An Honest Look at the National Owner-Handler Series

I am sure there will be those who read this and decide that I am anti-NOHS, and that I am saying amateur owner-handlers cannot win against the professionals.

Nothing could be further from the truth, but some people are always looking for something or someone else on which to place blame. I am simply trying to help people take an honest look at the National Owner-Handled Series and its place in our community. And, maybe, I have a higher opinion of what some in NOHS can do than even they do.

When I first became part of this community (in 1963), a common mantra — and something of which we were very proud — was that professionals and amateurs competed on a level playing field. In fact, there is not — and probably has never been — something that is a truly level playing field.

In the beginning years when dogs were bred and shown by kennel managers for the wealthy, money certainly played a factor in who got the best managers and the best dogs. (Has this changed?) Essentially, owner-handlers were an afterthought. In every element of life there is a certain degree of inequity, and we learn to live with that, adjust to it, or overcome it.

Even in sports, there is no real equality. Can the Chicago White Sox compete on a regular basis with the New York Yankees? Can the Colorado Rockies field a team equal to what has been bought and paid for by the Los Angeles Dodgers? As a youth I was a pretty darn good baseball player. I knew what must be done on the field, but I couldn’t do it as well as Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays or Duke Snider. The spirit was willing, but the talent level was not on their level.

According to the AKC, “more than 80 percent of show dogs are handled by their owners. To celebrate the dedication and enthusiasm of owner-handler exhibitors the American Kennel Club has created the new AKC National Owner-Handled Series.

“The AKC National Owner-Handled Series (NOHS) program was launched as a pilot program in January 2012. It was created to recognize and celebrate the dedication of owner-handlers in the conformation ring. The program allows owner-handlers to compete against their peers after Best of Breed judging.”

To be very honest (and some of you don’t want that), when the NOHS was established, there were many judges who expressed concern that AKC was stating that judges would not put up owner-handlers, and the integrity of all judges was being questioned. Let’s establish right now that just as there are some owner-handlers who are not as proficient as they might be, there are also many owner-handlers who are very competent, and compete very favorably with the best of the professionals.

Just as none of us was born as a judge, none was born as a professional handler. We all started out in the same place, although some had a stronger family involvement than others. There are owner-handlers today who definitely are good enough to be professionals if they ever decided they wanted to charge for their services, but many of these people have real jobs away from our community. 

And, by the way, judges are supposed to be judging the dogs — not the handler.

So, what are some of my concerns for those who compete in NOHS? My first concern is: Do you really know (and care about) your dog?

I am not simply talking about the quality of your dog. If you have a young large-boned dog who may often be the only entry of that breed or the only one entered in NOHS, is it good for your dog to be shown at least three times — often when the handler is feeling pressure and is stressed? Very often, the groups (regular and owner-handled) are shown back to back. So now you take this large, growing, young dog from one ring to the other, and it is obvious that the dog is tired, or frustrated, or stressed out.

It is times like these that we really miss match shows to help these young dogs work out any issues they may have. Regardless of size or breed, if your dog is just not ring-savvy and is still unsure and wary (or plain frightened), should you really be dragging him from ring to ring, without even giving him a chance to collect himself and get his nerves under control?

The flip side of the coin is the high-quality owner-handled dog that is competitive in any situation. I have seen a few such dogs go from the breed ring to the group ring — and win the group. Without any kind of break, this dog then was rushed to the NOHS group ring, where he won that group. Now the dog has to compete in two Best in Show lineups. How many times is this dog in the ring within a relatively short period of time? After a while, these dogs become bored or tired, and it shows in their attitude in the ring. Isn’t this supposed to be fun for the dog, too?

I recently awarded one such dog Group 1st in NOHS, and the owner asked me if she could have a picture taken a little later because she was rushing to the regular BIS ring. I said, “How about if you just give her a break? We can do the photo tomorrow.” At some point we need to worry more about the dog than about ribbons, photos or rankings. If you have a very competitive dog, maybe you need to decide in which group you want to compete.

My second concern for some of you who regularly compete in the National Owner-Handled Series is: What is your goal?

I have heard many say that they enter to try to win Owner-Handled Best of Breed so they can compete in the NOHS group ring. Why are you selling yourself short? Many of you have very good breed representatives, and can favorably compete for Best of Breed. Don’t buy into that BS that an owner-handler can’t win against the professional handler. Do your homework and show to judges who judge dogs and not handlers and take your best shot. If you then wind up winning NOHS Best of Breed, so be it. You have two opportunities to win.

I have very real concerns for the aggressiveness I have seen at times by those competing in NOHS. When an owner-handler does not win, blaming judges and professional handlers has been around for a long time. There have always been people who need others to blame, and who never look in the mirror. Is your dog groomed properly? Is your dog trained properly? Is it the fact that you jerk the dog back with every step you take causing him to look like a poor mover? To Thine Own Self Be True!

I have also had a competitor in the Owner-Handled group ring yell at me because she said that the dog to whom I was awarding a Group 1st did not qualify as owner-handled. How was I supposed to know that? If that were true, it needed to be addressed with the AKC representative — not me.

Know the rules. I had an owner-handler claim that I didn’t have all the owner-handled-qualified dogs go back into the ring to compete against each other. Well, the dog I had awarded Best of Breed was entered in — and still qualified for — the NOHS competition. This dog was the automatic winner. There was no need to go any further. It’s fine to be competitive — we all are. But it is not OK to be aggressive — and to be aggressively wrong!

Finally, let’s remember why we are doing this. The NOHS competition gives you two opportunities to enjoy your dog and have fun. You should be enjoying and having fun with your dog. If this is not you, it is mirror-time. If you are spending the money, doing all that driving, working hard to get your dog in condition, and competing in the ring for a 25-cent piece of cloth, find something else to do. Enjoy your dog. Enjoy being part of this community. That’s what this is supposed to be about.

What do you think?