Best Junior Handler November 2006
Pictured with Ch. Cullivoe Black Forest

Brad started showing dogs when he was 9 years old. Too young for the Junior Handler ring, he showed our 11 year old sable, Dexter in the veterans class. This is where we noticed he was really pretty good at showing, and really liked working with the dogs. He showed Dexter for about 6 months, and then he began working with Tracey to show her in the regular classes. I told him if he could put a point on Tracey, he could have her. Two weekends later, he won a large Open AOC Bitch class with Tracey, and he knew he was getting close to that single point he needed to own her. He went back in for Winners, but didn't get the point. Undaunted, he worked Tracey hard, and took the Reserve. He was so excited, he came out of the ring waving the ribbon and shouting, "Is a Reserve close enough Ma?!" What was I going to say...No?

That was the day that Brad and Tracey became a team.

They started off their Junior Showmanship career together in April 2001 when Brad turned 10. He placed 1st, three times in 4 shows as a Novice Junior, and topped his third win in Novice Junior off with a Best Junior Handler over 30 juniors. From there, it has been a very exciting. He has won many Best Juniors Handler awards, and taken countless 1st place wins in very large classes. Most with 10 juniors or more. In August of 2003 & 2004, he qualified for the AKC/Eukanuba Classic.

In June of 2004, Brad retired his show partner, Tracey, right before she turned 10. It was a hard decision to make, but Tracey was getting older, and it was hard for her to keep up in the ring with Brad. Although she could bait for hours, and loved to show with Brad, the time had come for her to be promoted to "official couch potato". Her last show was at the Lake Minnetonka KC show. Brad's new junior dog is now Ch. Aladdin's Double Exposure "Fuji". He comes to us from Sherry Carlson. Brad and Fuji started out in good form. In their first 4 shows, Brad and Fuji have taken 1st place 3 times! Fuji is a great partner for Brad, as he likes to glide around the ring and show off his smooth motion. He and Brad look great together, and we are hoping they will be together for along time.