14-year-old Julia Johns and her Cavalier King Charles spaniels rack up ribbons as they continue to beat out the competition

A couple of wide-eyed Cavalier King Charles Spaniels vie for Julia Johns’ attention.

One of the frisky canines named “Charm” practically flies into her lap. “Bishop” prefers the softer approach and cuddles closely beside her. Fourteen-year-old Julia pets her adoring companions as she relaxes on the sofa in her Woodinville home.

She recently returned from the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden. The show, held Feb. 13-14, falls into her year long itinerary of fun excursions to dog competitions. Julia has traveled across the nation and across the Atlantic Ocean to show Cavaliers.

“I’ve been all over,” Julia says, sounding like the seasoned traveler she is. “I’ve been to New York, Pennsylvania and Florida. I’m going to be in Georgia soon and I just went to England. About the only place I haven’t been is the Southwest.”

Her family’s method of transportation varies. Sometimes they take a plane and sometimes a train. But more often than not, they take the family’s huge Greyhound- bus-sized motor home.

Her trips to faraway destinations have added up to dog show success, earning 150 colorful ribbons.

“This ribbon is for ‘Best Opposite Sex,’” she says as she points to a scarlet red ribbon displayed among a collage of fancy ribbons in more colors than in a bag of M & Ms.

Motioning toward a splashy blue, white and green ribbon, she says “And this ribbon is for the ‘Number One Cavalier Bitch in the Nation.’”

She suddenly realizes that the “non-show dog” people in the room might not understand that she’s using proper terminology. She explains that “bitch” is actually a good thing in the dog world. Although humans might not appreciate the B-word reference, bitch is the appropriate term for a female dog. And being the number one bitch is a treasured honor to a dog.

Julia and her mom, Verlynn, co-own six American and Canadian Cavalier champions along with two up-and-coming puppies.

Julia typically shows three or four Cavaliers at a time, including Charm.

Dave Johns, Julia’s dad, says she’ll “special” Charm this year, which means Charm will go after the top 10 status in the nation.

“We’re specialing Charm for the top 10 nationwide ranking this year,” he says. “And it looks like she’ll be the number two bitch in the nation for 2005 (after the scores are tallied).”

When asked how she got started in showing dogs, Julia replies, “My mom showed Rottweilers for 25 years and when I was six years old I wanted to start showing dogs too. But the Rottweilers were too big for me and so we started looking for the perfect breed. We found that the Cavalier King Charles Spaniels work well with me.”

As soon as Julia acquired her first Cavalier, a champ named Angel in the Morning, Julia recognized her special connection with dogs.

“I do have a knack for reading dogs and training them,” she offers. “I know when they’re stressing and how they’re reacting to their environment. And I work with them everyday after school between 3 and 10:30 p.m. — here and there. I train them in obedience, agility and confirmation, which means a dog’s appearance.”

Dave adds, “Julia was essentially raised at the shows from an early age. Professional handlers would take her aside and show her some handling tricks and she learned very quickly. She was soon showing dogs with the adult handlers when she was only eight years old. Up until last year, you had to be 10 years old to show dogs in junior handling. Since she was too young to be in junior handling, Julia went right out with the adult handlers.”

To earn a championship, a dog has to acquire a total of 15 points under at least three judges.

At every show, whether it’s televised or not, judges are allotted approximately two minutes per dog for judging. The judge has to determine how well the dog conforms to the breed standard from her teeth to her tail, from the length of her ears to the shape of her toes. Just as a jockey makes a horse run faster, a great handler makes a dog look better.

As Julia competed with the 30- to 60-year-old adult handlers, she and her Cavaliers began defeating the competition and racking up points.

With continued victories in the dog show ring, Julia soon gained notice. She and her dog “Annie” appeared on the ‘Today’ show in 2004 and Royal Spaniel magazine featured a write-up on her success.

Personal invitations to prestigious dog shows, such as the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship and the Westminster Show, began coming her way.

The invitations aren’t easy to come by, Dave Johns says. Show dogs accumulate points over a year and only those with the highest points in the nation earn an invitation to Eukanuba. “Julia has been invited to Eukanuba the last two years and it’s by invitation only,” he says. “They only invite the ‘best of the best.’ She took ‘Annie’ in 2004 and Annie was the only bitch in the top 25. Also, this is the third year Julia has shown at Westminster, which is typically the biggest dog show with approximately 150 breeds.”

Julia says that showing the Cavaliers has become a family affair. Her mom always accompanies her. But many times her dad and eight-year-old sister Malynn go along too.

“My dad is the designated driver and babysits our newborn puppies,” she says. “My sister is the head cheerleader and our official photographer. And my mom is the groomer and back-up handler.”

Julia is often the youngest handler for her breed at the shows; such was the case at this year’s Eukanuba championship held in Tampa, Florida, Jan. 14-15.

“I took ‘Bell’ and we made the cut,” Julia says with a smile. ‘Making the cut,’ she goes on to explain while receiving numerous dog kisses from Charm, means the judge pulled Bell out for the best selection.

“That was such a compliment to her—to be pulled out,” says Verlynn. “Judges came up to her afterward and said ‘great job.’ No one is as dedicated to the Cavalier breed as she is.”

If you have questions about the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, send an e-mail to Julia, Dave or Verlynn at dave@for-d.com.