Junior Handling in Canada

By: Leslie Shaffer-Racine

                I had the privilege of watching the Ontario Zone 6 Junior Finals, in Woodstock, ON while I was on my Canadian dog show trip the past few weeks.  It was amazing to watch the difference in the handling skills at all the different levels and see the differences in rules and protocols for US junior showmanship and Canadian junior showmanship.

                One of the biggest differences is you don’t have to own the dog you show!  A lot of juniors that work for handlers get to chose one of the dogs the handler is showing (yes the owners know that their dog could be shown in junior showmanship). The junior usually gets a dog that might have just finished or is close to finishing.    The senior classes and Open Intermediate classes are sometimes asked to switch dogs just to see how the junior can handle a different breed.  Sometimes this is very difficult because if you have never shown that particular breed or the dog isn’t yet trained very well this might prove interesting for a young handler.  Don’t think it is easy because a Canadian junior can take anything in the ring they want.  They might very well get to take what they want but they must have the knowledge of the breed they are showing.  In regular competitions they judge can as you questions regarding your breed or just the particular dog.  In Zone Finals as I was watching you have a panel of 3 judges sitting right outside the ring that tell the 4^th judge inside the ring what to do.  The panel of 3 then gets time to ask the junior questions.  This may be done multiple times throughout the whole competition.  In Zone finals you are scored and then each class is given a runner up award and a first place award; all participants receive something.  Once the classes are complete the juniors come back in for the top junior award and the runner up award.  The panels of 3 judges give the juniors more tasks and ask a few more questions.  Those scores are then added to their previous scores and whoever the top two are, are then awarded with the top junior in that zone and the runner up winner for that zone.  Canada has multiple regions and zones.  Someone said they believe Ontario alone has 10 zones.

                The dog the junior shows in juniors must be entered in a class at the show.  If you have a specific dog you want to show that is retired from full time showing they have to be entered in Exhibition only.  Junior entries are taken the day of the show and close and hour before junior’s starts.  Juniors are usually at noon when a lot isn’t going on so more people can watch and it doesn’t conflict with other judging times.  The junior judge is chosen once the handlers get to the show.  It is usually a handler or steward that will be the judge.  In Canada juniors only have one competition during the circuit.  So unlike in the US that you can show 2 or 4 times during a circuit the juniors in Canada get 1 shot to show during each circuit.

                If an American does go to Canada and they are in the age range they are more than welcome to show in juniors as well.  You do not need a junior number or anything you will just fill out an entry once you are there and you are ready to compete.

                In some ways junior showmanship in Canada is much more laid back than in the United States.  But it seems to work well for them.  The juniors still learn an incredible amount and if anything they probably do know much more about breeds and what they are actually bred for.  

                I’ll leave you with a few example questions.  Test yourself and see if you could pass!

What group number is your breed in?

                What is the name of that group?

                How many teeth does a dog have?

                What are withers?

                What is Yellow grass?

The junior judging panel.  Left to right: Laurie Campbell, Ryan Wolfe, and Colin