecting something from you Puppy!

Impulse control

Playing

Stacking

The Free Stack

Correcting the Free Stack

Walking on a Lead

Improving your Leadership while Walking

The First Show

Summing up

3. Ringcraft

4. Day to Day in a Handling Kennel

5. A Family of Breeder Owner Handlers

6. From the USA to Italy

7. Every Detail Counts

8. On the Road

9. A Hectic but Wonderful Life

10. The Changing Scene

Another Point of View

Appendixes

A. The Barycenter of a Dog

B. Lo scheletro del cane

C. Le parti di un cane

D. Dog Show Classes

FCI Classes

AKC Classes

KC Classes

Glossary

Bibliography and Further Reading

Other texts on dog show handling

List of Illustrations and Credits

Author’s introduction

Fig. 1 – Painting One on One by Ross Young

Reflections on our dog’s potential

Dog as an instrument – Why we train a showdog for his career

The dog is the apex of pre-industrial technology. He is an instrument perfectly tuned for his task, be it in the den, the water, the snow, or the open field. Each breed will bring the qualities of intelligence and loyalty to the particular task for which it was developed, bred for a unique recipe of speed, strength, agility, and strategy. The good breeder and the good handler will endeavor to develop the dog as a whole, stimulating the young dog's mind in order to enhance that intangible brilliance of attitude and expression which will get him in the ribbons.

You have a puppy that shows potential as a show dog? The attitude of this particular puppy shouts 'Look at me!'. Now plans must be made to bring up this pup as equipped as possible for his show career. Showing with average constancy will be rigorous for the dog. His meal times vary as well as his sleeping patterns, getting up before dawn to be washed and brushed out, and spending long periods of confinement in a crate. Once at the showground, he can easily become overstimulated by inundations of scents, the challenging glare of the judge and audience as well as other dogs, the blow driers, loud speakers and lights, which are bookended by the long rumbling drive. A good owner or breeder will bring up their dog with a view to obtaining the maximum in mental as well as physical stability and elasticity.

Your responsibilities

Protecting your dog

The person caring for and presenting the dog in the ring is his handler, be it the breeder, owner or a professional, and the first consideration for anyone entering this sport is their responsibility as handler. From the moment the dog comes into your care, you are the custodian of his well being, including safety, temperature, cleanliness, hydration, nutrition, and relief from potentially dangerous annoyances such as insects, scratches, splinters and the like. Keep in mind that the dog cannot remind you of any of these basic needs, so the dog must always come first in your list of priorities. If you need to get out of bed at four in the morning so he can be watered and exercised properly before prepping him for the show, that is what must be done. During the show constant attention must be paid to protecting the dog from the noise, potential aggression of other dogs, from the people attending the show who may not treat your dog with respect, and who may even harbor malign intentions; his comfort and safety must be unfailingly assured. After the show he is exercised, accommodated and fed, and then you can do the same for yourself.

Getting there

The transition from pet owner to showdog owner

Breeders who have spent a lifetime in dogs can effortlessly prepare their puppies to become champions. They may think they are not doing anything special to make a showdog of their puppy, but their dog will arrive in the ring for the first time perfectly calm, enjoying his time at the show, and walking, stacking, even standing on the table like a pro. A well-heeled breeder will accomplish this almost unconsciously, but there is always a beginning, and to avoid trial and error pitfalls there are a number of good theories to consider and experiment in order to make steady progress. You may have had pet dogs for years, but now much is planned for the new puppy, and much expected of him, so consider some of the classic training games, presented here which are designed to open the mind of the puppy and in the process will possibly revolutionize your approach to your dog. Later chapters of this text will bring you the voices of some of the greatest experts in this discipline. Younger and older from all over the world, these great dog lovers, who have become successful professional or nonprofessional handlers will share their personal story and give you friendly advice on navigating the show scene from home to the ring and back.

1. Reflections on Handling

By Bo Bengtson (Sweden and the USA)

Few people are as revered yet simultaneously subjected to as much envy as professional handlers — especially from those whom they have defeated once too often — so to maintain an impartial distance is necessary.

When I was very young and new in dogs, the idea of becoming a professional handler seemed quite wonderful. What could be better than spending your life with dogs, going to dog shows and getting paid for it?! We had no professional handlers in Sweden where I grew up, so my familiarity with the profession was then almost entirely through photographs I saw in American publications. It all looked so glamorous: both the handlers and the dogs were always immaculately groomed, they got gleaming trophies for winning Best in Show. Imagine doing that for a living!/p>

Having the opportunity to travel for a few days with the greatest star among the professional handlers in those days, Frank Sabella, opened my eyes to the fact that the glitzy surface was not really what it was about. Once the photo session at the end of the day was over, a gritty reality came into focus that I didn't even know existed – tearing down the set-up, packing the van – plus of course the endless work of cleaning up after dogs, exercising dogs, feeding dogs, etc. ... All of it should have been expected, but somehow it wasn't. I realized pretty soon that a professional handler needs to do much more than look pretty – and make the dogs look pretty – in the ring. The nice jacket and tie came off immediately after the show (and remained inside its plastic bag, spotless and ready for use at the next show); it was all grungy shorts and t-shirts after that.

It requires a very special mind set and an unusual combination of skills to become a successful professional handler. I have a lot of admiration for those who succeed in what must be one of the world's most specialized, and certainly most demanding, professions. By succeed I don't just mean that these handlers win a lot, but that the dogs they show are obviously happy, healthy and well taken care of, and that they themselves, and their assistants, also seem happy and content.

Quite how you consistently succeed in that I really do not know, because there is always a lot of pressure. You need to be good at handling not only dogs but people. In fact, you must have considerable people skills, even be something of a psychologist, in order to deal patiently with a large number of demanding dog owners, all of whom will have questions or complaints as soon as their prized champion doesn't win as much as they think it should. I know I would be really bad at that ...

It was soon clear to me that to become a good professional handler you have to be good at a number of different, unrelated occupations that I'm not sure how I would have coped with. You need to be a bit of a veterinarian, a nutritionist, a business- and salesperson, a chauffeur and auto mechanic, an accountant, an artist-in-residence — all wrapped up in one person. It was actually pretty easy to determine that this wasn't anything that I would be consistently good at.

There's a lot more to being a professional dog show handler than just showing dogs!

Deciding not to become a professional handler was definitely one of the most important decisions I made early on. Instead, I became a breeder-owner-handler. Some of us are every bit as good at what we do as the professionals, but we focus on dogs that we have bred and/or own ourselves, and we do not regularly show other people's dogs for money.

(Actually, these days some people do, they are at an in-between stage where they primarily show their own dogs but also agree to show for their friends in exchange for some kind of remuneration. As long as that's not their primary source of income I would not call these people professional handlers).

As has been pointed out many times, the professional handlers have some advantages over the rest of us. Most of them go to many more shows than we can ever hope to do, and they therefore gain incomparable ring experience. They usually show many dogs, sometimes as many as 20-30, while we seldom have more than two or three, providing opportunity