Welcome To My View

 TEAM DILLON

We had the greatest weekend.  It started by meeting Dillon and his Mom and Dad, Shirley and Jim, in Brantford and having a great dinner together.  They are so warm and friendly.  I feel like I have known them forever.  Like we say down South, "They are Darling Down-home Folks"!  They have a farm in Tillsonburg and Quarter Horses have been a family hobby.  Shirley is quite the horse woman.

Dogs have been a family business, Dillon's Aunt Donna, owns Whisper Hill Kennel in Tillsonburg, Ontario and is a CKC judge.  As you can see, Dillon's love of animals and his desire to be a Junior Handler comes very naturally.

Dillon is very polite and thoughtful.  He is 12 and will be 13, soon.  He was so easy to be with.  He can actually carry on a conversation any adult would be happy to participate in.  He is cute as a puppy and has a wonderful smile.  Dillon is devilish and a prankster.  I found out first hand how he can prank.  

This was a first for Dillon and a first for Lyle and me.  We didn't know what to expect.  A kid can be great in front of his parents and become a cross-eyed hellion when away.  Dillon was just as we hoped.  Fun, polite, eager and thoughtful.  He asked great questions; listened to instructions; anticipated our needs and was helpful.  He showed real guts, too!  He took a 6 month old puppy into Hound Group with all the adults and professionals.  He was nervous but he didn't let that stop him.  That experience alone helped him to see that he has the ability to hang with the Big Dogs!  He just needs to practice and he will be a real contender.

Here are pictures of Dillon in the ring for his first Junior Show!  He won 2nd in his class.  He has a great future ahead!

Dillon stacking Cara.  Cara worked so well with him.  He has gentle hands and she knew how to help.

Dillon and Cara on the Down and Back.  Look at that smile on his face.  He was having fun!

Dillon and Cara going around.  Look at the smiling faces cheering him on.  See the blond behind Dillon,  that is Christina Heard.  She is one of the most encouraging breeder/owner/handlers at the shows.  She put a smile on Dillon's face!

This is the start of the 2013 season and please consider sponsoring a Junior Handler.  

Advice and Opinions

You know what they say, Opinions are like A--------!  Everyone has one!

This never was more clear to me than this weekend.  I want to be very careful how I say this because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or to have anyone think that I'm suggesting that you should never offer advice or help.  There is a very fine line between giving helpful advice and making it feel like "task overload"!

I know from Lyle and my experience during this past year, we have had great mentors.  These very near and dear to us offered us advice that was the difference between our success and failure.  However, so many people were offering advice that we soon had to learn to focus on the few people that we knew were looking after our best interest.  We simply could not listen and put into practice every suggestion we got from the masses.

We had so many people come up to Dillon this weekend wanting to share their 25, 30 and more years experience with him.  They wanted to instruct on how to stack dogs, how to move dogs, how to dress for the show, smile at the judge, look more at the judge, move faster, move slower.  OMG, it went on and on.  Poor child was trying to listen to everyone and was getting bogged down.  People were giving instructions from ringside.  

TASK OVERLOAD is when too much information is coming at you too fast and you simply can't perform at all because you become completely paralyzed. 

The good part of this is that Dog Show folks are so happy to see potential in a young person, they all want to offer advice and encouragement.  But, unfortunately, I think it may backfire.  Instead of being encouraging, it can take the fun out of learning and putting it into practice in the ring.  When the fun is gone, soon the Junior will be gone.  

Instead, I'd like to suggest that you tell the Junior how proud you are of them.  Encourage them to keep working on their skills and to listen to their sponsors.  Make them feel like they were terrific in the ring.  They get plenty of instruction from their sponsors and from the judges critiquing them in the ring.  What is needed most is ENCOURAGEMENT.

Thanks to all the people that did give advice to Dillon this weekend.  He is a great kid and when I asked him how he was dealing with it all he said, "I'm listening to everyone and just hoping something sticks"!.   Nice people that I don't know their names, stopped by our set up to speak to him and to congratulate him on his first show.  Thanks so much!  Our friends were huge support.  They offered to allow Dillon to handle their dogs if he ever wanted.  Thanks to Stephanie Chuchman for taking the beautiful photos of Dillon this weekend.  Thanks to the Judge Marg Brown for awarding Dillon 2nd place and for your encouragement.  Thanks to Christina Heard, Kay Reil, Thomas Curley, Cathleen Cogan Bird for all the cheering and encouragement a young man can certainly use on his first time out.

I like to see people do nice things for others.  If someone does something nice for you at a show or you see or hear about something nice being done, please send me an email at djenkins@shaw.ca.   Be sure to put in the subject: Nice

We will mention that person by name in the blog

Kay Reil

There is so much to gripe about in our sport.  It is so easy to get down and forget the good we do.  Please share with me when you see someone do a nice deed for others.  I know nice deeds are done for me at every show.  I'm sure nice deeds are being done quietly at every show.  Please look out for these deeds and report them to me.  I want to recognize the person doing the nice deed.  Perhaps the more we show its happening, the more it will happen.  Let's put nice back into the sport.

I want to spotlight my friends who are always doing nice things for me and others:  

Diane Bell Curley

Sue Coghlan

Stephanie Chuchman

Karen Fasciano

Debby Krieg

Thomas Curley

  Wendy Reyn

HAPPY MARCH BREAK

Remember to watch for "Nice Deeds".  They are happening all around us.  Let's talk about the people helping others.

Be sure to go to Canuck Dogs, http://www.canuckdogs.com, to see all the upcoming events and to check stats.  You should  bookmark it.  That's where you will find my blog. 

                                                                  XXXOOO