From The CC Vault: We Do Need Professional Handlers!

by Dr. Bob G. Smith

Originally published February 2013

Although the title of this article might imply that there could be a move to do away with Professional Handlers; that is not the intent AT ALL!   Professional Handlers are essential to the survival of our sport!  They are needed just as much as Amateur Owner Handlers, breeders, and exhibitors with limited breeds in their string. 

Professional handlers bring a large string of dogs with them and with that string a large amount of entry fees.  If there were 50 professional handlers with 20 dogs per string with entry fees at $30 per dog the entries could average about $30,000.  Some professional handlers carry more dogs in their string, some less.  So many of the smaller shows that rely on Amateur Owner Handlers or local/regional entries often depend on smaller numbers of entries and consequently their profit margin is VERY small.  Professional handlers bring many entries with accompanying dollars for the local economy.  For that, local clubs should be grateful.

Dog shows sponsored by local kennel clubs need the entries of all the participants, including professional handlers.  At shows, professional handlers bring dogs that comprise many of the entries that helps determine the points for a breed in that region of the country.  Because of the mobility of the professional handlers, however, sometimes the points in a region are skewed toward a larger average number of entries resulting in an inflated number.  But that is the way it is!

As exhibitors, we need their competition.  Many non-Professional Handlers enjoy competing with the Professional Handlers for placements, points and Championship titles.  Without that competition, I believe that many Championship titles would take several more shows, entries, and money than is required now.

We need the profession as a training ground for apprentices.  Many professional handlers provide much needed opportunities for apprentices to gain valuable experience working and traveling with them.  Having the chance to work for a professional handler often allows the apprentice an opportunity to learn how to manage time and money, as well as experience life on the road. They learn to balance grooming, caring for entries, handling, and completing homework assignments.  What a great opportunity for a young person who wants to participate in the sport so many of us love.

We need their teaching skills.  Professional handlers often teach apprentices how to groom, to show, to cooperate with others, to set priorities, live on a budget, manage their time, and love showing.  Most apprentices benefit greatly from their experiences with professional handlers.  Where else in the dog world can youngsters participate in such a great learning experience?

We also need the professional handler’s campaigning of rare breeds.  Many rare breeds are first seen at a dog show while being campaigned by a professional handler.  The newly-recognized breeds often cost more money to campaign because the competition is so rare that finishing these breeds costs much more than a more popular breed.  Having a rare breed being shown by a professional handler, in my opinion, provides exposure to the general public and to other exhibitors in a wider area of the country.  Many breeders who campaign rare breeds find that utilizing a professional handler is less expensive in the long run than handling that newly-recognized breed themselves.

We need their enthusiasm for the sport.  Because professional handlers make their living showing dogs, they have enthusiasm about participating in the dog show environment.  It appears to me that most professional handlers love what they do.  They are enthusiastic about the sport, their livelihood, and for the breeds they show.  In spite of losing to Professional Handlers many times as an Amateur Owner Handler, I enjoyed the competition.  I learned by watching their techniques of handling, grooming, and time management.  I learned which grooming tool and/or technique worked best for me by observing what professional handlers used then going and trying it out on my exhibits.

I believe we need their input about improving the sport.  Because showing dogs is their life, many professional handlers are better able to offer input on changes that need to be made in all aspects of dog show activities.  They are able to offer suggestions to show superintendents about scheduling, ring arrangement, and size.  For the most part, they are at the show until after Best In Show.  They show under every kind of condition and in every kind of facility.  Professional handlers have seen it all!  They have been there, done that, and won the points/ribbons/rosettes.

Some of us Amateur Owner Handlers did not always like losing to the Professional Handlers, however, we learned how to compete better, how to win, how to lose gracefully, and how to survive, or we got out of dog showing.  Professionals provided us with strong competition making us better handlers, better breeders, and better competitors.

Finally, many of the judges today came from the ranks of the Professional Handlers.  Their experiences as handlers provided them with opportunities to learn about many breeds, show under many different judges, and learn about new breeds.  I’m not implying that Handlers make better judges than Owner Handlers or limited breeders; my point here is that many of the handling experiences of Professional Handlers are not available to most of us who aspire to become judges.  They have experiences that many of us wish we had when we apply to become judges.  When I look around me at the members of a judging panel, I realize that most of them were former handlers.  Many of the all-breed judges still judging got their start from their life as a professional handler.  I am a believer that exhibitors who show to judges who were former professional handlers benefit from their many years of exhibiting as professionals.

With Thanksgiving just behind us, I wish to offer thanks to the dog show community.  Thanks to my fellow judges for your friendship, your guidance, and your expertise.  I learn so much from watching, listening, and talking to you.  Thanks to the exhibitors who have shown to me.  I, too, learn so much from evaluating your entries.  Thanks to the clubs who have hired me to judge at your shows.  I am appreciative for your confidence in my ability to provide appropriate assessments of your entries.  And finally, thanks to the Professional Handlers for also bringing me clean, conditioned, and good examples of breeds.  All of the participants listed above make my life as a judge a fuller one.  Thanks to all of you who contribute to the life so many of us love!

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