Dirk was only supposed to stick around for a few years, but soon after Raina Moss let that clumber spaniel into her parents’ home, she fell in love.
Moss, 18, started competing in dog showmanship and handling competitions with English springer spaniels, but one got pregnant and couldn’t show and another got sick. Her mentors said they’d get her a dog, and gave her Dirk.
“He was only coming to live with me until I was done with my juniors career,” Moss said. “I fell in love with him, and he’s staying with me definitely for the rest of his life.”
She’s had Dirk for three years now, but when the Battle Ground High School grad first started going to competitions with a clumber spaniel, others were skeptical. It’s not a breed that typically performs well in shows.
Moss and Dirk, now 4, continued to show, though, and on Dec. 13, won the 2015 American Kennel Club’s Eukanuba National Championship Junior Showmanship competition in Orlando, Fla. She was the first handler to win the competition with a clumber spaniel, a breed of dog she has really taken to since meeting Dirk.
“They’re very mellow and lovable,” she said. “They really love their people. They’re very people-oriented. I will lay down in bed, and my dog will want to be in bed with me. Not on top of me or anything, but just next to me. They’re very outgoing, very goofy dogs. Everything about clumbers is what I love about dogs.”
Still, clumber spaniels are thought to be hard to handle, and aren’t shown a lot in competition.
“I never really thought that I could win because so many people out there told me I couldn’t win with a clumber,” Moss said. “I was told I needed a more flashy dog. Most people show breeds that are perfect, like a golden (retriever) or a Doberman (pinscher).”
This was Moss’ fifth year at Eukanuba, but her first time even making the finals. It was also the last year she was allowed to compete in the junior division, since she turned 18 after qualifying for the competition. To qualify, handlers needed to win five competitions between Halloween 2014 and Halloween 2015. Moss qualified for Eukanuba before 2014 ended.
With the win at Eukanuba, Moss will make her international debut in March at the Crufts Dog Show in Birmingham, England. She will be the lone United States representative in the International Junior Handling Competition, going up against handlers from 40-plus other countries. It’s the biggest dog show in the world, and the one Moss said all handlers want to get to.
“It was a dream, but one of those dreams I never thought I’d achieve,” she said. “I still haven’t accepted the fact that I have won. I won’t accept it until I’m on that plane to Crufts, Then it’ll be real.”
Unfortunately, Dirk won’t be with her. At Crufts, handlers select two dogs, meet them and train them for an hour before showing them. Moss said the judges are really looking hard at the handlers to see what they can do.
Moss hasn’t decided what breeds of dog she’s going to ask for yet. She said they try to accommodate whatever breed competitors ask for, but she’s looking at what breeds from America are similar to what breeds are available in England.
While this will be Moss’ first international competition, she competes year-round and all over the country. Moss said she competes nearly every weekend in a competition, frequently both in the handling and show portions. She also competes in the adult divisions at many shows.
She got into dog handling about 10 years ago through Clark County 4-H.
“I really love dogs, and 4-H was a way to work with your dogs and train them, and learn new things with them,” Moss said. “I wanted to do more with them. It was an extracurricular activity that turned into something I’m going to be doing the rest of my life.”
Moss said she loved her time in 4-H and still likes to be involved when she can. She also hopes to become a 4-H leader in the future.
Until then, Moss plans on continuing competing in dog shows. Since she already competes in the adult division at many shows, she said not much will be different other than she can no longer compete in the junior division. Moss said while the winning is nice, she enjoys a chance to hang out with her dog and have fun while performing, even though she’s also aware even a well-trained dog is capable of doing anything during a show.
“When you’re handling a dog, you don’t know what they’re going to do,” she said. “There could be a distraction and that’s all they focus on. It’s on you to get them back.
Anything can happen. A dog can start yipping and then all dogs start barking.
As for Dirk, Moss said she’s going to continue working with him in competition. Out of competition, she said Dirk loves all stuffed animals.
“He doesn’t fetch them because he doesn’t want to give them back,” she said. “If you have two, and you throw one, the only way to get it back is by throwing the second one so he drops the first.”
As for herself, outside of competition, Moss is enrolled at the Art Institute of Portland, where she is studying graphic design. She’s not yet sure if she’s interested in going to work for herself or working for a company, but her career goal is to be a graphic designer. She’s hopeful she can combine that with her other passion in life.
“Graphic design is a huge part of dog shows,” Moss said. “Someday, I’d like to get into that. You can design ads for different dog shows, or for people and their dogs. That would be great. Dogs are my life.”
