[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by gemy

I would have said that handlers get put up more than owner/exhibitors, but take a look at these stats. From the infodog.com website.

JUDGES ONLY PUT UP HANDLERS, SO
HANDLERS MUST BE THE ONLY ONES WINNING AT DOG SHOWS
Really? If you speak with very many exhibitors they’ll be only too happy to express that statement. This got us thinking. So many folks believe this to be so, but upon what is this statement based? Perception? Experience? Their breed? What are the facts?
We decided to take a look at wins at dog shows. Using published records for MB-F shows held in 2008 and 2009 we looked at:
The number of Winners wins awarded
The number of Bests of Breed awarded
The number of Group Firsts awarded
The number of Bests in Show awarded
The number of these wins that were awarded to dogs with no agent listed and the number that were awarded to dogs that had an agent listed.

Here’s what we found.
For 2008:
82,724 Winners awards
11,771 (14%) were given to dogs with handlers listed and
70,953 (86%) were awarded to dogs with no agent listed.
50,587 Bests of Breed awards
17,033 (34%) were awarded to dogs with a handler listed and
33,554 (66%) were awarded to dogs with no agent listed.
3402 Group Firsts
1857 (55%) were awarded to dogs with a handler listed and
1545 (45%) were awarded to dogs with no agent listed.
488 Bests in Show awards
323 (66%) awarded to dogs with a handler listed and
165 (34%) awarded to dogs with no agent listed.
For 2009:
82,237 Winners awards
11,239 (14%) were given to dogs with a handler listed and
70,998 (86%) were awarded to dogs with no agent listed.
51,176 Bests of Breed awards
17,566 (34%) were awarded to dogs with a handler listed and
33,610 (66%) were awarded to dogs with no agent listed.
3445 Group Firsts
1810 (53%) were awarded to dogs with a handler listed and
1635 (47%) were awarded to dogs with no agent listed.
496 Bests in Show awards
310 (62%) were awarded to dogs with a handler listed and
186 (38%) were awarded to dogs with no agent listed.
The numbers are what they are. To find your individual breed, go to the accompanying table to see the numbers and percentages for Winners and Best of Breed. Please remember that not all breeds compete at each show. The totals account for every time a breed was entered at a show and competed. There are separate tables (by Variety Group) for 2008 and 2009. View the 2008 table
View the 2009 table

Actually that chart does show that handlers have a much higher chance at winning BIS. Notice handlers are only 14% of the overall winning population, but on wins for BIS they hold 66% in 2008 and 62% in 2009. This is a chart on percentages and it's really not statistics, and percentages can be very misleading, although they can give you some information. What you really need to know is what percentage of the overall showing population are handlers, and compare that number with the times handlers won. By doing this, and doing a statistical analysis you can get a number that actually shows the increased odds a handler has.

It makes sense to me that an experience handler would be able to show off a dog better, and make an average dog look like a champ. All this means to me, is that you better really research your breeders and lines before you buy a breeding dog.