AKC Junior Showmanship

Training the Next Generation

AKC Junior Showmanship Competition has two objectives:

I would add a third objective for our family and that is to develop a strength of family around shared goals.

The AKC Juniors are judged solely on their ability and skill in handling their dogs as if they were in the regular breed ring. The show qualities of the dog are not to be considered. Youth age 10-18 are eligible to participate. The Novice Class is for Juniors who have not yet won three First Place awards. Once the Junior has won the three First Place awards they move up to the Open Class. The winners from Novice compete against the winners from Open for Best Junior Handler - a very coveted award. Junior Showmanship is a lot of fun.

Parents may give advice prior to the Junior entering the ring but once in the ring it should just be the Junior and their dog. (You will frequently see parents hiding from their Junior so as not to distract him and his dog).
The Junior should have a relationship with the dog he is showing and the dog must be owned by either the Junior of one of his close relatives. Some Juniors pick a dog which has already finished it's active show career and sometimes the dog seems more trained than the Junior. Although this may seem to make it easier on the Junior that is not always what happens. Many Judges like to see the Junior really handling the dog, gently correcting incorrect stance and behavior and responding approproprately to unexpected circumstances. At one show Joseph was behind a dog which kept turning around and trying to jump on Gracie. Mom was a basket case thinking the dog should have been disqualified. Instead the Judge awarded Joseph First Place because he kept his cool in a difficult situation and gave the other dog space.
In all situations the Junior should be learning and demonstrating respect for other competitors, their dogs and the Judges. Juniors develop friendships which may last a life-time as they share their love for dogs with other youth.
Ring procedure for Junior Showmanship is very similar to regular ring procedure. All the Juniors take their dogs in the ring by their armband numbers. Then the Judge will usually change the line-up so that the larger faster dogs are in front. If you happen to show Maltese it means that you are close to last in line.

Each Junior presents his/her dog. Small breeds are presented for examination on the table, larger breeds are examined on the ring floor. Although the judge certainly examines the dog being presented, they are actually paying much more attention to the young handler, assessing their ability to properly present the dog. The Junior must understand how to display the dog in order for it to be properly judged for structure and conformance to the breed's standard.

Once the judge has closely examined the dog's structure the next step is to display the dog so the gait can be properly observed. The Judge will often require the Junior to do a triangle rather than a simple "down and back". It is important for the Junior to listen carefully to the Judge's instructions.

 

 

Then everyone stacks their dog waiting for the Judge to go down the line. This is a most important time as it is when the Judge is making his/her final decision about which Junior has presented their dog the best. But just as in the regular ring the Junior has to show until the Judge has made the final decision.

I strongly encourage you the next time you go to a dog show to make a point of watching the Junior Competition. We can learn a lot from these young people as they learn to be the next generation of our wonderful sport!!