One of the things I wanted to accomplish when I got Tyson was to be able to finish his AKC championship myself, owner-handled. For a while, I had myself convinced that I would not be able to put the majors on him myself, so I hired a handler for 2 shows in a 5 show weekend. While the handler did an awesome job, it taught me 2 things. 1) I could make my dog look just as good, and 2) he looked so great that he would win with me and didn’t need a handler. The same weekend I hired the handler for 2 shows, I put a major on him. When the judge, Jean Fournier, pointed to us on the last go-around the ring and proclaimed “now THAT’s a Doberman!”, I knew we could do it together, as a team.
Tyson finished in 23 shows, owner-handled from the time he was mature enough to win to finishing. He finished with three majors, the last being today at Lexington under Barbara Dempsey Alderman.
It was a fun ride! Thanks to all of the judges who pointed to an unknown owner-handler and to the fantastic support team.
Tyson the day he finished his AKC championship.
