Name a dog sport, and it’s likely that Theodore Joshua Moore has tried it with one of his German Shorthaired Pointers.
Seventeen-year-old Moore, of East Bethel, Minnesota, is a two-time winner of the AKC Junior Versatility Scholarship, which recognizes young handlers who excel in at least three different sports. Moore and his GSPs compete in many more than that, racking up ribbons in the breed ring, hunt tests, companion events, and more.
As a breeder, he’s proud to show off his dogs in conformation and Junior Showmanship, but his favorite activities highlight the hours of training he’s put in and the special bond he’s developed with his dogs along the way.
“With all the other competition sports,” Moore says, “they see the team.”
Growing as a Handler
A third-generation dog fancier, Moore started to dabble in Conformation at a young age with one of his mom’s dogs. “I don’t remember what I did with that dog because I was so little, but I know I got a big ribbon in kindergarten,” he laughs.
When Moore was 7, his mom, Jami Meath, got “Hruska,” a German Shorthaired Pointer that she intended to train and compete with. But Hruska had other plans.
“The dog liked me more than her,” Moore says. “So, I started training that one for hunt tests … and put her Junior Hunter title on her.”
Hruska quickly became Moore’s teammate in AKC Rally, obedience, agility, Fast CAT, AKC Trick Dog, and conformation. But despite getting an early start in dogs and Jami being a Rally instructor, Moore admits he had a lot to learn as a handler.
“My mom [recently] showed me my first ever Rally run with Hruska, and I couldn’t watch it. I couldn’t watch it!” he laughs. “That’s how much I’ve evolved. … I was 9, and it was, ‘Hruska! Hruska! Hruska! Hruska, sit! Hruska, sit!'”
Moore’s scores and handling improved as he matured and worked with Hruska, and the team eventually earned their Rally Master title, among several others. But he values the experience of training Hruska himself, even if his early runs were imperfect.
“I’ve learned a lot from doing stuff wrong, that I can do it right now,” he says.
Breeding for Versatility
In 2019, Moore bred his first litter of GSPs and kept Hruska’s daughter, “Storm” (Little Hunter’s Perfect Storm BN RM RAE JH FCAT CGC TKA), whom he shows in the Bred-By-Exhibitor class. Hruska recently earned her Registry of Merit, a special distinction that parent clubs award to dogs who’ve produced a certain number of titled progeny.
As a breeder, seeing Hruska’s offspring succeed in different sports is a huge source of pride for Moore. He trained and trialed Storm to her Rally Master title and ran Storm’s sibling, “Garth,” to his Master Hunter title.
“I passed him five times in a row, so that was really fun,” Moore says. “It’s not easy to pass five times in a row. There’s always something that can go wrong … but he’s really sturdy, and he’s a really good dog.”
Moore has continued his commitment to breeding sound, versatile German Shorthaired Pointers with Storm, who’s had one litter. “I’m now seeing that they’re getting titles and stuff on them too,” Moore says. His younger sister, Avery, recently put a Junior Hunter title on a Storm puppy.
But some aspects of being a breeder are unappealing, Moore admits. “I’m not a huge blood fan, if it’s not my own blood,” he laughs. “Avery actually whelped Storm’s whole litter.”
Training With a Supportive Community
While many young handlers get their start by showing dogs who are already titled, Moore believes he’s benefited from training his dogs himself as young puppies — even if it meant fewer wins and Qs at first. Starting out with GSPs, which can be more independent, also challenged Moore to become a more intuitive handler.
“It definitely helped,” he says. “I’m glad I didn’t start with Goldens or something, because now I can actually work with the harder dogs.”
The Golden Retriever came later. In 2023, Moore got “Gibbs” (St Croix’s Shoot For The Moon BN RE DCAT FTI CGC TKI). “I really wanted a dog that could do Agility,” Moore says. “[Shorthairs] are more independent than a Golden that will just run with you the whole time because they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I just want to do whatever you say!’ But Shorthairs, they kind of work for themselves, especially ours.”
For Moore, being involved in so many dog sports means having a robust community of supportive friends and mentors. He credits his family, the instructors at Total Recall School for Dogs, and the members of the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of Minnesota for guiding and encouraging him as a young breeder and competitor.
“I can’t even count how many mentors I have,” Moore says. “I have so many people that just have helped me and taught me some stuff, because they’ve been doing it for way longer than I have. Find someone who can teach you and work with you.”