81 – Social Media Challenge from Randy Benns and Luke Baggenstos

Social Media Challenge

Randy Benns and Luke Baggenstos are both members of the Professional Handler’s Association.

Luke Baggenstos

Luke literally was born into dogs. His parents and stepmother are all dog people. He worked for dad, Rick, and stepmom Dinah, both PHA handlers, and followed in their footsteps. In fact, the bulk of his extended family are “in dogs.” His wife, Rowan, is the daughter of Canadian Akita, Shiba Inu & Japanese Chin breeder Susan Norris-Jones. His brother is married to professional handler, Jen Holmberg.

I began in dogs at birth. My parents bred and showed Old English Sheepdogs and Afghan Hounds. I first went into juniors at a Fun Match with my Afghan at the ripe old age of 4. Needless to say I was hooked. As soon as I was old enough I participated in junior handling, showing my mother’s Afghans. My parents divorced when I was 11 but I continued to attend shows even when my mom did not. I would travel to the shows and work for my Dad, Rick, and Stepmom, Dinah. I apprenticed for 13 years with them. In the mean time I also put myself through school earning my Associates degree in Business Management. I then went to work at New England Financial and then Met Financial but I missed the dogs too much. I quit a great Career to be a dog handler, a job I truly love,” Luke says.

Randy Benns

Randy is “first generation” dog man who, with wife Lisa Haney, is a noted all-breed handler. In his words, he started in dogs because someone told him he couldn’t. He started with chow chows in the late 1980s. He graduated from University of Utah with a degree in political science.

Later Randy apprenticed under the renowned all-breed judge, Dorothy Nickles. Over the years he’s shown top ranked Beagles, Giant Schnauzers, American Staffordshire Terriers and, more recently, American Eskimo Dogs.

Social Media, Dog Shows and Instant Influence

Luke and Randy tackle the thorny issue of social media and how it impacts the purebred dog fancy.

Luke is not a “Social media superstar,” but participates. Randy is a strong opponent of the medium. We hear from each side of the aisle as these two opinionated friends share their thoughts.

Take a minute to really think about their common message…. If you won’t say it to somebody’s face directly, *don’t* write it for 1000 of your “closest” friends to read….

As always, we’d love to hear from you! Share YOUR thoughts on ways our sport can improve… with or withOUT social media!

Tagged

80 – Steve Gladstone: In His Words

Tagged

79 – Valerie Nunes-Atkinson Handling Seminars: Ready to Handle Like a Pro?

Valerie Nunes-Atkinson

Best known for CJ and his Westminster win, Valerie is a 2nd generation breeder with the passion for handling, training, breeding, and conditioning show dogs.

Pay It Forward – Handling Seminars for Owner Handlers and Juniors

Valerie has a deep love for her dogs, and a deep love for her sport. She is focused on a Pay-It-Forward future by training owner-handlers and juniors in international handling seminars.

Dispel the “Owner Handler Cannot Compete” Belief

For those who want to raise their game, for those ready to dispel the owner handler cannot compete belief, for those who will work to win on a consistent basis; Valerie is ready to help.

Professional Handlers do this 24 hours a day!

One of the drawbacks of the owner handler and frequent complaints from the judges is lack of conditioning. The seminars are not just how to hold your lead, but how to condition, train, and prepare for the ring.

Puppy Training or How to Raise a Rock Star Show Dog

Puppy training starts at birth and the time, effort, dedication, and persistence required evolves from the time that they are puppies. With a horse background, Valerie trains carriage and outline on her dogs.

Lead Breaking Tip

Train in circles, moving only to the right… Never lead break in a straight line. The puppy should bend and flex around you. After two or three circles, end with the dog facing straight towards you and looking at you. Don’t pull!!! Use treats or sounds to keep him engaged.

Breeders and Exhibitors

Dog shows are intended to evaluate breeding stock. But today, not everyone that shows are interested in breeding.

Some just like to own and show and this group of exhibitors are both welcome and deserve respect.

But encouragement is needed to help interest exhibitors to become breeders. For without our breeders, we will lose our dogs.

Tagged

78 – Litter Evaluation Workshop: Recorded LIVE with Laura Reeves

Litter Evaluation Workshop: Recorded LIVE with Laura Reeves

Puppy litters are our hopes, dreams, and a bit of mystery for dog breeders. Every litter is a chance to get it right, to learn a little more about our breeding selections.

Picking the Right Puppy

Our second challenge as breeders is picking the right puppy. At 8 weeks, puppies are full of potential, and sometimes the best one gets away.

Laura Reeves suggests learning how to evaluate puppy litters with puppies that you are not emotionally attached to. Avoid the heart string decisions. Ask for every opportunity on breeds that are not your own, with master breeders to guide you.

Structure, Temperament, and Breed Standard Evaluation

In this workshop, two distinct breeds are evaluated – Smooth Fox Terrier and Wire Haired Dachshunds.

Please enjoy this workshop!

Tagged

77 – One Breed, One World: Think and Breed Global with Doug Johnson

One Breed, One World: Think and Breed Global with Doug Johnson

STUMP – PHOTO COURTESY OF DOUG JOHNSON

One Breed, One World

Doug Johnson started at a young and impressionable age of 15, and attributes his “no bias” mentality to his youth.

Pursuit in quality is the top priority in working in small gene pools and shrinking gene pools are a factor that even popular breeds are facing. Pursuit in quality means that there is “no bias” towards or against the kennel or “camp” that the dog is associated with.

Doug Johnson breeds by physical trait, dogs that look alike or resemble each other regardless of the pedigree.

We use science as a tool, but breeding is an art

Genetic testing is a must-use tool, especially when breeding internationally.

Search the Globe

Search the globe and exchange dogs internationally. Consider building bridges by exchanging dogs with top international breeders for a second or third generation “puppy back”.

We can’t be be island breeders anymore.

Resist Fashion

Resist the “Americanization of Show Dogs” fashion trend. Dogs are bred to standards and should look and be the same everywhere. The English Springer Spaniel in the U.S. for example, has lost proper croup for a “showier” presentation in the ring.

Test and Tell

Yes, Test AND TELL!!! It’s not about you. Small gene pools cannot survive without the sharing of test results, good and bad. As genetic testing improves, the necessity for greater understanding, education, communication and reliance on other breeders is needed. The perfect dog without a specific recessive gene may be in Australia, or Germany or even Russia.

Look at the success of the African Basenji Project featured in Pure Dog Talk #67.

Drop the Ego

Don’t believe the press. You’re top winning dog may not be the best example of your breed. You may have had better dogs in the past, and this is just the best one at this time.

Want success for other people. Keep every door open and commit to lifelong learning.

Elevate who you are and be honest about your animals.

Be Grateful

Above all, be grateful. Be grateful for others and grateful for our dogs and what they give us all.

CLUSSEXX SPANIELS

Tagged

76 – Bo Bengtson and Paul Lepiane: History and Future of Dog Show Competition

Bo Bengtson and Paul Lepiane: The History and the Future of Dog Show Competition

Paul and Bo, whippet breeders and publishers of several magazines, share their thoughts on breed drift and the past, present and future of dog shows in this wide ranging, thoughtful interview.

We discuss why some breeds drift *a lot* and others it’s barely noticeable. Bo shares ideas he focused on while authoring the book, Best in Show: The World of Show Dogs and Dog Shows.

Primarily that history informs the current day and helps us understand our world.

http://www.sighthoundreview.com

http://www.poodlevariety.com

DO YOU KNOW BO BENGTSON

Tagged

75 – Edd Bivin: Take the Lead and AKC Judge

Edd Bivin: Dedicated to the Sport of Dogs

From Pomeranians to prestigious judge at Westminster and National Events, Mr. Bivin contributes to the sport through the Take the Lead Foundation. Listen to episode 75 as he shares his history and dedication with Laura Reeves.

Edd E. Bivin, of Fort Worth, Texas, acquired his first purebred dog, a Pomeranian bitch, at age 12. This introduced him to the sport of dogs and became the foundation of a breeding program that led to his breeding and exhibiting top-winning Poms. Additionally, he says, “My wife Irene and I enjoyed the breeding and exhibiting of Doberman Pinschers and Dachshunds during her lifetime.”

Mr. Bivin first judged toy dogs at match shows at the age of 15. He was approved to judge Pomeranians at U.S. championship point shows in 1961 and is today approved for all sporting, working, terrier, toy, and non-sporting breeds, and several herding breeds. “It has been my privilege to judge many all-breed and specialty shows in the United States and abroad,” he says, “among those being many of the internationally famous ones–Best in Show at Westminster, 1999. A great joy has been the judging of many national specialty shows of various breeds in the groups for which I am approved.”

Mr. Bivin is chairman of Take the Lead, a charitable organization for people in the sport. “It is a way for me and others to give back to a sport from which we have taken so much.” He served for 32 years as an administrator at Texas Christian University, with 18 of those years spent as Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services.

Tagged

74 – Eugene Blake: International Judge and Best Dressed Gentleman

Eugene Blake – International Judge

Eugene Blake is always dapper in appearance, impeccable in style, and a smile full of life and joy.

He is a lovely judge to show under, a man of extensive dog knowledge, and a willing mentor for new exhibitors in the show ring.

In this interview, Eugene shares his history, fascination and love of dogs. Don’t miss the in-depth Sighthound Review article written by Bo Bengtson.

Professional Handler to AKC and International Judge

I started working with dogs in 1954 as a dog bather at a French Poodle Shop in Houston, Texas. I attended my first dog show in 1955 and then decided I wanted to show dogs.

I became an All-Breed licensed handler in 1968. I showed dogs professionally for some 33 years, then, I retired, and became a judge. During that time, I bred Poodles, Cocker Spaniels, Italian Greyhounds, Maltese, Yorkshire Terriers, Salukis, and Afghan Hounds. I never bred more than 4 litters of any of one breed. As a handler I helped many of my clients with their breeding programs, including choosing studs, and picking puppies.

I started judging in 1990, with the Hound Group. Since that time I have added the Sporting Group, Toy Group, and Non-Sporting Group. I judge 4 Groups: Best in Show, Junior Showmanship, and Miscellaneous. I have judged in Australia, Canada, Finland, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, Taiwan, and Thailand. As of now, I judge between 60 and 70 shows a year. AKC Biography

Tagged

73 – Dog Grooming: Back to Basics for Better Coats

Grooming Back to Basics for Better Coats

Grooming is as important a part of successful conformation presentation as handling. It doesn’t matter how gifted you are, you can’t make a silk purse out of sow’s ear in the 10 minutes you’re in the ring. It takes work. In many cases untold HOURS of hard work.

For today we’re just going to talk about some basic maintenance and at home care. Breed specific grooming, ring prep and favorite product recommendations will all be covered in later epidsodes.

Coat Care

Coat care is as individual as the breed. Double coated, single drop coats, hand stripping, scissoring, short smooth coats, short double coats, long fine hair, long coarse hair, curly hair. No matter what breed and coat type you’re working with, you need to have a routine and a plan. Hair is a renewable resource but it also requires loving care and maintenance. Those stunning, shiny dogs don’t just happen by accident!

Establish a Routine

Pick a day that is dedicated to dog grooming or assign a time each day to one part of the process. EVERY dog needs nails trimmed, teeth and ears checked and cleaned, coat brushed and a good bath and dry. If you have a Komondor this is a whole lot different game than if you have a whippet! Plan accordingly. Your dog’s success is dependent on the time and dedication you put in to this process.

Brushing the Coat

Brushing a dog to the skin is critically important to keeping the skin and hair coat healthy. A couple rules that apply, especially in drop coated breeds, NEVER BRUSH DRY HAIR! A light mist of conditioning spray as you brush will help minimize breakage and damage to the coat.

We have far too many different coat types to focus on just one, but I do want to touch on the heavily coated breeds. Please, I beg of you (as does every professional groomer) learn how to properly brush your dog. Start at the bottom of the dog (ie the feet), pull the coat up with one hand and brush down with the other. Literally, this might be a half inch section at a time to start with. Make sure that you SEE the skin and that the brush is actually *touching* the skin…. The best way to check your work is to run a comb through each section when you’re done brushing. If the comb doesn’t reach the skin and pull through easily, you have more work to do.

Now, whether you use a pin brush or slicker brush for this task depends on coat type and condition, and, to a degree, personal preference. Be VERY sure that you are brushing *through* the coat, not “flicking” your wrist… This also will help prevent breakage.

Train the Dog for Grooming

One thing I think folks forget is that grooming is something for which we train the dogs just like any other skill. Starting your puppy out as soon as it comes home with a quick trip to the grooming table each week for some kisses and treats, handling feet and mouth, rubbing and touching all over gradually increasing the time and attention as they get older and require more effort will pay HUGE dividends in the long run with a dog who sits, stands or lies quietly on the table instead of shrieking like a banshee and thrashing wailing biting lunging etc. A dog who is started early, consistently maintained and properly trained for grooming will enjoy the time and special attention. One that is 6 months old or more when it’s started might fight the process and often “learns” that the table is to be hated. Which means your life just got more difficult and the dog is less liable to win because the grooming process is such a nightmare it’s just easier to not do a thorough job.

Don’t forget, even dogs with short, smooth, single coats need weekly brushing with a good bristle brush to keep dead hair coming out to be replaced by new and to make sure the skin is healthy and its natural oils are distributed through the coat.

The Dreaded Toe Nails

Toe nail maintenance is regarded as the bane of dog grooming existence by far too many people. It really, really isn’t as hard as you think it is. A couple important tips will help you move through this in a flash.

First, just like brushing, start early and stay on top of it. This is part of your weekly ritual with your dog. If you keep the nails down short, the dog feels better, walks better, grows up on it’s feet and pasterns better.

Second, DO NOT BE NERVOUS!!! If you’re scared, and worried and overly dramatic about this horrible task, the dog will be also!!! Stay calm, cool and collected, from the very beginning and that attitude will pass to your dog. I understand you don’t want to hurt the dog. That’s good! But you are MUCH more likely to quick a dog that’s flailing and blowing its anal glands because it’s so freaked out because you are terrified you might make it bleed.

So, stop. Just, stop. If you have a puppy, start it out right. If you have an older dog that already has issues, go back to your own job, which is to be the dog’s fearless leader. It isn’t scary to the dog if it isn’t scary to you.

You can manage your fear by learning safe and simple techniques for trimming nails. Whether you use a nail clipper or a grinder, understand that the quick, the part that makes the dog bleed, is always going to be *behind* the curve of the nail… In other words, closer to the dog’s body. You can also look at the bottom of the foot and see under the nail… You will see the little triangle of fleshy stuff that stops (the nail bed) while the actual nail continues growing. This works for clear or dark nails. You should trim or grind right up to the quick without touching it in order to keep the nails a good length (My 4-H leader used to make us slide a dime under the toenails of a dog standing up on a smooth surface to make sure they were short enough… I like to keep them shorter than that, but to be honest, as long as they aren’t touching the floor they aren’t harming the dog’s health.)

So, you know where the quick ends. You know that you are going trim in front of it. So you can relax, take a deep breath and calmly zip zip zip through those toenails. Suddenly this is not the most feared of all dog grooming tasks!

Bathing

Next it’s time for a bath. A couple important notes. DO NOT bathe a matted dog… All that does is tighten the mats. Always brush first, then bathe. Again, frequency of this depends on your breed. For MOST breeds (ie NOT wire coated dogs, not corded dogs, etc) a bath once a week in tepid water with gentle shampoo and light conditioner is the right answer. This will change if you are keeping a dog in oil, if you want to hold coat on a double coated dog (bathe it in cold water), if you want to get the coat OUT of a double coated dog (bathe in very warm water), etc. The single most important part of the bath, no matter coat or breed, is to RINSE RINSE RINSE!!! shampoo residue is one of the top causes of skin irritation, dull coats and even hot spots. I tell the kids to rinse until you think you’re done, then rinse again.

Drying

Again, just like rinse rinse rinse, we have DRY DRY DRY!!! A damp dog makes mats, hot spots, cold tail, curly hair where it should be straight, etc. Towel drying the pointer is fine. Not so much for the poodle. Some breeds seem to take a lifetime to dry, others you can zoom through it. In all cases, coated dogs should be brushed and dried at the same time. This again keeps the circulation going in the skin, removes dead coat, reduces drying time and even helps train the hair lie to a certain direction. Same as rinsing, dry until you think you’re done, then check armpits, undercarriage, behind ears, etc …. and dry some more.

OK, there you go crew. Time to define a plan of action and set it in motion. Whether you’re working with a new baby or overcoming some bad habits, regular maintenance grooming at home will improve your dog’s appearance and make him shine in the show ring.

Best of luck at the summer shows and we’ll catch you on the flip side.

Tagged

72 – Steve Gladstone: AKC Board of Directors and Cardigan Welsh Corgis

Steve Gladstone – AKC Board of Directors and Cardigan Welsh Corgis

AKC Judges Biography

Steven D. Gladstone, of Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, sits on the AKC Board of Directors. He has bred and shown Cardigan Welsh Corgis under the Aragorn prefix since 1974, earning more than 100 AKC titles in nearly every aspect of the sport in which a Cardigan can compete. One of their most cherished memories was winning BOB at the 1984 AKC Centennial Show in Philadelphia under the noted Cardigan fancier Dr. Ed McGough. The Gladstones have also owned Norwegian Elkhounds, German Shepherd Dogs, and Australian Shepherds.

Mr. Gladstone began judging match shows in the late 1970s and was first approved to judge Cardigans in 1988. He now judges the Herding and Working groups and five hound breeds. Judging trips have included assignments in New Zealand, England, Canada, and most recently, Saint Petersburg, Russia. He also judged the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship show in 2003 and 2005.

Mr. Gladstone has been AKC Delegate from the Reno Kennel Club since 1999. Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone are members of the Cardigan Welsh Corgi Club of America, and each has served on the club’s board of directors over the years. They are also longtime members of the Pocono Mountain Kennel Club and the Penn Ridge Kennel Club, both in Pennsylvania.

Before serving as a Delegate, Mr. Gladstone represented members of the fancy for 15 years as their attorney. Those representations concerned most every possible problem that can arise in the sport, from disciplinary matters to judges’ applications to registrations, club relations, and studbook discrepancies. Through his experience in this field, Mr. Gladstone is “proud to have helped reshape the AKC Discipline Bylaws,” which he feels gives the fanciers “a truly fair and equitable disciplinary system.”

Tagged