Question of the Week
Viv Koontz
Everett, Pennsylvania
I really enjoy competing in NOHS. It recognizes a good dog in breed, gives the amateur team a great place to gain group experience and allows our dogs to shine.
Paula Rambo
Summerfield, Florida
I have never been a fan for the following reasons:
1. It will NEVER finish a dog's championship. Nor should it.
2. It allows owner-handlers to think they are better than they actually are.
3. It allows judges to have an "out,” as they can award the owner-handler with a "bone" rather than a BOV, etc. I think it has hurt owner-handlers.
4. It holds up the judging of groups and is generally a nuisance to the majority of those competing and professionals.
5. It is an additional expense to clubs and an overall unwelcome distraction.
6. Many of the owner-handlers are unable to handle the competition, and it has led to feuding and acrimony.
Betty-Anne Stenmark
President, Del Valle Dog Club
Grass Valley, California
Del Valle Dog Club was happy to be one of the first shows chosen for the new experimental NOHS regional program, highlighting owner-handlers. Glenn Lycan and his AKC staff were extremely helpful to us in hosting this new event. It was a learning curve for all of us.
We got a good entry of owner-handlers for the event and saw some breeds we'd not seen before at our shows — definitely some new people having a look at Del Valle and our shows. The feedback was positive. A big question from exhibitors was how to avoid conflicts so all the owner-handlers could be assured of getting their dog into the regular classes as well as the owner-handled event. To manage this, we scheduled our own show, and that worked. Extra work for sure, but well worth doing.
Financially we came out at a wash. We'd hoped for better, but then entry numbers on the West Coast have not recovered as much as they have elsewhere.
I think this program has some good possibilities for the future. Anything to encourage more exhibitors participating in our sport is a good thing.
Diana Smiley
Santa Rosa, California
I think it was a good idea when it started, but now the owner-handlers are becoming too pushy. Why do they think they should get everything the regular groups get when it's just an extra class of recognition? It is like any other extra class, like Bred-by Exhibitor or Veteran or Best Puppy. You don't pay extra for it, so don't expect extra. Why should the club pay for two different prizes for the owner-handlers? Take the recognition and be happy about it. If it gets too expensive, it may have to be dropped altogether, to save the clubs’ treasuries.
I am not prejudiced against owner-handlers. I don't think any large prizes should be awarded to any groups, except for specialties in your own breed. Do you enter to get prizes or do you enter to get results, whether it be the owner’s own ego or just fun at the shows?
Marlene Groves
Ramah, Colorado
The NOHS series has helped clubs with entries, as it does support owner-handlers ... It gives owner-handlers a lane to drive in with the NOHS groups, which are a bit less intimidating, and it seems judges are now more supportive of the NOHS groups as well. (Initially some judges were less than thrilled about them.) Overall, NOHS has had a very positive impact for the sport, the owner-handlers and clubs!
That said, one thing I am seeing A LOT now: Many, many people SIGNING ON OWNERS. So a person collects a “STRING OF DOGS” to show in NOHS, and that truly seems wrong … In discussions I have had, people feel it is becoming the playground for the wanna-be professional handlers. I believe we need to get the NOHS-program ground rules to where they are actually for the OWNER. (And dare I say the real owner who the dog lives with — not one of 10 people who claims a name stake in a dog.)
On another subject, I would like to mention we need to add Junior Showmanship regional events, like the NOHS regional events! I’d sure like to hear thoughts from others on this.
Jan Dykema
St. Helena, California
In 2018 I made a proposal to the board of directors of the Bull Terrier Club of America regarding the NOHS, which was not getting much attention. The proposal included recognizing the top NOHS in both our varieties: colored and white. The two top winners were to receive a check for $200, a lovely plaque commemorating the win and a photo in The Record, our annual publication.
I am happy to say the proposal was heartily accepted and passed, and the award has been presented every year since 2018 at our annual Silverwood weekend. The NOHS is very important to Bull Terrier owners, as our dogs are almost 100 percent owner-handled. (Have you seen us in the ring? LOL.) It is my hope that the series will continue far into the future and encourage more people to show dogs.
Nancy Edmunds
Bowman, Georgia
I think it is a waste of time and effort. One dog should go to groups, and if people don't like showing against pro handlers, get better at handling or get a better dog. It's babying complainers.
Deborah Reed
Holly Hill, South Carolina
I like it. It would be nice if owners could earn championship points in the NOHS group competitions. It would be an incentive for greater participation.
Reginal Jose
Birmingham, Michigan
The biggest problem with NOHS are the requirements for judges. This tends to take away from the validity of the results. Approval requirements need to be changed.
I understand that it is an additional expense for the clubs and believe that there should be an additional charge for checking the NOHS box.
It also wouldn’t hurt for the AKC rep to go over a judge’s picks with them and ask why they were made.
The only way to improve the judging is to critique the selections with the standards.
Christie Martinez
Gig Harbor, Washington
Often the regular groups are delayed because the breed winner is still in the NOHS ring. And often they place in the group or even win it. Yippee! I remember a show last year at which an owner-handler, new to the dog world, won a Group 1st two of the three days with her Afghan Hound. She also got a NOHS Group 1st one day and a Group 2nd another. The applause rocked the building, and the professional handlers cheered her on as well. To me, it was one of the best feel-good moments of the year.
Several of my good friends who are also judges show their own dogs in NOHS and are just as proud of their wins/standings in NOHS as in the regular groups.
To learn and grow through NOHS is a great opportunity for both handler and dog. I wish it had been around 20 years ago.
William I. Christensen
Palm Springs, California
In Southern California, it has become a farce. Owners pick up their trained and groomed dogs from professional handlers just prior to the judging and return them afterward. If you know which professional handlers are attending the show, you know not only who will win the regular group but also, recently, the owner-handled group.
John Arvin
Barnegat, New Jersey
I think it’s been good for the sport. In 1991, I submitted a resolution to the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of the United States to create an owner-handler program for the club. I developed the program, oversaw its implementation, and watched the program grow. It’s been hugely successful, and I was very happy to see AKC follow in our footsteps.
The program encourages people to become more active, both with their dogs and in the sport. That can only be beneficial.
As a judge, I’ve always enjoyed judging the NOHS Hound Group at shows and have found the quality of both dogs and handlers has markedly improved since the program’s inception.
Jay Phinizy
Acworth, New Hampshire
It’s OK, but there is nothing quite like competing with professional handlers; one learns fast. We were fortunate to learn from a really good gundog handler, Martha Thorne, in the late ’70s/early ’80s. She was a contemporary of cool folks like Mike Billings. Martha wrote a book on handling and exhibition; now out of print, it was laced with great stories and was the equivalent at the time of the “Joy of Cooking.”