Permission to post from another list. For those who don't know, George Alston is a

retired professional handler who travels teaching handling classes and doing

seminars on handling -- some folks love him, some hate him, but a lot of what

he says here makes good sense.

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The Owner Handler vs The Professional    

George G. Alston

Cary, North Carolina USA

INTRODUCTION

Showing dogs is the only sport that, by the payment of an entry fee and with no training whatsoever, you can compete directly with a professional. There is  no other organized sport in which you can do that. The amateur owner handler is competing against someone who makes his or her livelihood from showing dogs. The owner handler is competing with a

professional who has dedicated his or her life to this sport and who has spent many years in apprenticeship learning the trade. Yet the amateur will  compete in the same arena for the same awards without special training.

In order to do this successfully, you have to have the same dedication. You  have to do something every day, 365 days a year, to improve your skill,  knowledge, and abilities. The professional is doing all this and more. How are you to

beat them if you don't work at it?

First you have to take the word can't out of your vocabulary. It is a terrible word. You have to stop listening to all those people who say, " The amateur can't beat the Professional." That is hog wash. So many owner handlers have  been successful over the years. They have won many Best in Shows, Best in Specialty, number One in their Group or number One All

Breed. Here are a few tips and thoughts.

WHAT THE JUDGE SEES IS WHAT YOU GET

A judge can only judge what is presented in the ring. The American Kennel Club allows a judge 2 minutes per dog. After passing out ribbons and marking  their book that leaves them about 1 and 1/2-2  minutes per dog. The judge cannot assume.  He or she has to judge what they see. If you do not present what the judge  wants to see you will lose. You must learn to present the dog as efficiently as  possible in the least amount of time. It takes work, practice, and dedication.

When the judge comes to the end of the class and tries to make a decision, if  the professional handler has his dog set up right and the owner handler has his  set up wrong, who wins? The professional will, 9 times out of 10. Yet the  owner handler will stand there and complain that the professional always wins.

Amateurs have a great advantage, if they would use it to their benefit. They  usually have only one dog to show, so they have the time to train that dog,  condition it, learn about its strong and weak points, and practice showing under

all kinds of circumstances. Therefore, when they go into the ring, there  should be no surprises. The professional must handle a great many dogs in the course of a day;some of them the handler may not know very well, yet that handler is expected to make each one look good. Who has the advantage under those conditions? The amateur of course.

The amateur often has an advantage over the professional because a judge is going to be more forgiving if an amateur makes a mistake, sets up a dog imperfectly, or gaits awkwardly. If the dog is worthy, the judge will give the

amateur every opportunity. The judges will not forgive the professional as easily.

THE HANDLER AS AN ARTIST

When you are in the ring showing a dog, you are an artist. You are creating a picture, usually an unnatural picture, because you will be emphasizing the dog's assets. Work with the good points. You are trying to sell a picture to the judge. In order to create a picture that you want with that dog, you must know both its good points and faults. You must have studied your dog both standing and gaiting so you are familiar with all of its parts.

The difference between the the artist and the handler is that when an artist creates a work, such as a sculpture, it is done once and it is done for all time. They never have to do that piece again. If an artist makes a painting or an engraving, they can make prints of that, but they never have to go back and create the original work of art again. Nor could they.

When you show a dog, you must create the same picture of that dog every time it is shown. Every time you stack a dog, it must look the same. Every time you gait a dog, it must look the same, and be as perfect a picture as you can make it. Remember consistency. Amateurs often walk into the ring and stack their dog very well the first time. But the next time, maybe three minutes later, its feet are going in four different directions. It does not take magic to stack and gait perfectly and consistently every time. It does take work and patience.

You must practice showing off the dog's good points so that the judge sees what you want to be seen. A lot of owner handlers attempt to hide the dog's faults. This is a big mistake. When you try to hide faults you justbring attention to them. If God could not fix them, then how can you? Set the faulty part up then leave it alone.Just as an artist creates an illusion on canvas or paper, the handler creates an illusion for the judge. Professionals know how to show to the judge those

points they want the judge to see. You must practice in order to create the picture you want to present to the judge. Work in front of a mirror to see what the judge sees. Look at and admire the good points, stay away from the faults. The judge will tend to follow your eyes to see what you are looking at and then the judge will see what you want them to see.

As an artist takes pride in their work, you must take pride in presenting your dog as if it were the best animal you have ever seen and you are doing the judges a favor to allow them to put their hands on this valuable animal.Exhibitors who manhandle their dogs, pulling them around, grabbing them by the muzzle, or yanking them here and there project the feeling : This is just another dog and I don't care about it. If the owner handler doesn't seem to care about the dog, why should the judge!

Consider a collector of fine china and porcelain. When you go to visit the collection, the owner grabs a beer mug from the shelf and says, "I got this at the local saloon."You will notice there is no particular care taken in

handling this piece of china. But this one,the collector says, reaching for another piece, is very rare and beautiful. See the lines and the translucent quality.This porcelain is held gently with the fingertips. It is presented to you with the greatest care so you can admire its value.When you present your dog to the judge, you must take as much care as that collector did with the china. The more you use your fingertips instead of your hands, both on the dog and the leash, the better the presentation will be. This concept of the handler as an artist, collector, and caretaker of the dog will often make the difference between being able to present a dogconsistently at its best and winning, or losing to the competition who may be showing a dog not as good as yours.

Anyone can handle a dog. But it takes great skill to present one so that the judge thinks this is the greatest specimen of the breed that they have ever seen and they are honored to have it in their ring.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE SHOW RING

The sport of showing dogs is 80% mental and 20% physical. You can beat yourself before you ever step into the show ring.

In the past 20 years there has been a lot of information gathered about the use of psychology in sports. Football teams have their own sports psychologists who are hired to motivate the players into a winning attitude. Basically, the whole concept is to have a positive outlook, to think you are going to win and that you are going to play the best game of your life. This is also used by professional golfers, tennis players, race car drivers, professional horsemen, etc.

The Power of the Mind

The power of the mind is a wonderful thing. It is as important when you are showing a dog as it is in any endeavor. You must believe in your dog before you ever undertake the job of showing. Then you must transfer that belief so that

your dog thinks it is the greatest dog that ever walked. In order to take advantage of positive psychology, you must mentally prepare everystep of the way up to and into the ring. Prior to going to a show you should sit down for about 10 minutes a day, close your eyes and put yourself into situations that could get you into trouble. For instance, what will you do when a handler runs up on you in the ring? What will you do if your dog breaks stride, or the tent falls down, or you trip on

the baby gates and fall down? What would you do if your dog won't put up his ears, or gets too excited, or not excited enough?

Whatever the situation, if you have the problem solved in advance, then you will know how to respond to it. You must solve all of these potential problems mentally before you go into the ring. That takes concentration, not only the night before, but right up until the time you walk into the ring.

The night before a show lie in bed and think about the competition. If you have been going to shows on a regular basis, you'll have an idea of the dogs you will be competing against. You should know the strong and weak points of every dog in the ring, and if you don't know them in advance of getting to the show, stand at ringside and watch them as they come up to

the class.

In addition to solving all the possible problems in your head, you must visualize the picture you want to make with your dog. Imagine in your mind exactly how you will show your dog so that it makes a perfect picture for the judge. If you know your dog well you will not have to put your hands on it in order to create the mental picture as you prepare for the competition. Prior to going in to the ring most good professional handlers will seem to beoff in space, but they are not. They are thinking about the best way to show their dog on that particular day under the unique circumstances in that ring.

Most amateurs stand outside the ring and talk. Their dogs are out at the end of the lead looking terrible. Then when they take their dog in the ring and lose, they complain that the judge only puts up professionals.

TUNNEL VISION

When you bring your dog up to the ring, you must have tunnel vision. Your total concentration is on your dog. Shut out the world. Spend your time reading your dog. What is he reacting to? How does he feel today? Is he up and happy or

low and dragging? How can you compensate for those subtle changes in attitude and mood that can mean the difference between winning and losing in tough competition? Also, you have to concentrate on reading your dog the whole time you

are in the ring. When you do this you will see that the dog is ever changing and you will have to adapt to the situation.

WIDE-ANGLE VISION

While you are concentrating with tunnel vision on your dog, at the same time you also have to be aware of everything that is going on around you and how it will affect your dog's performance. You must have wide-angle vision in order to evaluate the competition and to ward off any dangers that might threaten your dog. You must see that dog coming at yours and be quick to react. You must see the person walking in a daze who may trip or fall over your dog. You can't do that if you're chatting with neighbors or paying attention to other things.

Wide-angle vision means something else, too. It means sizing up the competition before you go into the ring or within 30 seconds after. You have to know every dog in that ring and how it compares to yours. How do your dog's strengths

and weaknesses compare to the others? You have to know this in order to present your dog to its best advantage. You also have to be constantly reading the competition to see if they make any mistakes or have a change of attitude so you can take advantage of them. Also you must be reading the judge. A judge will, unknown to them, give clues about likes and dislikes of the dogs they are judging. Sometimes this can help you.

SUMMARY

This article just begins to touch on the owner/amateur handler vs. the professional handler. I hope some of these things will help you in your quest to show winning dogs. Remember, you can do it!