RAINI JOHNSON
1. Where do you live? Where do you go to school? I live and go to school in Somerset, Wisconsin. 2. Do you have any hobbies or interests apart from purebred dogs? Do you have a job? I compete in gymnastics and I take band and choir at my school. I participate in our local 4-H. Other hobbies I have are riding horses, camping, snowmobiling, skiing, and four-wheeling. No, I don’t have a job. I am only 12 and stay pretty busy with all of my activities. 3. Have you grown up in a doggy family? What is your breed(s)? Yes, we have mostly had Bernese Mountain Dogs, but when I was little we had a mutt named “Koda.” 4. How were you introduced to Junior Showmanship? When did you start competing? My Mom used to show dogs with my aunt Karen when she was my age, and so, I started showing in Pee Wees. I started when I was 8 and showed my aunt’s BMD in Rochester, Minnesota. 5. What do you remember about the first time you showed as a Junior? When I turned 9, my very first show was at the Bernese Mountain Dog National Specialty in Estes Park, Colorado. I showed a dog named “Biscuit” who is owned by a friend of ours, Coleen Carroll. I was so nervous as it was my first actual show. Luckily, there were some other Juniors who helped me out. I ended up in Third Place in the Junior Nov- ice class and from there, the rest is history. 6. How do you prepare your dog and yourself for the ring? Any rituals? Any good luck charms? I like to groom my dog and touch them up right before I go in the ring. It calms me down and lowers any anxious feeling I have about competing. It also gets my dogs looking their best. My good luck charms are my special leads that I show my dogs in. 7. What’s it like in the ring when the pressure is on? Do you have a secret for handling the nerves? I tend to get the butterflies when the pressure is on. I have to tell myself to take deep breaths and that calms me down. I have to tell myself to keep calm and that my dog will be calm too. She depends on me and I depend on her.
8. Do you have a mentor in the sport? Have you assisted any Professional Handlers? Yes, I have a few mentors who have helped me along the way: First, Joanne, who helps me by coaching me at her classes; Christina Olson because she teaches me different techniques to help me and my dog stand out in the ring; Coleen Carrol who helps to teach me how to make my dogs look their best with grooming techniques; my Mom (Lisa Johnson) because she calms me and helps me to keep my dogs happy; and my
148 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY 2024
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