mightymite
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Aug 23, 2005, 10:44 AM
Post #7 of 9
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Re: [chrisong] Greetings from the U.S.!
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I like to show my own dogs. I get a lot of enjoyment out of it but it is hard and sometimes impossible depending on who the judge is, to compete against a professional. In shows were handlers may not compete, I can show on a level playing field against other owners. First, there are the non-politcal issues: 1) the handler shows four or five dogs (at least) each day, of a weekend cluster (three or four shows starting on a Friday or Thursday). The handler does that almost every weekend of the year. The owner may show a total of 12 times in an entire year - who get more time to get it right? Plus, who do the judges recognize? 2) the handler's only job is to condition and prepare each dog to be shown. He spends all week long, feeding, grooming and training the dogs to look and perform their best. The owner is at work typing messages on message forums while her dog is at home pulling out her wraps. 3) Handlers have to win - that's how they make money. They apprentice with other handlers and learn the inside tricks that owner handlers may never get a chance to learn. Then there are the "political" issues: 1) Many judges were once handlers themselves and may sympathize with handlers or even know them personally as friends outside the ring. I once was at a show where it was just me and the judge and a very famous handler. The judge and the handler had a personal conversation right in front of me. The only thing the judge said to me was "don't bend down, you're knees with crack. [crack] See? They did!" Guess who won the class? 2) Because handlers make money when they win, judges may take that into consideration, putting a handelr over a owner who is just doing it as a "hobby." 3) Because handlers develop reputations, judges begin to expect that what a handler brings into the ring is a better dog than what a owner has, even if that may not be the case. 4) True or not, there's a beleif that handlers bring in a lot of entries which makes a show committee very happy. They are then "Rewarded" by the judge by being put up over the handlers.
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