Congrats on BOS and getting him so close to his championship!
Hey if you are enjoying showing him I would continue to show him yourself. Many people advised me to get a handler for our first show dog, and although he never finished I can't even begin to tell you everything we learned from showing him ourself. His offspring are now in the ring, one in Canada and 2 here that are doing very well owner handled. I almost have his daughter finished and I know I wouldn't be this far with her if I didn't have that first hand experience. Yea he probably would have been finished no problem but I'm not sure I want to trade those experiences for the title.
I don't think there is a magic age, I think they all mature differently. I have seen young dogs finish and I have seen some dogs not go in the ring until 3 years old or later, in full coat and ready to compete.
I live in the NE corner of Ohio! We have a beautiful show on Lake Erie we will be attending in July and then a nice 4-day cluster too in Ohio at the beginning of August. Let me know if you want more information and I would be happy to give you the details.
__________________ Jackie JaLa Yorkshire Terriers |