The Conversation at the Top is Different: Finding a Mentor

Christian Rutten with one of his top winning Golden Retrievers.

Breeder-handler Christian Rutten joins host Laura Reeves to encourage new exhibitors and breeders in finding a mentor.

“I think the biggest mistake people make is they cut corners,” Rutten said. “They find the people who are sitting and just have a lot of downtime because they’re easy to talk to. But what you need to do is go to the top. The conversation at the top is different.

“Everybody’s collaborating ‘who can do this for what and what reason.’ The conversation at the bottom is usually, ‘it’s crooked… Oh, my dog is perfect and that one isn’t.’

“I would say that the most successful breeders of any breed are way more critical on their own dogs than there are of anybody else’s. When they say, you know, my dog is the greatest that’s ever been and the other one only wins because of who shows it, that’s problematic.

“You need to be self -reflective about what is this dog’s strength and weaknesses. And you know what? If you go ask a judge, right, you lost and you aren’t sure why. And you go ask the judge and the judge says, well, he didn’t ask for it on the day or the other dog showed better or whatever it is. I just discard that.

“When they say, you know, I wish your dog had a little better shoulder, a little bit shorter back, you could use a little bit stronger muzzle, and gets into the finite details, those are the people whose words you hang on, and from there you move forward. So look for the people who are extra critical first, not angry because they lost, but extra critical. And I think if you approach any judge from a standpoint of questioning, ‘what was it that you liked about the other dog better than my dog today,’ they’ll be honest with you.

Christian started at ground zero in Junior Showmanship and worked his way up through the ranks.

“Where do you start from ground zero? First thing, anybody, whether you’ve done dogs for 20 years or you’re just starting, go to YouTube and look at Dog Steps. It’s not breed specific, right? It’s just about basic anatomy and how it works in motion.

“The other thing is attend the largest specialties and the nationals that you can and see a broad array (of dogs). If your breed has an illustrated standard, keep that. Go and you seek out those breeders that are just kind of next level. A, I want you to seek out the best breeder there is. B, trust their judgment. But C, be happy if you don’t have the Best in Show winner because when you get handed that Best in Show winner on a golden platter, you cannot figure out what it takes to make it.

“I wrote a thing one time that says sacrifices are made in the whelping box to preserve and protect individual pieces, not to breed just for winners, right? And that’s the thing. Talk to your breeder, what are the health issues that you face and how are you kind of navigating that in your breeding program?

“There’s a fine line between discarding everybody’s opinion and asking everyone and absorbing as much knowledge as you can. There’s 20 ways to get to the bus stop, but getting on the bus and going to your destination is on you.”