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Top Dogs Train with Best By Jill Lieber, USA TODAY ROSEMONT, Ill. — There comes a time in every champion show dog's life when the choice has to be made between curling up on the living room couch and chasing down the bright lights of New York's Madison Square Garden. Like so many young, aspiring Olympic athletes who leave their families to train with a big-time coach for a shot at the gold medal, most perfectly pedigreed purebreds lick their owners goodbye and hit the road with a professional handler for a chance at reaching the Westminster dog show, the undisputed center of the canine universe.
Kristin Kleeman, a leading breeder of Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs from Lexington, Ky., knew that's what it would take to transform her beloved Samantha, registered as Ch. Derby's Simply Bewitching, into the next Mary Lou Retton. Last June, after having shown her own dogs for the last decade, Kleeman resignedly turned over the leash to Nina Fetter, a professional handler from Lima, Ohio. And except for a Saturday in December, when Kleeman took Samantha into the ring and won the Lake Shore Specialty at the Rosemont (Ill.) Convention Center, Fetter has been in charge of the dog's Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show campaign. "Did she look good? She sure felt good," Kleeman bubbled to her friends after Samantha defeated 26 top Swissies for the Specialty crown. "She's finely tuned. Nina has worked her magic." When 2,500 of the nation's top dogs, all American Kennel Club champions of record, parade before the Westminster judges on the Garden's green carpet Feb. 10-11, almost half will be presented by professional handlers. Most of the top 10 dogs in each of the seven Group categories (Sporting, Hound, Working, Terrier, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding) are professionally handled. And of the creme de la creme, the top 20 dogs in the country, 18 will be shown by professional handlers. The two Best in Show contenders who won't be? Ch. Trusts Gentle Ben V Slaton (Ben), a St. Bernard handled by owner Joe Wolf, an auto mechanic from Canton, Ohio. Also, Ch. Ruster's the Dark Command (Koal), a giant schnauzer shown by breeder-owner Steve Fox, a maintenance journeyman for General Electric. Both dogs have ascended through the ranks thanks to deep-pocketed backers. "There is a certain amount of pride you get when you can handle one of your own dogs and you are successful at it," says Wolf's wife, Shirley. "We love to spend time with our dogs, so it's nice to be able to do things together that we all enjoy." While it is not unheard of for breeder-owners who handle their own dogs to have success at Westminster — Kleeman won Best of Breed in 1997 and '98 — winning Best in Show is a rare achievement indeed. In Westminster's 127-year history, an amateur handler has won Best in Show only a handful of times. The last time was in 1983. Why hire a professional handler?
"It's a God-given gift to be handed a leash, understand the mind of the dog and get it to perform in the ring," says Michael Canalizo, a longtime professional handler who now is a judge. "If you're nervous, it travels down the leash to the dog. If you take a spill, the dog senses it the next time around the ring." Adds USA Network's Westminster analyst David Frei, a breeder-owner of Afghans: "Professional handlers can help an average dog be good and a good dog be better. They've got the skills to show off the dog to the judge. The best handlers are invisible in the ring: You're looking only at the dog." Success is costly But a top handler comes with a price. Fetter's standard fee is $75 to show a dog in the best of breed competition and $25 if it advances into Group competition. There's an extra charge for each Group placement ($75 for first, $65 for second, $55 for third and $45 for fourth) and a $500 bonus for winning Best in Show. Westminster is an entirely different animal — $1,000 for the breed competition and $100 for the Groups. Group placement charges range from $500 to $200 with a $1,000 bonus for Best in Show. And a lot of owners tip their handlers on top of all of these bonuses. "My chow client gave me her condo in the Caribbean for a week's vacation after I won Best in Show six years ago, and it's still waiting on me," says Fetter, who hasn't taken time off in more than 15 years. Fetter estimates she can make at least $35,000 per top contender, and she, like most of her colleagues, typically handles several leading dogs each year. She has 30 dogs living at her Sirius Kennels. Fifteen are show dogs, all of which, including Samantha, are entered at Westminster. She travels the country in a specially designed, $75,000 truck and racks up about 40,000 miles each year. "Everybody thinks it's a glamorous life, but it's hectic and I'm always on the go," says Fetter, who has juggled as many as 24 dogs at a show, directed between rings by kennel assistants using walkie-talkies. During this month's final countdown to Westminster, she'll be on the road all but eight days at shows in New York, Michigan, Illinois and Indiana. Fetter's doctor told her the stresses of her career and second divorce are the reasons she's now allergic to dogs. To get through the shows, she gives herself allergy shots every Friday and Monday. Although Kleeman gulps every time she pays Samantha's monthly bills — a total of $15,000 since June — she says the expense has been well worth it. Fetter has taken Samantha from an overly energetic, mischievous dog who loved jumping the fences at the Kleemans' Thoroughbred farm to a poised, focused pro and the No. 2-ranked Swissy in the country. "She's the most fit dog I've ever been around," says Kim Harpole, whose son Clifford, 16, showed Samantha until she got her championship and is listed as the dog's co-owner. "She looks like the athlete that she should be." Working all angles Think of Fetter's job as being a coach, personal trainer, psychiatrist, drill sergeant, motivational speaker, hairdresser, chef, maid, chauffeur, playmate and best friend all rolled into one. For Fetter, one of this year's biggest success stories is Buster, a bearded collie. When he arrived at Fetter's, he was so shy he wouldn't wag his tail. Fetter has spent hours running him on the Jog-a-Dog treadmill, barking out, "Where's your tail? Tail up!" She has played a continuous tape of clapping sounds to acclimate him to show noise. And she has made a game out of the competition, throwing bait on the floor of the ring and teasing, "Watch it! Get it!" It took 10 months, but Buster finally got it: He's now the No. 4-ranked bearded collie in the country. And he's so happy in the ring that he not only wags his tail, he dances on his hind legs after his go-around. "If you don't understand them, they won't understand you," Fetter says. "And you'll never get them to show." Her mother, Ellen, a longtime breeder and judge, says: "Nina has a special rapport with dogs. Her dogs aren't all business in the ring. They're happy, windup toys." Samantha wasn't difficult to turn into a star. "Most show dogs you have to create," Fetter says. "But I didn't have to do much with her. She's a push-button dog. Kristin trained her very well." How did she get into Samantha's head? Through her stomach. "She's extremely food-motivated," Fetter says. "I just taught her, 'Cookie.' And she shined." Her biggest challenge has come outside the ring. "She hates baths," Fetter says of the weekly grooming ritual. "I have to get into the bathtub in order for her to get in." And since late November, Fetter has had another issue to deal with: Samantha went into heat a month earlier than planned. The hormonal change could cause her to lose her hair right around the time of Westminster. Fetter is trying to ward off that disaster by increasing Samantha's supplements, decreasing the temperature of her bath water and running her outside in the cold, winter air. Kleeman is impressed by all of the finishing touches Fetter has put on Samantha, who is 21/2 years old. She witnessed the changes in the ring at the Lake Shore Specialty, as well as during the 21/2 weeks Samantha was at home over Christmas. Physically, she's in fantastic shape. Mentally, she "free stacks" (strikes a standing pose) with greater ease. Emotionally, she's vibrant, alert and upbeat. Drawn to the ring The excitement of Samantha's development has gotten Kleeman thinking only of Westminster. She's craving the exhilaration of competition. And now she is thinking she might like to be the one to show Samantha at the Garden. "I got into this sport to share emotional and spiritual experiences with my dogs," she says. Kleeman's not afraid to compete against all those professional handlers. After all, she did win the National Specialty with Samantha in October 2001, so she's confident that she can hold her own in the ring. She's just worried about disappointing Fetter. "Nina has worked so hard the last six months," Kleeman says. "And she has gotten attached to Samantha." But Fetter understands Kleeman's quandary. One of the Pomeranians she bred, Ch. Sirius It's All About Me (Rickey), is ranked in the top 20 and now is owned and shown by somebody else. "It's hard to watch someone else show your dog," Fetter says. "It's a lot harder than doing it yourself. My heart races every time I see Rickey in the ring. "I told Kristin to wait until the Westminster show schedule is released to make her final decision. If I have to be in several rings at the same time, then she'd have to show Samantha anyway. If she wants to do it, she should. Westminster is much too important to ever have any regrets." |
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