In a message dated 2/13/02 1:52:12 PM US Mountain Standard Time, chrissy_mcconnell@hotmail.com writes:
We have been considering, the last few months, putting a dog or two with a This is an excellent subject! It should elicit some interesting ideas. Yours are two good reasons to put a handler on your dogs, although you won't get any better at handling yourself unless you just get out there and do it. We just had one dog out with handler for most of the year, and it took about that long previous to doing it to decide who and if.. If I were you I would look for a handler that has the following qualities: * Reputation - this is the most important, and I don't mean a reputation for winning - I mean a reputation for taking excellent care of the dogs. Inspect the truck that the dogs travel in, the crates that will be used, the facilites at home - is it safe, is it clean, is it cared for? You don't want your dog in a broken down truck on the side of a major freeway. You don't want your dog escaping from weak fences at the kennel, you don't necessarily want your dog boarded with a strange dog. * Assistants - who are they, are they and the handler familiar with Pyr grooming, or a similar coat type at least? Are the assistants helpful? Are they willing to talk to you and do they listen? They are the ones who will probably be feeding and grooming and walking your dog. *Location - if they are close by, you could groom them, and then just have the handler take them for the weekend. That way you have more control over the situation, since they will be home MOST of the time. * Referral - can this handler give you names of others who have used his services and are happy? Are these people you know and trust? * How many dogs do they carry? I'd say anything above 5 or 6, they should have an assistant to help. I just went to a show alone with 5 dogs for the weekend, and it was WORK. I'd think it would be preferable to have a handler with fewer dogs. The best thing to do is to spend time at a show, meeting the handlers in their "work" setting. You may meet others who are using this handler who can give you some input. You might call ahead and let the handler know you will be at the show so they will be ready to meet you. Be aware, though, that they are working, and may have to run off here and there to show a dog. I am sure others have more ideas... will be interesting to hear what they are. Peggy |