Dog shows and Jr Handler HELP please

[zebra15]

Im not sure if this is the right forum so please move if its wrong...

Long story short our roommate has a AKC Bernese Mountain Dog and is starting to show her at Dog Shows. My son would love to be a Junior Handler and according to the rules he can since we are in the same household. (we are sort-a like family, its along twisted family bush/tree)

Does anyone here have resources or practice with AKC shows and JR handlers? My son is much better with pets and the dog than I am, not to mention this dog is 6 mos old and HUGE and getting larger by the day.

DS really wants to do this and honestly he needs an activity and this would be excellent for him. - He wont do typical sports and seems to love dog shows.

HELP !!!

[2xand2y]

The AKC website has tons of info. about becoming/being a junior handler. There are also classes you son can take that would help get him started. Good Luck!

[Oubliette8]

I would look into several things-

First, 4-H has a dog program that includes handling. In my area you have to do all of it though- obedience, handling, agility etc. Its all part of the dog project. But, it does get him child-appropriate classes. The rules are a little different but he'd learn the basics. Also, often local trainers or breeders are involved in the program and so can act as a mentor.

I'd also look for local classes. In my area, we have a local all-breed kennel club. they offer weekly handling classes and juniors are welcome to participate. Its also a great way to meet other dog people- they are often eager to help and may offer to let your son practice with their own dogs to get used to other breeds, ages etc.

I'd also see if there are any Berner breeders in the area who might be interested in acting as a mentor to a junior. The local kennel club and breed-specific clubs are a good place to ask about that. Often breeders will take a junior under their wing. They'll help teach your son about showing and the breed, and your son will help care for there dogs- ie, say they bring him to a show, they'll mentor him, and he may expected to help with grooming, water dogs, etc. Its all a great learning experience.

finally, all the juniors I know LOVE BestJunior.com I'm not a member, as I'm not a junior, but I understand there is lots of advice offered, sometimes breeders look there to place dogs in junior homes, and the whole site is really geared just for junior handlers. You can find it here- http://bestjunior.com/

Good luck. And tell your son not to give up! A 6 month puppy is a handful, particularly such a large breed. (which is a reason he might enjoy practicing with some older dogs at handling classes to get the hang of things without the puppy behavior thrown in) If he sticks with it though, I'm sure he'll have a great time.

[SophieAnn]

A few thoughts (my experience is with CKC so it might be different for AKC)...

1) Attend a few dog shows with your son, and make sure to watch the junior handlers. There, you can get information from judges, show organizers and parents which will help get you started. Your son can also get to see what it will be like.

2) Find a local kennel club and inquire about show handling classes. Your son can do classes with the Bernese to learn how to be a handler, and the instructors will give lots of valuable information.

3) There might be rules regarding age of child versus size of dog. For example, with the CKC, younger children (i.e. 5-7 year olds) can only handle small dogs but the older children (i.e. 12-14 year olds) can handle any size of dog. But... there are no rules regarding household-sharing. Worth looking into.

[mom0810]

I never post here anymore... but I had to help you.

call around the training centers in your area and see if they have conformation classes. This is the best place for him to learn.

Was this puppy purchased as a show puppy? Then the breeder should be able to help guide him as far as grooming, etc. Berners are a hard breed to show in that they are very large, need to be bathed/blown out and chalked, trimmed, etc. PERFECTLY. He is going to need to take lessons on grooming from someone who shows the breed.

He needs the right equipment and the trainer at conformation class should be able to help with that. A snake chain and nylon lead would be my choice with such a big dog.

Does your roommate have all the equipment? Table, dryers, etc? That will be a must.

I would talk to the breeder about showing and go from there. The breeder may be willing to meet you at shows and mentor your son while at shows. He should stand by and watch a FULL grooming take place which takes hours.... bath, dry, trimming, chalking, etc. Thinning shears are a necessity.

There is actually a video on You tube of a berner being groomed for show. I remember finding it while looking for a video of my friend's Berner.

IF you need any more specific help, you can PM me. I've been showing and handling a lot of breeds for most of my life and I know a LOT of professional handlers and breeders. I'm happy to help a young person starting out.

Luckily, Berners are still a pretty owner-handler friendly breed.

I will warn you that Juniors is pretty vicious. He will learn to have a VERY thick skin there... and it's a proving ground for future pro's... who are also pretty vicious.

Adding that SINCE juniors is pretty vicious and he has no experience showing... he might just want to show in the breed ring and get experience that way. In juniors they judge the handler and he has never done this before... in the breed ring they judge the dog and ANY age person can show there. There's also a fairly new novice class in the breed and he could show in that and the judge will be more forgiving of his mistakes. ) Good luck.

[Miasmamma]

I read most of this pretty quickly, but here are my ideas... A 6 month old puppy is a wonderful idea, but in Juniors, it's the child being judged not the dog, so having a cooperative dog in the beginning would be ideal. There are a lot of breeders with older finished dogs who are looking for good homes. I don't know that the AKC has size restrictions, but you might also want to look at the size of the dog (gait), vs the height and cooridination of your son. Different breeds move at different speeds. I have shown weims, gordons and spinones and I will tell you that while the spinones are the largest, my gordon MOVES! My 3 year old could show my weim bitch right now. They move together at just the right speed. I could run with the weims and spinones all day, but 2x in the gordon ring and I'm worn out. I would absolutely look for classes in your area that are Juniors specific. Your local kennel club will be a great resource. If you have any other questions PM me. My breeder is great friends with a local Juniors judge.

Good luck and have fun!

[zebra15]

Thanks... like I said I'm clueless when it comes to anything 'dog'.
We have a Berner club in Phoenix that I can contact, the dog breeder is about 2 hrs from here but there is a 'trainer' in our city that is suposed to work with the dog for shows.

Really, all I know is the dog is HUGE, loves to jump on the bed, has finally stopped 'teething' on my ankles and is just a HUGE bundle of energy... oh did I say she is HUGE....It just goes to reason a dog of this size eats massive amounts of food which leads to some impressive land mines in the backyard hehe..

She is also a very tactile (sp) animal... she loves LOVES fabric.