I just found out that another 'friend' who never fails to compliment us on our grooming and handling has sent their dog out with another handler. In the grand scheme of things, it is not that big of a deal. It's a free country, hire whomever you want. BUT Don't ask us for pointers to help your handler, or ask us to transport, or help you make arrangements to transport, that dog across the country for you because that handler you hired just didn't get around to it.
We have had this happen in several breeds and it has gotten downright old.
We try to help everyone out, but maybe we should just be the a**holes and more people would hire the Multiple Best in Show, Multiple Best in Specialty Show, Multiple Number One Dog, Handler that I proudly call my husband.
Dave goes out of his way to help people, many of whom are in direct competition with us. We have transported dogs for other handlers and will continue to do so, but don't tell me how much you enjoy watching Dave show and love his grooming and rapport with the dogs, then give us an "oh, by the way, I hired so and so to show my dog." We are local, see you every weekend, you know we can get the job done without your dog having to go cross country to live in someone's kennel.
Just the latest in this line of requests was for us to transport a dog across the country to a handler who regularly shows her own dogs against the client dogs and stays on her own dog for the winner's ribbon. Many times these dogs are left unattended overnight, covered with a tarp at outdoor shows.
We only take on dogs in direct competition with each other with the concurrence of all owners.
All handlers have a 'pecking order.' If your handler is showing a top dog and there is a conflict with your class dog of another breed, what do you think they are going to do? If a handler has a top Herding Dog, let's say a Beardie for example, and you hire them to show your new Bouvier special and they take the breed with both dogs, who do you think they are going to stay on in the group and who is their Junior Handler Assistant going to show? Even when I first started in this 'sport' back in the early 90s, I couldn't understand why my friend would hire a well-known poodle handler to show her Bichon Special. The handler almost always took the breed with her Standard, a mini if she had one, and her toy. The handler would stay on the Standard, her #1 assistant was on the Mini, and that always left a junior or the owner on the Bichon. I don't get it.
Hire whomever you want people but think about it. How many dogs of that breed is the handler showing? How many breeds in that group? How many top dogs? How many assistants, or who shows the dogs when there is a conflict? Do they own/show dogs of your breed? Do they show them against the client dogs? Where do the dogs live when with the handler? How are they transported? Who takes care of the dogs between shows? If a handler refuses to answer these questions, they do not deserve to handle your dog.
