>> A drop dead gorgeous dog in the hands of novices will go nowhere Would you rather novices not even give it a go in the ring? One can't just clump all novice show people as one entity. There are novice handlers who are almost or just as proficient as the pros when they enter the ring. There are pro handlers who look like novices sometimes & who I wouldn't pay to show a dog. There are also days when people whether they are a pro or a novice are just on or just off & it shows up in the ring with the dog.
I think some dogs are born with an attittude that makes showing them easy....they just seem to know what to do in the ring & seem to go right along with the whole scenerio. They still need the socialization, grooming and at least some handling in the ring but overall it is like a cake walk to show those dogs. Then there are dogs who develop into great show dogs given what is needed to develop that. I've also seen people who maybe their first show dog was a born with attitude dog & they had an easy time in the ring with the dog. Then they get their second or maybe third show dog & it's a wake-up call. There is skill & art to handling dogs in the show ring. It is not just taking a dog in the ring & walking around with it. I have often overheard spectators watching state..."Oh I can do that...all you have to do is walk around the ring with your dog...it's easy." Oh, Yah! There are some people who have a natural knack for handling dogs in conformation & develop that into a wonderful skill. There are some people who give it a try & realize they are not cut out for the ring or maybe they are not cut out for showing that particular breed in the ring. There are people who have big egos & big money that hire pros to show their dogs knowing their dog will be successful. There are people who have a disability & hire pros, there are people who hire pros to handle their dogs sometimes & then handle them their selves other times. There are people who enjoy beautiful dogs but know they don't have the knack to handle & hire pros. The pro is being payed to take the dog in the ring. If they win they may get a bonus or it may just be if the dog goes BOB & then the price for taking the dog in the group goes up. (most pros have a fee schedule you can look at) A pro can still be beaten by an owner handler or a novice but they will still get paid for taking the dog in. So they still made money. Whether the dog is in the ring with a novice, a pro or an owner handler, the main thing is it is in the ring. If it wasn't there, there would be no points available. I have seen wonderful owner handlers go through a whole atttitude change when they see a pro is coming in the ring with a dog. These owner handlers are fantastic handlers themselves, have finished many dogs but see the pro & go thru a weird transition. Don't you think that feeling is transferred to the dog? Maybe everyone should go in the ring with a bag on their head so no one would know who they were. But lo & behold you wait one of those bags is going to be seen winning quite a bit for some reason & then everyone will blame that bag instead of looking at the skill & the art the bag is using to show the dog. Pamela & EE Gang ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author.
