“Guppy” may be a Bulldog, but in AKC Scent Work, she’s got the nose of a Bloodhound. She pulls to the starting line, and at the judge’s go-ahead, she methodically zigzags between rows of small boxes in search of odor. Guppy’s handler, Evelyn Cunningham, follows behind, coolly observing her stout little dog’s behavior.
Guppy smooshes her muzzle on the top of a box, inhales deeply, then glances up at Cunningham with doe eyes.
“Alert!” Cunningham casually calls to the judge, then rewards Guppy with a treat. Cued to “Find another,” Guppy drops her nose again in pursuit of the next scent.
Just 11 years old, Cunningham was the youngest competitor at the inaugural AKC Scent Work Master National, held October 12–14, 2025, in Wilmington, Ohio. Guppy was a standout too, as one of only three Bulldogs competing at the event.
“She’s a spicy little potato,” Cunningham says of her 10-year-old Scent Work partner. She also competes with 2-year-old Bulldog “Maui,” her “squishy pig,” in Scent Work, conformation, Junior Showmanship, and AKC Rally.
Cunningham is unflappable, even at the highest levels of competition. She was recently named 2025’s Top Junior in AKC Scent Work. For the junior and her Bulldogs, the focus is fun — no matter the sport, no matter the outcome.
“We just go have a party with our doggos,” Cunningham says, “and then a week or two later, we practice a little bit again.”
The Sweet Smell of Success
Cunningham was just a year old when Guppy joined her family. Unable to say the word “puppy,” as a baby she would call the Bulldog “gup-pup,” and the name Guppy stuck.
Cunningham’s mom, Amanda, ran Guppy in agility for several years. She was the top Bulldog at the AKC Agility Invitational twice and a two-time inductee into the Bulldog Club of America Performance Hall of Fame. Today, Guppy’s full name is Guppy RA MXP MJP2 MJPB OFP SWEE SWM SCME SEME SHDME CGC TKP.
“We’ve grown up together, and we’ve just known each other forever,” she says. Even as a toddler, Cunningham would run Guppy through agility courses in their yard, tossing treats over each jump as Guppy faithfully obliged.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Amanda started training Guppy in Scent Work through online courses. Cunningham would help her mom hide odors and video each run. At 8 years old, she began attending trials with her mom, where she gained a better understanding of the game and an appreciation for the canine nose.
“Judges hide odors — like birch, cypress, anise, clove, and all that sort of stuff — in little containers, and they put them in boxes or under chairs, outside or inside, under a bed,” Cunningham explains. “So, then your dog has to go find that.”
Before long, Cunningham was running their Border Collie, “Hootie,” at Scent Work trials, and eventually Guppy too. Her mom says that the Scent Work community immediately embraced her. Judges and competitors gave patient advice, and the local Golden Retriever club even awarded Cunningham the “Top Performance Junior” prize (despite running an entirely different breed). Scent Work quickly became her favorite dog sport.
“The dogs have a lot of fun doing that, and they don’t care what the ribbons are,” Cunningham says. “They just want to have fun, find the boxes, and get cookies.”
Showing Maui, the Demi-Dog
On New Year’s Day 2024, the Cunninghams brought home 10-week-old Maui (Dickey’s Demigod Of The Wind And Sea SCNE SIN SBN TKN) as Cunningham’s next teammate. She started Maui on Scent Work right away by having him seek out cheese puffs (his favorite treat) in a box. Gradually, they added odor and more boxes — and now, at 2 years old, Maui has earned his Novice Scent Work titles.
Cunningham also shows Maui in Junior Showmanship and conformation, and last November, the team debuted in AKC Rally at the Bulldog Club of America national specialty.
“He’s pretty stubborn sometimes,” she says. “When he’s tired, he’s snuggly and sometimes a lazy potato when he doesn’t want to get up. When he’s happier, or when we’re playing a game with him, he gets a little spicy sometimes.” And when he gets really excited, he’ll nibble on her arm like it’s a corn cob.
Bulldogs in the Juniors’ Ring
The breed ring is newer territory for Evelyn’s family, but they found tremendous support through the Western Michigan Bulldog Club. Members taught Evelyn how to hold the lead, present Maui on a ramp, and stack a Bulldog correctly (with the front legs wider than the rear). Bulldogs can be less common in the Juniors ring, but Evelyn doesn’t mind — she enjoys standing out and showing off her comical dogs.
“It’s interesting seeing all the other doggos, and it’s fun because people don’t see a Bulldog,” she says. “So they get to watch the only Bulldog run around and slob the judges.”
She’s also enjoyed the opportunity to learn about and show other breeds. She regularly handles “Sprinkles,” a Samoyed, and even showed her at the Samoyed national specialty. At a recent show circuit in Marquette, friends recruited Cunningham to help with a variety of different breeds, from Samoyeds to Pomeranians to Poodles.
She keeps her cool demeanor in the face of any and all competition, whether she’s up against kids her own age, showing with seasoned handlers, or taking the lead of a new breed.
“It’s not really that different. It’s just showing a dog,” Cunningham says. “And if you win, you win. If you don’t, you don’t.”