I am thinking about sending my 3 year old boy out with a handler. From those of you that handle, or have hired a handler, what is the best way to approach someone? What questions do you think are important to ask a perspective handler? I would be looking for someone who will TAKE CARE of my dog. TIA!

Spend a lot of time at the shows watching them before making a choice. That gives you the opportunity to see how they treat/interact with other handlers, show officials, their clients, the dogs in their care, the assistants working for them if they have them, how professional they are in their deportment and how hard they work. I will also give you a chance to see over a period of time how their dogs are looking out on the road and whether or not the majority of their dogs are ringside pick ups.

Thank you!

I think it is important that you visit the house/kennel where your dog is going to be kept. I like to see that the dogs are happy and "love" their handler.

It was eye opening for us to learn that the handler we hired did not actually handle our girl. She would win her class and then most times not be taken back in for WB by the handler. Instead sometimes in was an inexperienced junior handler or a local breeder who would happen to be at a particular show and free for that time. When comparing notes we heard the same thing (about this particular handler) from everyone.

The reality is any handler is going to have dogs in multiple classes and if they win more than one class then one or more dogs will need to go into Winners with another person. So that should be something you agree on up front. I would expect most reputable handlers review all scenarios with their clients.

It was not mentioned before hand. It happens more frequently when a handler has mostly Labs. We switched to a different well know handler who had 2 permanent employees and sometimes one of them would take my girl in. Any one of the three handlers did a nice job. That is a little differnt than getting a young kid or fellow breeder

Even the professional handlers that show a variety of breeds can't stay on the dog all the time. And if you are being charged extra for WB/WD, I would run a mile. Most of them will work hard to find the best handler for your dog to take it into WD/WB, Breed or Group. And some of those Junior Handlers are pretty darn awesome .. I can think of several that I would not mind showing my dog and feel it was presented well.

I suppose it comes down to what your goals are. If you are wanting an AKC CH on your dog, then I would go with an AB handler that has a variety of dogs. That way they can stay on your Lab if it is their only Lab and they do not have other conflicts. This is their livelihood, and their reputation, so if there is a conflict they will show the dog they feel will do the best under the judge they are showing to that day.

The downside to this is that if you want a dedicated handler on your dog, they will not give up the income at an AB show weekend to attend a Specialty to show your one dog. That can bite you in the butt because then when you are going to a Specialty, you are chasing your tail to get a handler for your dog and you are a low priority since you aren't a regular client.

Another factor to consider is if you are a ringside pick up or your dog is "on the truck" .. The dogs that are on the truck and regular clients will normally have precedence over ringside pick ups. And really, they should.

There are many many variables to consider. You need to think about what your goals are and then make the best decision for you and your dog based on what you can live with.

Thank you all for the advice! You brought up many good points that I had not considered and enlightened me on a few I already had. And I agree, some of the junior handlers are a lot better than I am!

Make sure your handler has Labrador experience.

Kathryn Mines is one of the best lab handlers I know. Classy lady, stays out of the nasty politics and wins a LOT! She's also a great mentor