Page 166 - ShowSight - June 2020

THE
OWNER-HANDLERS
1. Where do you live? What is your breed? How many years in dogs?
2. Do you have any hobbies or interests apart from breeding and showing dogs?
3. How long have you been competing as an owner-handler?
4. Have you taken handling classes? Attended seminars on handling?
5. Do you compete in the AKC National Owner-Handled Series?
6. What are your thoughts about competing with professional handlers?
7. Who are your role models when it comes to showing dogs?
8. Do you prefer to compete at specialties or at all-breed shows?
9. In your opinion, does the future look bright for owner-handlers?
10. And for a bit of fun: What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever experienced as an owner-handler?
11. Is there anything else I’d like to share? Please elaborate.
JAMES MOEN
My wife and I live in Danville, California. Our breed for the
last 40 years has been the Puli, though I’ve been showing for only 25 years.
Do I have any hobbies or interests apart from breeding and showing dogs? I’ve been in Amateur Radio even longer than dogs. I love computer technology and programming and still maintain sev- eral websites. I am the IT department for my son’s small language school in Germany, and I continue to study German, which I first began in college.
How long have I been competing as an owner-handler? I have been competing for 25 years. I started with a Puli puppy, a leash and the goal of finishing his Championship. I gradually added all the equipment, crates, tables, canopies, brushes, scissors, etc.
Have I taken handling classes or attended seminars on han- dling? In 1993, I began weekly classes from Tom Lams in Hayward, California, also attending many of his weekend seminars. More recently, my young dogs and I have taken classes from Nitsa Tray- lor, whose approach is similar to Tom’s. It is also a treat to attend classes by Taffe and Bill McFadden. I should add that I also took many classes for Agility handling, and you can learn a lot there that will help in the Conformation ring.
Do I compete in the AKC National Owner-Handled Series? Yes, I have for several years. In 2019, my Puli, GCHB Cordmaker Boys Will Be Boys (Archie), was the #1 National Owner-Handled Dog All-Breeds.
What are my thoughts about competing with professional han- dlers? I feel blessed when I find myself competing against major handlers. While I strive to be good at handling my own dog and breed, many professional handlers know how to groom and show scores of breeds and, in the ring, they are able to deal with virtually anything that happens. But maybe the most important thing they teach me is attitude—they want to win every single time they go in the ring, yet almost all do that with integrity. The flip side of the question is whether judges sometimes give preference to dogs on professional handlers. Since I started, many owner-handlers have thought that, but what if I lost to a handler because the other dog was presented better than mine? It is impossible to know. The
answer is to persevere and stay focused on trying to win—and don’t give up.
Who are my role models when it comes to showing dogs? I have so many, but I have to start with Linda Pitts, who has shown Pulik for years. She gets the absolute best out of each of her dogs. I love to watch both Bill and Taffe McFadden—they have almost opposite handling styles, yet the end result is often a win. (And keep an eye out for their son, Connor, who combines their styles beautifully.) Another role model is Sue Huebner, a Puli breeder from Austra- lia. In the ring, Sue and her Puli would just float around the ring. There are so many more, including Larry Fenner, from whom I continue to learn about having a winning attitude.
Do I prefer to compete at specialties or at all-breed shows? While I like specialties, because there are so many great examples of my own breed as well as friends in the club, I guess I like that all-breed shows normally happen nearly every week. If we don’t win this week, there’s always next week.
Does the future look bright for owner-handlers? It looks bright in the sense that each year, the quality of both the dogs and the han- dling in owner-handler rings keeps getting better. At the same time, there is always the risk that judges who see dogs in the OH ring may figure they don’t need to look quite as closely at them in the regular Group ring. Clubs and judges need to fight that tendency.
The funniest thing I’ve ever experienced as an owner-handler? At an independent National Specialty, they had used double-sided tape on the ring matts and some of it got exposed. On an around, I stepped on the tape and went flying to the floor. My Puli thought that was funny, and I was ok. So we took off and completed our around. It was later I agreed with my dog that was funny, and if I could survive that, I was probably ready for pretty much anything in the ring.
JAN HARE
I live in Pickerington, Ohio, which is just outside of Columbus. My breed is the Weimaraner, and I have had Weimaraners for 8+ years (before that, I had German Shorthaired Pointers).
Outside of dogs, I have bred, raised, and shown horses for over 30 years, including breeding and showing my own to national rank- ings. I am also a musician, and perform (trumpet) with a jazz group weekly. I work for a software company, and I do web design, and digital photo and video editing. I am also the webmaster for the Weimaraner Club of America website.
I have been competing as an owner-handler for eight years, since the start of the program.
Have you taken handling classes? Attended seminars on han- dling? I have taken a few handling classes, but the most valuable things I have learned were from various professional handlers who took pity on me when I started out. Although I have been showing for eight years, I still seek out advice from some handlers that I know and respect. (It seems every puppy I start showing requires different training and handling skills.) I always laugh and say I will need to show about 1,000 different dogs before I really feel I have a good “handle” on handling.
Do I compete in the AKC National Owner-Handled Series? Yes, I do. In fact, I rarely show at shows that do not offer the National Owner-Handled Series. It is very important to me and I like to show my support of the show committees that offer it by attend- ing their shows. My retired dog is the #1 Weimaraner in lifetime NOHS points.
164 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, JUNE 2020