Lauren Weber and her Bernese mountain dog, Gloree, participated in the Junior Showmanship competition at the Westminster Kennel Club 139th Annual Dog Show.Photo Gallery
In the world of dog shows, Westminster Kennel Club’s 139th Annual Dog Show is the Academy Awards and the Super Bowl, held on a green carpet in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. For Camas High School student Lauren Weber, standing on that carpet was a dream realized.
She and her 3½-year-old Bernese mountain dog, Gloree, participated in the Junior Showmanship competition Feb. 16-17 in New York City, which featured the top dog handlers younger than 18. To qualify for Westminster, junior handlers must have won seven or more junior handler competitions in the past year.
“(Westminster) was just more grand and amazing. In normal dog shows, you show on the grass or on concrete. When you see that green carpet, it just sort of hits you that you’re there,” said the 17-year-old.
She has trained Gloree since the Bernese mountain dog was an 8-week-old puppy at her Camas home.
“We showed really well. That’s all we can ask for my dog,” said Weber, one of 88 participants in Junior Showmanship.
Like all show dogs, Gloree’s full register name is a mouthful: Brechbuhler’s Goin’ For The Gloree V Autumn Hills. Berners, as they’re called by the breed community, are not a common sight in junior handling competitions.
“Comparatively to other breeds, Bernese mountain dogs aren’t as flashy like, say, Doberman pinschers. They’re used a lot in juniors,” said Weber.
The Pacific Northwest, Weber said, has some of the top junior dog handlers in the nation, making even the local shows quite competitive.
“Knowing I had made it (to Westminster) with my dog, that I had trained, to see all the hard work, to see that it was paying off” was a big boost of confidence, she said.
Weber has been active in 4-H since she was 9, and she started participating in American Canine Association shows at 13. Weber shows both in breed exclusive shows and in the junior handlers ring around the region. She will be participating in the Seattle Kennel Club Dog Show on March 7-8.
That 4-H experience, especially participating in herdsmanship at the fair, came in handy when Weber and Gloree were backstage at Westminster, answering curious questions about the breed.
“I’m always happy to inform people, because a lot of people aren’t familiar with (Bernese).”
Junior showmanship focuses more on the participant’s dog-handling skills, how they present themselves and their dog. And a lot of research is involved, said Weber.
“I keep flash cards on different judges,” she said, “(The research) gives me an idea if I would do well under this judge.”
“Certain judges look for different things; some look for more flashy dogs and more flashy handlers,” she said, while others look for the dog to be presented just the way they are.
So while she takes a judges’ preference into account, Weber is confident in her own skills.
“I’ve shown a certain way and that’s what’s got me here, I know how to best showcase my dog, and what works for me.”
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