Page 214 - ShowSight - December 2019

Joyce Coccia continued
The toughest part about being a professional handler? Saying goodbye. You put your heart and soul into these dogs as if they were your own build a relationship and then you send them home.
Is my family involved? I have a cousin that breeds and shows Bull Terriers.
Am I involved with an all-breed club? No, not at this time.
What can Clubs do to make handlers’ job easier? Clubs have invested a lot of time and energy into making improvements to the shows that they host and it shows. If I had anything to say here it would be to continue asking for and listening to the feedback of all exhibitors.
What can Clubs do to make handlers want to enter? As I said above, keep asking for and listening to our feedback. The more we feel heard, the more likely we are to enter.
The most amusing thing I’ve ever witnessed at a dog show? When you have been doing this for any length of time you have so many stories to pick from! Somehow they all seem to be related to wardrobe malfunctions. Years ago a Golden breeder was showing a lovely class bitch. She got to the corner on her down and back, stopped, removed her slip and returned to the judge with her slip in hand. Or the time I was in the Golden ring and after my exam the judge asked if when I did my down and back I could “Pick up her Spanx” that had apparently fallen off. I had to turn to my fellow exhibitors and ask what Spanx were.
LAURA COOMES
I live South of Ocala, Florida. I was blessed to be born into the sport.
What made me know that this was where I belonged? I love training and dogs give you everything you ask, so it’s fun to see them shine.
Who were my mentors? I’m one lucky handler. My parents to start! Jeff Brucker for my training and anybody he made me go listen to so I could learn more.
Do I breed? I have bred many breeds. But I currently breed Great Danes under the name Danekraafts and Berger Picards under the name Pickraafts.
Do I like to stick to any particular breed or group? I come from working breeds so I fill up most of my day in those rings but no I love learning new breeds and have shown many breeds with great success.
How do I travel to shows and how many do I attend in the aver- age year? We travel in motorhomes for the most part. Indoor or outdoor both are okay. We show 40 weekends a year.
The best thing about being a professional handler is getting to enjoy making dreams come true for our owners. The toughest part about being a professional handler is saying goodbye to a dog we have given our hearts and souls to when they retire. Even harder to get the call when they cross the rainbow bridge.
Is my family involved? My family loves dogs. My parents cheer me on weekly. My son loves the puppies and training them. My boyfriend is a top handler as well. My sister runs the kennel and “midwoof” for dogs and puppies.
Am I involved with an all-breed club and held positions within the club? I am in one dane club GDCLA but at this time my extra time is taken playing the mommy role when I’m home.
What can Clubs do to make handlers’ job easier? Try to sepa- rate breeds so that handlers that come from one group can make their rings. Meaning if you show five different working breeds don’t make all five breeds go at once in five different rings. That’s when we need many good friends to help.
What can Clubs do to make handlers want to enter? Don’t make expenses so high for parking and grooming. At some point everyone needs a weekend off. I’ll choose that show to skip.
The most amusing thing I’ve ever witnessed at a dog show? Oh this question can go on and on. At the Dane nationals we have a three to five month puppy class. One judge startled a puppy and it ran in between the owner’s legs turned and faced the judge, the pup- py barked at the judge then ran into the judge’s arms with kisses. So stinkin cute. He went on to go reserve best puppy.
CJ FAVRE
Our web site is www.caninespecialist.com. We live in North Georgia, in the small community of Cumming, Georgia.
I got involved with dogs through my wife, Lisa. She got me involved through obedience. I attended obedience classes with Lisa and her German shepherd. I started participating in obedience classes with my pet Irish Terrier, which my friend gave me. The next 30 years we will call history.
I was an air traffic controller when I started training dogs. I joined The Montgomery Alabama Dog Obedience Club and became very active in training dogs. In our travels to obedience tri- als Lisa and I started watching conformation. We also met confor- mation people in our obedience circle. We started showing German Shepherds with my first mentor Eddie Knight.
Lisa and I currently breed Kerry Blue Terriers under the ken- nel prefix: LISIJI. I am also involved in breeding Portuguese Water Dogs.
I like to do all breeds from toys to giant breeds, coated to non- coated. Lately our breeds we show are big and heavily coated.
Our rig, known as “Big Green”, is a Box Truck for the dogs. We pull a 32 foot travel trailer/toy hauler for us. We do approxi- mately 150 AKC dog shows annually, traveling 25 to 30 thousand miles a year. We have had the pleasure of seeing a large part of our beautiful country and the world. The venue is very important in my profession, but we don’t have any say in the venue, as we rely on the clubs to find a suitable venue. I prefer outdoor show sites weather permitting.
Being a professional handler is like belonging to a large family, both the good and bad. The people in this group are always ready to help fellow exhibitors. You can witness this weekly.
The toughest part of being a professional handler is the hours. Understanding the responsibility of caring for live animals is of utmost importance. Not coming from a family of dog people I learned everything by hands on and with the assistance of other professionals and breeders. This is one profession that needs to be handled down from generation to generation.
As a member of two all-breed clubs in the Atlanta area I assist in putting on some of the local dog shows. I volunteer to be the groom- ing chairman, setup and monitor the grooming areas for all local clubs. I feel this is part of my pay back to my dog family.
JULIA FOSTER
My website is Julia-foster.com and I live in Leasburg, Missouri.
How did I get into dogs? My parents were Handlers and bred German Shepherd Dogs.
What made me know that this was where I belonged? I showed part time while I was going to college and knew that I wanted to spend more time training and showing dogs.
Who were my mentors? Of course my parents, Carl and Fran Foster, were my first and most important mentors in breeding Ger- man Shepherd Dogs. One other person comes to mind, Betty Jean Lemler of Vonshore Kennels, but there were many breeders who I
210 • ShowSight Magazine, DeceMber 2019
Professional HandlerQ & A