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This is the article that me and Emily collaborated together to write for The Bulletin. It is about our transition from junior handlers to breeder/owner/handlers. _____________________________________________________
“Hey, can I ask you a question?”
Emily and I were approached to write an article about the progression we have made from junior handling to breeding dogs. Like many others we got a start in 4-H. I was fortunate to have an advisor who works as a handler at AKC shows. After I got my first Cardigan I started showing in breed and juniors. Many will agree that in the beginning juniors is fun, you can actually win in the small novice classes. Though me and Emily did not always enjoy junior showmanship, we did learn a lot. We were always very curious to learn more, we had a thirst for knowledge. While in juniors we learned a lot of important skills like grooming, and of coarse handling skills. People always seem to gravitate towards the junior in the breed and offer their help and guidance. A big piece of advice I offer to juniors is to seek the advice of handlers who show Cardigans. They will teach you lots of tips about grooming and handling. I learned ways to show off the dog, not the handler. Its one thing to showboat it’s another to work at making your dog appear at its best. I learned what parts of my dog were its downfalls and how to accentuate the good and hide the bad. A good handler can make a bad dog look better; a bad handler can make a nice dog look bad. The most unfortunate thing about Cardigan junior handlers is that they get ignored at the end of the line while the big flashy dogs take all the glory. What people don’t often realize is that it is the kids with the smaller dogs who do more work. They are the ones lifting dogs on and off the table and crawling around in the mud or rough mats on their knees. It’s hard to get noticed when you’re groveling on the ground while the other kids are standing tall at the front of the line. Emily and I always seemed to be more focused and interested on what happened in the breed ring. We wanted to know everything we could about the breed. We studied the standard a lot and had lots of discussions with people. We always asked people questions, even if we thought we knew the answer we sought clarity. We have been involved in the breed for almost 8 years and we have learned the most through discussion with established breeders. You know those breeders with all the best dogs and just seem to get it? That’s what Emily and I strive to become. You can’t learn unless you ask, and if you’re going to ask, ask the best. If you ever find yourself depressed because you aren’t winning, ask somebody why. You might have a dog that really isn’t as good as you think it is. You learn the most through constructive criticism, it’s the best when not sugar coated. The truth hurts but at least you can stop wasting money on entry fees. Look at it this way. If your dogs just aren’t winning any points, you’re making points for other people. At that time you need to ask someone, “What am I doing wrong?” You might want to start off with something new and neuter your dog. I started off this way my first Cardigan didn’t turn out as we had hoped. I was always so down I just couldn’t understand why I never won. Finally someone broke the news to me that my dog had a straight front and was so cow hocked that he waddled like a duck. I really needed that honesty, you might too. Co-breeding I find is very effective. We breed together for several reasons. Firstly everybody has their own little hang-ups about dogs. For example I love a dog with a long neck and a correct front. Emily has a thing about rear angulation and top-lines. You don’t want to look at a dog and just see those features; you have to look at the other dog. A second opinion from another Cardigan fancier can help you realize things you might not otherwise. This relationship helps avoid the dreaded “kennel blindness.” You can’t think your dogs are perfect because they are your babies; you have to see the bad of them to in order to be successful. A non kennel blind can say something like, “my foundation bitch is a piece of crap with no neck, a round rib cage, a cobby body, forward shoulders, a straight and wide front, and she’s to darn small.” That’s exactly what our foundation bitch is; if you can recognize her flaws you know what stud you need to use in order to have a nice litter. Yet she is balanced, has a nice head, perfect tail set and carriage, and a beautiful rear, things that she has going for her that will work with the stud attributes and downfalls. I think that at some point juniors need to make it to a national, even the adults. It’s amazing the amount of knowledge you can gain in a week. There are so many opportunities to go to breeding seminars, handling seminars, and clinics. I remember at one of my first Nationals in St. Louis I went to a handling seminar that wasn’t just for juniors. I learned so much from Mel and Peter Clifton giving me tips on holding the leash, stretching the dog out, and ring behavior. Never stop learning. Even if you have been in the breed for a while and think you know everything there is to know, it’s always good to get a refresher or hear someone else’s perspective. As I’ve mention we’ve been in the breed for nearly 8 years and we still have a lot to learn. I think it was just the other week at Louisville when I think I finally grasped shoulder angulation completely. Successful breeders can help so much, they are very knowledgeable. They let me feel what really good shoulders felt like, what ok shoulder felt like and how bad shoulders felt. Our breed has really complex shoulders you know. Some advice I have for breeders is to take a chance on a junior. Emily was very fortunate that her first show Cardigan turned out to be nationally ranked for several years, a real big winner. I haven’t been so lucky I’ve had three show cardigans and I think my fourth is finally going to be a special. She happens to be the one I bred myself. Imagine that, showing the same breed for almost 8 years and never winning a best of breed on your own dog. Junior handlers are the future. Even after you are gone the juniors will be carrying on your legacy with the dogs you sold them and the things you have taught them. The juniors are going to be the people who will carry on your lines after you are gone. If a junior gets their first Cardigan and they never win because it’s not a very good dog, it is likely they will become discouraged and perhaps stop showing. Emily and I have known a few juniors who stopped showing when they became teenagers and became more interested in the opposite sex and excursions to the mall. They have to want to do it, a have a good experience to want to stick with it. More advice: go to handling class if you have the opportunity. Try a few different ones if you can, some are superior to others. The funniest thing to Emily and I is that she is 21 and I am 22 and people still ask us, “how’d ya do in juniors?” I often responded, “I am a junior…. in college.” Now I’m a senior and Emily is a sophomore, it really is amazing how fast time flies. It seems like just yesterday I was at Canfield in the Novice Junior class and I met another girl with a Cardigan across the tent named Emily. We’ve come pretty far, yet we still have a long way to go.
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