Hypothetically, if you were at a Championship Show with your only, no CC/RCC show dog.

If this was your first show dog.

Your class is next when your breeder/someone you know comes up to you and says that you should let them handle your dog as they will get top honours for you if they do. They are a top breeder in the breed. One that nearly always has the CC or RCC. What would you do?

I would say that I would not accept as I would think that I could get it anyway if the judge is not biased on the handler. Also, I wouldn't want someone else to have that moment for me.

I would hope that, maybe after the class, they could show me what I was doing wrong so I could improve.

My girls won't handle for anyone else so no point. !!!
But hypothetically then no I would refuse. It would take away the fun for me.
Aileen

I would say that I would not accept as I would think that I could get it anyway if the judge is not biased on the handler

Such a common belief that some judges give it to the dog with the best known handler when in reality the very experienced handler will get the best out of the dog and therefore may do a lot better than the inexperienced or rubbish handler.

Assuming you were a reasonable handler then yes I would not accept.

Some dogs though show better for others, sometimes get a bit jaded, and especially for the breeder who they often remember and are really pleased to see.

It can be frustrating as the breeder to see a dog you have bred that has real potential badly handled, especially when it's better than the one you kept, yet you still mange to bet them.

With my second champion, a friend handled my bitch to her first CC, (I was handling her mother who got the RCC) and interestingly I handled her dog to his first also, as he tended to go into soppy I love Mummy 'obedience mode', instead of looking the stallion alert male..

Interesting. I am a good handler lol

This is very hypothetical as I haven't been to a champ show since Birmingham as qualified earlier and a puppy with a novice won't go far.

However as my dog is in Junior until April I will be doing champ shows mostly this year :)

A fairly good bitch was knocking on the door or CCs, owner just couldn't quite get there.
The bitch was sent to the top kennel in the country, campaigned relentlessly....NEVER got made up.

A ' friend thing' may get them a Crufts qualification but not too many judges will be so unaware of the animals virtues and the ringside knowledge of the deal ...to take it very much further.....in my very competitive breeds at least.

Works well in the group however :-(

Not unless it was also someone I knew, liked, and trusted to handle my dog carefully. I have occasionally in the past let others, once a top judge / breeder, usually just other friends, handle my dogs (and the top breeder did get a 1st at Crufts, but then so did I handling him myself the previous year), but it's so much more fun to handle your own dog!

So much depends on their reasons for asking, and your reasons for wanting or being willing to let go.

I have let my breeder handle both of my dogs on occasion.  Once because I'd hurt my knee, once because I wanted an objective look at him from outside the ring, and another time because I valued her opinion of him in 'show mode'!

I don't think I'd routinely let another handle for me but actually, at the moment, I'm so busy with other things (in fact busy is an understatement) it would nice to send him off to a few shows without me!!

Personally, if on the actual day I'd say no.   It may be flattering to be asked, inferring your dog is a good one, but for starters, there are no guarantees your dog will respond to another handler, without prior work being done so the dog gets used to a new handler.   And does it ALL boil down to the other end of the lead - well of course, the cynic in me says sadly more often than not, this is a yes.

You are right.   Take the dog in yourself, and ask for handling advice afterwards.   Why leave the kudos for the other handler - which is all they are after (unless they are charging a handling fee!?)

Unless I'm lame / injured then no - I don't get any pleasure in not showing my dog myself - my daugther handles our younger dog and I hate watching - get so twitchy nervous - worse than showing LOL

when I broke my wrist someone handled at a champ show but Max hated it !  Think Boo seems happy with anyone handling but Jess gets the best from him!

I'm the odd one out -probably as a seasoned cat exhibitor (also hamsters, mice, rats, cavies, rabbits etc, as all are animals you pen and leave) and I hate hate HATE handling with an absolute vengeance, and will get out of it at every possible opportunity. To me there is no joy whatsoever in being in the ring as you can't see what is going on. I want to sit ringside and watch the other dogs be gone over and be moved, see how my dog handles etc. Inside the ring you can't even tell if your own dog moves well or not, and it's even really difficult to see if all four legs are square. (You only need to look at photos in the dog papers of stacked breeds where so MANY handlers have their dogs looking like rocking horses!) So I will prefer somebody else to handle at all times and usually only go in if we have too many in the challenge. :) But of course that means somebody that the dog knows and trust.

I took the OPs post to mean using a 'Top Name' to gain unfair advantage.

Im with marrianne, if my daughter can't go I getcold sweats about taking my dogs in amd wwill beg anyone to take them lol, I love the grooming and prep but mostly I love to watch my daughter expertly handle,  she's so much better at it than me :)

That's true Marianne, I would often like to see how my dogs look compared with the others, but on the rare occasions someone else has handled I am either mentally nitpicking their handling or hiding somewhere so the dog doesn't see me! :-p

I was asked years ago if people could take my dogs in and get them made up, that was in Pomeranian's.  Sorry if they were good enough to win with you then they should have been for me but sadly they never were made up :)  Though to be truthful both said dogs died at a fairly young age, so  may have been made up in the long run.

yes. As i have never seen my dog in the ring from outside it. so i would love to watch her go round for a change :)

Other people have handled my dogs and I like to see what they can do, even take tips on how they handle if I think they are getting more out of my dogs, junior handlers have handled my girl a lot and personally think she looks better when handled by someone other than me!! Lol

I handle other peoples' dogs for them on a regular enough basis, so I might be a bit biased about this one but the answer is not a chance. If I want someone to handle my dog for me, I'll ask them. I did almost ask someone to handle a puppy for me once because I was worried politically (and due to huge classes) I might not be able to qualify her for Crufts and she really needed to qualify because her owner would have to pay for a pet sitter otherwise. Turns out I was silly to worry because she's an outstanding puppy. If the dog deserves to win, it will on its own merits.