Well Shirley I'm sure you're gonna get lots of different oppinions and that's fine. I will tell you what we did. Czar is our first show dog and we knew nothing, we raised him as a pet and being a show dog to us was an added bonus, didn't matter how far he went or when he finished. It turned out he was a natural and showed like his dad and got his Championship by 18 months. He always had alot of substance so conditioning him wasen't too difficult. Kenny ran him every day and the muscle he developed even remained when he got sick. Bottom line Shirley is what do you want out of having a show dog? I was never going to leave my dog with ANYONE to condition him for showing, that's just my oppinion. If you let someone do that it can also become quite pricey but again, it's an individual decision.
The person who gave you the advice has gone a bit far with his statements but there are people who feel as he does, again, it's your dog, your decision but unless you know this individual then please be careful if you send Guerin away. This person also knows your a novice , so be careful their too.
I believe you can have it all and I do believe you can have a pet and show dog but some will disagree and that's o.k. Please give it alot of thought as to what you want and for what reason and please do what is best for all of you and don't let anyone talk you into something you'll regret, novice or not. Not everyone treats their dogs as you do and I can remember people and professionals telling me to do this, that, and the other and I did what was best for me and my dog. I would have been proud of Czar no matter what but the fact that he finished and loved what he did, says it all for me. Not all dogs are cut out to show either. I've seen dogs who hated it in the ring and couldn't focus. From day one Czar was a natural and had very little experience in the ring, he just did it and the handler of course made all the difference too.
Remember one thing Shirley he's your dog and you decide what you want for him and as I said you will get lots of different oppinions and that's o.k I wish you much luck with whatever decision you make, just be happy with whatever you chose
.
Judy