The Owner Handler | Rhiannon Stine

Interview with the Owner Handler: Rhiannon Stine

My real name is Rhiannon, but I go by Rhy (rye) or Rhyly! I’ve been a dog lover (it’s an obsession, let’s be honest) for the entirety of my life and have always wanted to show dogs, especially Neapolitan Mastiffs. One text message in 2020 brought me into this world and breed, and I have been hooked ever since!

1. How were you first introduced to the sport of purebred dogs? To your breed?

Rhiannon Stine: My first experience with a Neapolitan Mastiff was through watching The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. The breed was like none other I had ever seen, and as I got older and did my breed research, it just so happened that the breed was right for me! I was so dedicated to seeing one in person that in 2019, my best friend (now my ringside help) drove me 5-1/2 hours to Michigan to watch an entry of two mastini. Funny enough, that was where I met my dog’s breeder, and now amazing friend, Charina DeFur. I was first introduced to the sport of Conformation because of COVID, and COVID is actually how I got my dream dog (Neapolitan Mastiff), Via. She was due to go to Mexico, but once the borders closed she could no longer go. Only a few weeks later, I woke up to a message from my breeder (whom I was going to purchase a puppy from) offering Via to me as a co-own for the price of health testing and showing. Of course, I accepted the offer! It was all a ridiculous twist of fate that brought me into the sport and brought me my heart dog. That was back in 2020 and I have been hooked on Conformation and the breed ever since.

2. How many years in dogs? In your breed?

Rhiannon Stine: This is my fourth year in the sport of Conformation and my fourth with Neapolitans in terms of showing them and owning them. I am hopeful that in a few years down the line I’ll produce my own litter of champions with my mentors!

3. Do you attend show handling classes? Have you attended in-person handling seminars?

Rhiannon Stine: When I first got Via, I did. I would attend weekly handling classes every Thursday at Forest Hills Kennel Club to familiarize myself with the entire process of exhibiting a dog properly. It was also essential for Via as she has always been a true mastina and is extra on-guard in novel situations. So, the experience allowed her to become comfortable with the different dogs and approaches—and she became an old pro! She is going to be five in November and loves showing still to this day!

4. Have you found virtual learning tools to be helpful? Videos? Websites? Social Media? AKC Canine College?

Rhiannon Stine: I learn by doing more than anything. While I will use media tools for certain things, such as familiarizing myself with certain lingo, my biggest help is filming myself going through the process. From hand-stacking to free-stacking, and even moving the dog, I film all of my practices so that I can go back and analyze what was good and what was maybe not so good. I also send them to my mentor so that she can tell me what she sees and give me critiques. I’ve noticed if I try and watch videos of others handling, I try and copy what they’re doing. And one major thing I’ve learned is that everyone has their own style when it comes to handling, so using my own videos with feedback is what works best for ME personally.

5. Do you compete in the National Owner-Handled Series? Are rankings important to you?

Rhiannon Stine: I do! As a matter of fact, I have been fortunate enough to place 3-4 times when I have gone to OH Groups! I have taken two Group 3s and even a Group 1! I remember that day as if it were being played on repeat. Via won over an absolutely gorgeous line-up of some of the best Working breeds I’ve ever seen, and to be selected was absolute insanity. I was shaking from excitement and Via was like “bow down to the winner!” Via is a very confident dog who loves to show and she basically does it all herself; I just hold the leash! And with my new co-owned male, in our second show ever, he won his class and took Best of Breed/BOBOH over a gorgeous GCH bitch, bred/handled/owned by my friend, Katie Morgan. It was such an incredible honor for me. I think rankings are important to an extent, but I feel like chasing a ranking can end up clouding someone’s judgement as to what the sport is about: evaluating breeding stock and celebrating the preservation and hard work behind our breeds. I have seen that quest for rankings bring out the worst in people and it is horribly unfortunate.

6. In which class(es) are you most likely to enter your dog(s)?

Rhiannon Stine: I usually enter my dogs in Open and NOHS.

7. Who have been your mentor(s) as an Owner Handler?

Rhiannon Stine: Charina DeFur, first and foremost. She took an enormous chance on a literal nobody with huge goals, put a gorgeous bitch in my hands, placed me under her wing, and she’s the biggest reason behind how well Via and I have done together in the ring; and now, me and Alfredo (I call him Frito, but that’s a different story). Her honesty, knowledge, no sugarcoating, and transparency with her breed and lines of dogs is what allows me to have beautiful mastini at the end of my leash as well as having a lifelong friend and mentor.

Katie Morgan is a mentor as well. She welcomed me into the breed with open arms and is always lending me words of encouragement. Even if I have a ghastly performance, she always finds the good and ensures I don’t forget it. My first day out with Alfredo, she messaged me to say how beautifully we worked as a team and how great we looked. She has no idea how much I needed to hear that.

Finally, but definitely not least, Kim Dent-Stefanik! She was the first one to ever show Via and landed her a major (WB) the first time Via ever stepped foot into the ring. Kim is a talented and experienced handler of many different breeds, and in my opinion, one of the most vital people to the profession of handling. She acted as my field study in a way. I would watch her handle my dog and then attempt to emulate that within my own handling until I forged my own style (still working on it, though). With my new co-own, Alfredo, I use some of the tips and tricks I had seen and discussed with Kim. Woman power, all right here!

8. What are the benefits of competing with your breed(s) as an Owner Handler?

Rhiannon Stine: There is something so incredibly satisfying about having a respected judge notice your dog and pull them for a placement, whatever that may be. But there is something so humbling and validating to your work as an Owner Handler when a judge pulls your dog. As an Owner Handler, I have put so much work into desensitization to novel situations and nourishing a neutral reaction to potential show stimuli, as well as working on building a relationship with my dogs to know they are secure with me in the ring. With guardian breeds, it’s not within their nature to be trusting of someone coming up and feeling all over their body and leaning over them. So, knowing I have created a trusting relationship with my dogs to happily stand for exam and then have fun moving in the ring is the best feeling in the world. And when you compete as an Owner Handler and all those hours of work, trust building, and becoming a team fall into a placement like Best of Breed… it’s honestly an indescribable experience. And it also shows those of us who are not Pro Handlers that we can handle with the best of them! The biggest benefit to being an Owner Handler is having your dog and yourself recognized for your hard work.

9. How are you encouraging new exhibitors to participate in the sport?

Rhiannon Stine: I have a TikTok. A rather opinionated TikTok highlighting the breed and also talking about my experiences as an Owner Handler. Over a couple of years, I have created a community of 16K followers who have had their eyes open to the work, love, dedication, and fun behind the world and sport of purebred dogs. I try and keep my online presence authentic to how I actually am in person because I have many people who say they love talking to me because I am easy to approach and talk to. On my TikTok, I will update with the shows that I will be at and encourage people to say hi, and I am also very vocal about my DMs, always being open to advice! I guess it all comes down to I’m trying to be that person who holds open the door while fighting back any people who may turn their noses up at newbies. We were ALL new at one point in our lives! None of us were born a professional!

10. Are there any suggestions you’d like to pass along about the presentation of your breed(s).

Rhiannon Stine: Of course, and I hope it will be well-received, Neapolitan Mastiffs should be able to move with an elasticity and an effortlessness with good reach and powerful drive from the rear. And while, yes, it is a rolling and lumbering movement, be it in a gait or a pace (not faulted in the breed), movement should be easy. So, it is quite disheartening seeing mastini being dragged around the ring, taking little strides because they don’t want to—or can’t—move freely. This breed is described as being big-cat like in movement, and last I checked, a lion isn’t using every last bit of strength it has to simply move 15 feet. If a dog is simply needing a confidence booster, that is completely understandable and should be worked on outside the ring as opposed to dragging the dog along. If the dog simply cannot move… why? When our breed’s movement is unique and essential to our breed, that movement should be properly presented.

11. What are your goals as an Owner Handler? Is there a victory that has eluded you?

Rhiannon Stine: I don’t necessarily have an exciting personal goal as an Owner Handler outside of doing my dog—and breed—justice by presenting them in a way that shows the entire essence of the breed. So, my only goal is to be better at presenting my dogs as their co-owner. As for a victory eluding me, no. Every single dog and handler within that ring has an opportunity for victory, and I personally feel like carrying this idea that a win “eluded” you is to ignore the fact that a win is never guaranteed to you and your dog. It doesn’t matter how many BOBs or Group placements you’ve had. It doesn’t matter where your dog is ranking currently because all that matters is that very moment between you and your dog and that day’s judge’s opinion. There are days when your dog will be the best and days when they won’t be, and I think it’s important to remember that—when judged appropriately—the No. 1 dog has the same chance at victory as the Novice Class dog that made it to the Breed ring.

12. Is there a funny story that you can share about your experiences as an Owner Handler?

Rhiannon Stine: When Via and I took our NOHS Group 1 in Dekalb, Illinois, after the judge did his evaluation on all of the dogs, we lined up waiting for his picks. He walked right over and said, “Neapolitan Mastiff, number one,” though it didn’t register in my mind. So, I was still standing there trying to make Via look good, and I heard, “The Neo, please.” I looked up, and the woman with a phenomenal Doberman behind me smiled and said, “Congratulations!” I still didn’t believe it as I walked to the Group 1 spot and stood there with my mouth agape. And then reality set in and I started shaking and absolutely geeking out because I never thought that would happen to me; especially considering Neos don’t place too often. And then the next day, we were pulled for a NOHS Group 3. It was an amazing weekend, to say the least!