.com Forum · Real Show Dogs

So, I have a little dilemma. I currently handle many breeds, and show my own GSD. But, he is still too young and not seasoned enough to be a reliable juniors dog. Do I work hard with him? Yes. Is he coming along? Yes, quite a bit every day. Do I think I can get him there in a year or so? Absolutely. But, a year from now, I'll be very close to aging out. You could say that I'm pretty closes as it is. So, I need a juniors dog, and I need one soon. I took 5 years to focus on the breed ring, but few people I've worked with have been stressing to me that becoming involved in juniors again is really important. I'm all for it, but the potential issue is that the dog cannot be live in. My household simply wouldn't support adding another dog. But, I could work with dog a lot at shows, and if they live within an hour or so from me, I could work with the dog fairly often with no problem. I know there are several "push button" dogs out there that will shows for just about anyone. Opinions? Does anyone have any experience with this?

I actually disagree with you about the best juniors having `push button` dogs. What skill is showcased by simply posing with a made dog? I`ve seen some amazing wins with dogs who shut down and their handler had to work at producing the right picture. That being said, I know many breeders who are always looking for a good junior to take their dog along to all the shows since many of them have jobs and other dogs, litters, etc that prevent them from being away at shows every weekend. Of course, they are usually looking in the junior ring for that handler and not the breed ring so your friends are quite right that you should be showcasing your skills in the juniors ring. Good luck!

Interesting. That's nice to know, but I've never witnessed, nor have I experienced it. Every juniors competition I've ever seen or competed in, the winners ALWAYS have finished champions that could practically show themselves without a handler. The people with dogs who act up, or aren't on their best behavior, get placed dead last, and were scolded by the judge at the end of the competition. So, I suppose that could give you a picture of why I didn't want to be involved in it. It's good to know that there are considerate juniors judges out there that can appreciate a handler trying their best with a difficult dog.

I recently aged out of juniors. I showed in juniors for a little over a year, ranked top 5 Non-sporting, multiple BJH ect ect ect. I started with a Standard Poodle, groomed, trained and conditioned all by myself, no help. I finished with a Keeshonden, he was trained and finished as a pup but when I brought him out he was far from push button. I had to work very hard with him and eventually judges thought he was so well trained that they placed me last because my dog was "too easy". Here's my advice;

FACEBOOK! Its GREAT for networking. We have a page on Facebook called "AKC juniors" and people post there all the time looking to place a dog with a junior, or trying to find juniors to meet with them at shows. But as far as push button vs non-push button. Its different for every judge. Some judges prefer to see juniors struggle and try very hard, while some judges could care less, and sometimes they put up push button dogs. But here's the problem with that term. No one truly has a "push button" dog. I've seen a little girl take in a multi BIS winner, top 20 all breed hound and she looked horrible with it, while she looked great on a retired and stubborn PWD...Judges are more going to look for a connection between the junior and the dog.

My question for you. Why are you showing in juniors? Are you wanting to be ranked? Are you planning to handle professionally? Are you doing it for fun? Be honest, nothing wrong with doing it to be ranked or to win...

Wow! Poodles are a pretty difficult breed to groom and keep up. Mine is per qualify, so she won't be shown. I suppose she could be my guinea pig for grooming when I find someone to teach me poodles

I actually am already a part of that group! I think we're already friends on FB because I found you by accident LOL. I think you liked something from a mutual friend, and I recognized your Kees and poodle. I suppose I'll post something about my search for a non live-in juniors dog sometime this week.

I wish to show in juniors because I aspire to be a professional handler, and I feel like I've come really far. I think I could win pretty frequently now, I've put my entire life into dog shows, and not a day goes by that I don't do something to perfect my skills.

*pet quality

Forgive the typos.

It's ok. My Standard Poodle was pet quality as well. ( super small, neautered, no coat, 40 lbs etc ). If you are wanting to be a professional I suggest getting a dog somewhere in between. A difficult dog will build your skills but at the same time a dog that you can win with will get you seen. But no one will be impressed if the dog is a robot if that makes sense

That makes plenty of sense. Believe me, my GSD gives me all the difficult and stubborn that I can handle. As I mentioned, he is getting much better though. I think it's largely a puppy thing.

How popular is a non-live in juniors dog though?

I would say the majority of Juniors live with their dogs but certainly not all do. One of my Juniors dogs did not live with me and I did really well with him because we had an awesome bond/I worked with him a lot. There's no reason you couldn't succeed with a dog that doesn't live with you.

The whole push-button argument drives me nuts though. The vast majority of dogs aren't push-button for everyone and have become well trained show dogs through a lot of hard work on the part of the Junior. Most of the top Junior handlers back when I was a Junior actually had really difficult/quirky dogs, they just worked very hard with them. Besides, being handed an easy dog won't necessarily help you win and it certainly won't make you a better trainer/handler.

I wholeheartedly agree with you guys on the push button argument. It's just that all of my mentors and breeders I've spoken with all told me that a push button dog was a must. Actually, a reason I got out of juniors initially, was because all of the judges I showed to were clearly putting up push button dogs. Very discouraging to someone who had worked so hard with a young, slightly quirky dog.

My dogs are far from push button, but will work for ANYONE in a heartbeat. I actually hand them off to Juniors all the time! If one seems to click with that dog, I'm willing to co-own the dog with the Junior for the purpose of showing in Juniors, but I require a strict contract outlining the terms of co-ownership. Most of my current dogs are bitches, so it is understood that they live with me and may be bred at my discretion, sometimes with last minute decision if some health testing was pending and finally came back. I'm actually looking for someone to take my boy out now for experience, but he can sometimes melt in the overwhelming show environment. But the right person knows how to work with it and bring out the best in him. Otherwise, he stacks and stays for exam and freestacks like a fool, but far from push button!

My Juniors dog was a 170lb shortcoat Saint Bernard bitch. She was STUBBORN!! Made me work for every win we took together. She was push button.... but would fight me when it mattered! I remember the day we took 2nd in a very large Open Senior class. She was fighting me tooth and nail, even the judge commented how much she was misbehaving. I had to walk her into her freestack, guiding her head, after she refused to do it. She wouldn't hold still for her exam, and generally acted like a complete BRAT! Apparently, just working her through it all and trying my best to get the best out of my girl was worth the work for a pretty nice placement.

-Rose-

My oldest daughter showed in Jrs. One of her first shows (maybe second one, but again I am thinking it was her first try) She had to change dogs as her bitch came into heat. She showed my male who had been shown by only me (but not quirky about that). It had rained and when she did the out and back she slipped and fell down. She calmly got up (Flint wasn't bothered at all) and continued like nothing had happened. When the judge did the placements it appeared that Missy and Flint got 5th out of 5. Missy just put her head down and started walking out of the ring. I was hopping mad as I knew she did better then at least one of them but was hiding so Flint was not bothered if he saw me and didn't have a great view. The Judge came up to her and said something and Missy put her head up and walked over to the placements. Turns out she got 1st place. I really think the way she handled the fall was why they placed 1st. I am thinking she was 8 or 9 when it happened. So, what I am saying is it is not always push button dogs, but how the handler "handles" and the composure.