Page 242 - ShowSight - July 2019

Owner Handler Q & A
participating in the NOHS program in 2016 it really helped my dog gain confidence and experience in a Group with other breeds. I believe it has definitely helped us both become more of a team having the extra group time.
I believe the passion and intensity is bit stronger when you show a dog you own and have loved since they were whelped. The bond can be so intense that if you’re having a bad day in the ring it trickles down the lead and your dog can have a bad day too. Funny little crea- tures feeling all our feels!
What’s more important tome, an all-breed win or a specialty win? For me a specialty win is more meaningful.
If you’re a breeder/owner/handler, are your wins that much more special? Every win is special. When you’ve worked so hard from the whelping box to the free stack—being awarded a big win is over- whelming and I’m an ugly cryer—it’s not pretty!
Is fitting the show schedule into my “regular” life a constant bal- ancing act? I joke with my friends that I have three full time jobs; oncology research, dog showing and marathon training. It becomes quite unbalanced at times! Working in a 20 mile training run in between showing on the weekends is nothing short of a miracle. With that I’ve done a lot of my running in beautiful places all over the country (in between ring times!). I am very fortunate to have a very supportive family who cheers me on every literal step of the way.
My advice to newcomers; breathe and be in the moment. Keep positive people around you. Laugh often. Love your dog, they need you! And lastly, don’t take it all too seriously.
DIANE BURVEE
Diane Burvee is an interna- tionally-acclaimed French Bull- dog authority who has authored several articles, including one on Judging French Bulldogs that has been circulated and trans- lated in 18 different countries. She has also presented seminars and judged French Bulldogs in more countries than any cur- rent American Frenchie Judge/ Breeder in recent times. On the homefront in America, she has
breeder-owner-handled more All Breeds and Specialty Best In Show Frenchies in recent years than any other kennel including winning the National Specialty, Regional Specialties and Westminster, to name a few highlights. Her current special is not only the reigning number one Bitch and number two Frenchie (both systems) in the country with multiple All Breeds and Specialty Best In Shows to her credit, Breeder-Owner-Handled, of course!
I reside in Kansas City. We enjoy the four seasonal changes which I feel is good for the dogs. My other passions outside of dogs include traveling, reading, trying different ethnic cuisines, communiversity classes for enrichment and volunteer work.
I’ve been in dogs in America for over 26 years (since 1993.) My first breed was the Afghan Hound, then the Pekingese and now, I am concentrating on the French Bulldog. My first homebred Frenchie litter is over ten, so I have been involved in the breed in some capacity for more than a dozen years. I have judged them both here and abroad for an approximate same period of time.
I have never participated in the NOHS program myself, but I have a few friends who do, and they take it very seriously. It is as com- petitive as the regular conformation program. I find it to be a positive addition that is welcomed by many owner-handlers. Any activities
that encourages more/further participation in the sport, and allow more time to bond with our dogs is a good thing!
Do I feel that owner/handlers have an advantage because of their bond with their dogs? Owner-Handlers should have a big advantage because the dogs live with them, and they are able to train and con- nect with the dogs daily. In most cases, they also likely bred/whelp the litters so they would understand the breed and family history bet- ter than anyone else. However, the average Owner-Handlers have a full-time profession, and also family obligations outside dogs so they may not have as much time as the professional handlers to dedicate to training and conditioning the dogs. On the other hand, the Profes- sional Handlers are always ‘on the job.’ They eat, breathe and do dogs, they travel from one cluster to another, and in most cases, all they do is dogs so the dogs in their charges are more exposed to the dog show lifestyle. Their dogs get more acclimatized to the dog show environ- ment, and they are shown more, and we know practice makes perfect! So, in a nutshell, I feel both Owner-Handlers as well as Professional handlers can have an advantage depending on how you look at it.
What’s more important to me, an all-breed win or a specialty win? Years ago, I would most certainly say Specialty wins mean so much more, as you compete with dogs of the same breed. The specialties are mainly judged by the Breeder-Judges who have experience as breed- ers, and in-depth knowledge of the breed, hence a more discerning eye, so those wins ought to mean more. But I now feel winning an All Breeds Best In Show is more gratifying, and a bigger achieve- ment, because not only do you have to compete against own breed, also your own Group, and then all other breeds to get to the podium to clinch the top award. Also, winning an All Breeds Best In Show is not something every Professional Handler has accomplished. This is a difficult feat for the Owner-Handlers. At the end of the day, what matters most to me is the judge who is giving out the award, be it a Specialty or All Breeds win. There are judges who are not Frenchie Breeder-Judges that I respect tremendously, and always enjoy watch- ing and showing to because they have such an appreciation for the breed that they bring a perspective that breeders may have missed. I personally prefer to show under judges that have a true understand- ing of my breeds, and judge/reward them in a breed-specific manner accordingly whether it is an All Breeds or Specialty event.
If you’re a breeder/owner/handler, are your wins that much more special? Yes, I am indeed a proud Breeder-Owner-Handler! Breeders are the backbone of this sport and without the clever breeders before us that preserve, protect and promote the breed, where will we be today?! Just like what will the breed be without all the great bitches?! As a Breeder-Owner-Handler, my wins do most certainly mean so much more because I have to breed, whelp, raise, train, condition and handle my dogs to the best of my ability to showcase them in the best way. I don’t and will never have the experience, talent and knowledge of the best professional handlers, but having said that, I can try harder and work more diligently to compensate for areas that I lack as a handler. Within the breed, we all know who are the best breeders, best dogs, and best bitches and so forth even though the show results may not always correlate to the quality, or there lack of. And because Frenchie is an extremely difficult breed to grasp for both judges and breeders alike, it is understandable that not all judges are going to get it right 100% of the time, so the wins as Breeder-Owner-Handlers are so much more special.
Is fitting the show schedule into my “regular” life a constant bal- ancing act? I find fitting a show schedule of a top special with my ‘regular’ life a daily juggling act! It is hard work, and because I am a 100% hands-on Breeder-Owner-Handler who is involved in all aspects of my bitch’s special career from advertising, shows, entries, etc, I find it rather consuming. It is truly a full-time job in itself, I barely have time for much more and I often wish there was more than 24 hours in a day! Because we are hardly home from one circuit with barely enough time to catch up, before we have to rush off to another circuit, leaving us little time for family, friends and our other hobbies.
236 • ShowSight Magazine, July 2019