Looking Back With Lee – Remembering Lamar Kuhns

From the archives of The Canine Chronicle, 2010

By Lee Canalizo

Looking back…many, many years ago, in a land far away, (namely the German Shepherd Specialty world), I met and became friends with a one-of-a-kind GSD handler by the fanciful name of Lamar Kuhns.

He was a handler, par excellence. He was talented, vocal, and demanding as hell with one of his charges. Demanding? Of who, you might query? For instance: If his double (handler) was in the wrong corner, or not paying enough attention, he would stop the judging (believe it or not!), and bellow to the poor double to get to where he felt was the right spot. I have heard judges, after witnessing this display, actually ask, “Are you ready, Lamar?”

As brash as he could be in the ring, his ability to educate and bring to life the elemental and intrinsic properties of his beloved Shepherds was unbelievable.

Lamar gave a symposium on the German Shepherd Dog many years ago at the Tappan Zee Inn in New York. It was, by far, the most clearly defined, informative, and pertinent discourse on ANY breed seminar that I have ever attended. (And after judging for thirty five years… that’s a LOT of seminars.) I was sitting next to Annie Clark and both of us were totally captivated by his expertise as a speaker and teacher of his breed. Of course, the fact that he was a bit of a ham and somewhat dramatic didn’t hurt a bit! Sitting ringside next to him at a Specialty one would learn more in an afternoon than to read and study the breed for years!

There was another (softer) side to Lamar as well. At a dog show many years ago, he came across a boy of about ten years, walking a German Shepherd Dog. Lamar stopped him and asked if he was going to show him “like that”? The youngster replied, “yes, sir,” to which, Lamar said, “No, you’re not!” and proceeded to put the dog up on a grooming table and go to work with grooming tools and his magic touch. When he was finished, the dog looked totally different…a show dog to be sure!

This happened nearly thirty years ago to the young man that we know as Michael Sherman. Michael is now a very talented handler, much in demand for his specialized style unique to the breed.

Lamar was also known to be an inspired chef…especially in other peoples’ kitchens! He had similarities to Julia Child, both with cooking skills and the wine bottle. This combination could either be a culinary bonanza or a total disaster!!!

I can’t leave out the humorous aspects of Lamar Kuhns’ life. For instance, there was a time while showing his dog in the ring on a very hot, humid day, that he actually lost his trousers on the go-round (and those pants, in many cases, were bold plaid or brightly colored). Not a pretty sight, but certainly memorable! A mutual friend to both of us, Russell Cohen, husband of the one and only Estelle Cohen shared his fond memories of their “special” times together. Russell recounted the days when a “certain” group handler/buddies would get back to their hotel for a “few drinks” at days end. After a long (read all) night of imbibing, they would shower and shave and head back to the dog show, prepare the dogs, and start a new day of exhibiting. And in German Shepherds this required a bit more than a casual lap around a ring. Well, by noon, Lamar was sick as a dog (no pun intended), as the previous nights “glow” wore off. He still did his magic in the ring, although it was with a king size hangover!

My friend Lamar’s’ advice to me as a potential Shepherd judge those many years ago was “be prepared, know the standard, do your best, BUT if you can’t make up your mind…JUST POINT TO ME!”

Every “old timer” in GSD’s has a Lamar story or two; unfortunately, most of them are just too spicy for general consumption!

He was certainly one-of-a-kind and he left an impression on the German Shepherd Dog as a breed, its fanciers and a good number of other breeds he touched. Lamar may be gone but he surely has not been forgotten.

Short URL: https://caninechronicle.com/?p=1036

Posted by admin on Jun 27 2020. Filed under Dog Show History, Featured, Remembering Our Past?. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry