A Little Help From Your Friends

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230 – The Annual, 2022-23

By Sarah Montague

The Beatles told us 55 years ago that we could “get by with a little help” from our friends. But in any profession, that idea moves far beyond emotional support, and moves into the realm of mentoring.

The concept is very old—it dates back to Homer’s Odyssey, in which Mentor was a friend of Odysseus’s entrusted with the education of Odysseus’ son, Telemachus. The French turned it into a noun, and it has retained to this day the meaning of an older person, or more experienced person, guiding a younger or less experienced one—in life, or in a professional environment, or both.

You can imagine how important that can be in a profession like handling and showing. There is no specific pedagogy, or academic credential; instead, some combination of natural gifts, and opportunity, and practice are the usual gateways to the profession. Junior handling is of course a tremendous boost to an emerging career, but so is finding that wise teacher/trainer who gives you your first opportunities.

Peer to Peer: Junior Mentors at the American Kennel Club

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230 – The Annual, 2022-23

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Posted by AnthonyA on Jan 4 2023. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.