Dog handler becomes youngest to go to Crufts

Pascale Sperling with English pointer Lacey after winning the 2014 Junior Handler competition.

Pascale Sperling is preparing to compete at the world's largest dog show after claiming a top spot in the Eukanuba National Dog Show.

The Tauranga 12-year-old won the 2014 Junior Handler competition at the Auckland show with her English pointer, Lacey.

The win included funding and qualification for the world's largest dog show, Crufts, at which she will be the youngest New Zealand representative in the history of the show.

The show will be held in England in March next year.

She had been showing dogs since she was 6 and won the national title in her first year in the competition, qualifying for the 12-20-year-old category only days after her 12th birthday.

Miss Sperling said she was very excited by the win.

"I was amazed. I was the youngest there ... and I was up against the girl who won the year before."

She had grown up showing dogs, learning from her mum, also a dog handler, but never imagined she would be heading to a global competition so soon.

"I'm the youngest to ever qualify, it was quite amazing."

Going up against the world's best juniors up to the age of 20 was no barrier for Miss Sperling.

"I'm going to try my hardest."

Her trick to preparing for competitions was to study YouTube videos of the previous year's winners, focusing on the manoeuvres they used.

She practised "stacking" her dogs three times a week, standing them in the correct position for their breed standard to allow judges to examine them.

She had handled a number of breeds and was often paired with a dog only minutes before a competition. "There isn't many I haven't showed with ... I prefer the bigger breeds. I was brought up showing the big dogs."

Competitors run through different exercises with their dog.