OWNER HANDLER Q&A WITH MARIBETH BOPP
I have lived all of my life as a resident of the City of Pittsburgh. We cur- rently live north of the city in the Township of Shaler. My breed is the Yorkshire Terrier. I purchased my first show yorkie in 1997 and began exhibiting that year. So this is my 21st year of exhibiting Yorkies. 1. What is the toughest thing about being an owner-handler or breeder owner handler? The hardest part of being a breeder owner handler is raising a litter of puppies and evaluating the litter for show quality, puppies. There are so many variables in the Yorkshire Terrier standard to consider in se- lecting a show quality puppy that isn’t always easy at 12 or 16 weeks to be definitive about the choices for showing. Therefore, raising the pup- pies and evaluating them for breed standard and becoming attached to the little puppies is very tough, espe- cially when you decide one must be sold as a pet. 2. What is the BEST thing about being an owner handler or breeder owner handler? The best part of being a breeder own- er handler for me, is the journey. The selection of the damand sire that you will breed, the pregnancy and birth of the puppies. Raising these babies and growing and training them, be- ing part of their lives each day is wonderful experience. Waking up everyday and seeing those beautiful
We go in our motor home and also use this as time to spend together, as he spends many hours working in his company. 5. What advice would you give the newcomer to our world. I would and do tell new exhibitors to read as many books as they can devour about their breed, showing and dogs in general. Attend as many local shows as you can and speak and ask questions of the breeders you meet, when they are done show- ing, so you can learn and share as many exhibitors perspectives about showing as you can acquire. Then make your choices and let this guide your decisions. 6. What are your interests/hobbies outside of dogs? Bill and I are project people. We al- ways have something major or small we are doing to the house every year. We love to work together. Bill and I love to golf, but haven’t over the past three years due to his construction accident in 2016. However, now that he is healed and the surgeries are over we are ready for the spring! I volunteer at the nursing home where my mother lived the last eight years of her life. I just feel that so many of the residents need ad- vocates who do not have any fam- ily to come and see them. It makes your day so much brighter when you know you brought some joy into someone’s life!
faces and then being the proud own- er on the end of the show lead in the ring is a complete journey to cherish! 3. Does your bondwith your dogmake it easier to campaign himor do the de- feats hit a little too close to home. My bond with my dogs makes it so much easier to campaign them. You are with them to assure comfort, safety, happiness in all their sur- roundings all of the time. Nobody likes to lose, but losing is part of win- ning. If you cant lose gracefully as an adult perhaps you should not be competing. As long as the dog I am showing does his best I am happy with him. The dog can only show as well as his handler demands. 4. Is fitting your show schedule into your “regular” life a constant balanc- ing act? How do you manage? I retired from 38 years of teaching in 2013 to care for aging mother, and up till then it was difficult to manage caring for my mother, working and showing. However, a person must al- ways be true to their core values and moral fiber as the definitive factors that define your choices. Once you are able to live each day this way you can keep your perspective clearly defined. Now that I am retired my husband and I have set several pa- rameters to keep in making our de- cisions about when and how many shows to enter. Bill and I do every- thing together and try to balance showing with his interests as well.
48 • T op N otch T oys , N ovember 2018
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