The very first thing I want to say about Junior Handling is that any child can exhibit in Junior Handling at AKC sanctioned shows with a purebred dog that is spayed or neutered. A Junior Handler wants to exhibit a nicely groomed and structurally sound purebred dog, but many families have children that would like to try Junior Handling, but have no desire to breed or keep an intact dog. Both AKC and CKCSC have sanctioned shows that include Junior Handling and if you have a child that would like to try this sport I recommend finding a breeder that will place a quality puppy with you that has proper temperament to show and show with a junior handler versus an adult handler. In Junior Handling the dog is NOT being judged. In Junior Handling the handler is being judged on how well they are able to present and manage their dog in the ring. Therefore, you want to have a nice purebred dog that is structurally sound, but your dog can be spayed or neutered and also be your family pet as well.

I recommend if you have a child interested in Junior Handling that you first get a nice purebred pet or maybe you already have a nice purebred adult dog and allow your child to begin there. Many people decide they want to do something, jump in and have no idea what they are really looking for. From a breeders position, we see many families with good intentions of going into Junior Handling to find their child ages another year and is more interested in friends and school activities and no longer wants to be in the ring. As a breeder, we do not want to place our best offspring in a situation where they might not be able to complete the goals once set. Therefore, start with a nice purebred dog and let your breeder know your intentions, but also let her know you are wanting to spay or neuter your dog as well and ultimately it will be a family pet if the junior showing does not work out. A breeder will still be able to help match you with the best puppy for your situation and give you a wonderful start into junior handling. Then if your child really enjoys junior handling and decides after a year or so they would like to have a better purebred dog you will have more knowledge under your belt to help you find your second dog. While Cavalier King Charles Spaniels make wonderful show dogs, I do know that many junior handlers seek out purebred dogs that require more management in the ring on the part of the junior handler to try to gain more points. A junior handler showing a Bloodhound takes a lot more work than a junior handler showing a Cavalier. It is very important to give your junior handler time in the ring to learn before you really put a lot of money into a dog.

There are also breeders out there that would probably be happy to loan a nice dog at local shows if it is a show they attend each year. Junior handlers have great success when they get with a local breeder and help out at the local dog shows along side a breeder.

Check out www.onofrio.com and look at the local dog show listings. Figure out what dog shows are in your area and when. Attend the local dog shows and introduce yourself to breeders and handlers in the grooming areas and let them know that you are wanting to get involved in junior handling and if they live in your area then you might be able to offer your assistance to them at the local dog shows. At first you might just bring dogs to ring side for the adult handler, but over time there will always be conflicts that arise when two dogs need to be shown at the same time and this is where junior handlers can lend a tremendous amount of help to adult handlers. Junior handlers cannot be paid in any way so it does become a volunteer job on the junior handler even if the adult handler is charging fees for dogs in their possession to be shown. This is just how the dog show world operates. Most top handlers grew up as a junior handler so they do understand the volunteer efforts that junior handlers do make in order to learn the art of becoming a good dog handler.

I hope my grandaughter, Kylie, will someday show interest in becoming a junior handler and if she does we will be able to add more information to this page and elaborate more about the art of junior handling.