Code of Conduct for Interactions with Juniors

Junior handlers are part of this sport and part of this club. Adults who mentor them hold a position of trust, and the club expects that trust to be handled carefully. This code applies to every member, officer, judge, steward, volunteer and exhibitor at any club event or club activity, in any contact with a person under 18.

Supervision and responsibility

A parent or legal guardian is responsible for their child at a club event. Adults who work with juniors do so with the parent’s knowledge and consent, and a parent or guardian may be present at any time.

The club does not act in place of a parent. If a junior arrives at an event without an accompanying adult, an officer or the event chair should establish who is responsible for that child before the junior takes part.

Never one-to-one in private

Adults do not put themselves alone and out of sight with a minor who is not their own child or a child in their family. Coaching, grooming help, ring practice and conversation all happen in the open, where other adults can see, or with a second adult present.

That means: no closed doors, no isolated areas of a building or grounds, no adult and unrelated minor alone in a vehicle, trailer or camper, and no sharing sleeping accommodation. If transport or an overnight stay is genuinely needed at an away event, the parent arranges it in writing, in advance, and a second adult travels with them.

Communication

Contact a junior about club business through the parent or guardian, or with the parent copied in. Private messages, direct messages, phone calls, texts and social media contact between an adult and an unrelated minor are not appropriate and should not be initiated.

Keep the subject matter to the dogs and the sport. Adults do not discuss their own or a junior’s personal, romantic or sexual matters with a minor, and do not send or show sexual, violent or otherwise inappropriate material.

Physical contact

Physical contact should be limited to what the situation actually needs, done openly, and stopped the moment the junior is uncomfortable. Correcting a hand position on a lead or steadying a dog is normal. Hugging, lap sitting, roughhousing, tickling, massage and any touching of areas covered by clothing are not.

Grooming and handling help is given alongside the junior, not by moving them physically or by working with them out of view.

Photographs

Do not photograph or film an identifiable minor at a club event for publication, social media or the club website without the permission of a parent or guardian. Do not take photographs in changing or grooming areas. Requests to have an image of a child removed from club channels are honored without argument.

Alcohol, gifts and favoritism

Adults do not supply alcohol, tobacco, vaping products, cannabis or any drug to a minor, and do not consume alcohol while responsible for supervising juniors. Do not give individual gifts, money or privileges to a particular junior. Singling out one child for special attention is a pattern the club takes seriously, not a kindness.

Reporting a concern

Anyone who is worried about a child’s safety, or about an adult’s conduct toward a child, should say so. Report it to the event chair or a club officer, in writing where possible, with the date, what was seen and who else was present. Reports are handled discreetly and the person raising the concern is not penalized for raising it.

Do not investigate on your own, and do not question the child about the details. Where a child appears to be at immediate risk, call emergency services first. Suspected abuse or neglect is reported to the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-482-5964) and to law enforcement; club process comes after that, not instead of it.

Conduct that breaches this code may be dealt with under the club’s by-laws, including removal from a club event and charges against membership, and may be reported to the American Kennel Club.