The Westminster of Wisconsin

I consider myself a cat person, although I also like dogs, so I guess I’m a dog person as well. That's why when my mom called to tell me that the Wisconsin Kennel Club was hosting a two-day dog show – both Saturday and Sunday – at Wisconsin State Fair Park, I decided to go along and help her cheer on the local pooches.

Fighting my morning grogginess with extra strong, extra black Alterra coffee, we drove to the State Fair grounds, parked, paid $8 for admission, and entered the expo center by 11 a.m. Clumps of fur that caught the breeze from the door floated across my feet and although these dogs were probably the cleanest canines I’d ever seen, I immediately caught wind of that distinctive dog smell.

The single room was bustling with breeders, dog handlers, judges and show-goers, not to mention the thousands of dogs representing over 125 different breeds. Every kind from Great Danes to Chihuahuas were either competing in the ring, being pampered at their grooming tables or just catching Zs after a long and grueling weekend.

At first my mom and I took a lap around the expo to see which breeds were competing on the obedience trails and what vendors were offering. Along one side of the room were merchants that were selling everything from pet food to behavior consultation to doggie massages. At the back of the room were concession stands serving quick bites – hamburgers, French fries, hot dogs, popcorn – to show-goers who huddled around tables in front of the pickup window. In the center of the crowded room were three rows of dog stations where carriers and grooming tables were stored, and two rows of rings, each divided by white accordion fences and surrounded by metal folding chairs.

My mom and I wound through the aisles of dog stations where each breed was clustered into one section. My mom stopped to ogle almost every dog – she adores them – especially the Golden Retrievers. And I was ready to smuggle the precious Boxer puppy (the one in the photo below) into my pants and take him home with me. I think a dog show would be a great place to find a purebred dog because these pups are topnotch. Plus, breeders are happy to answer any questions about their dogs, but I must say it was weird hearing them toss the B-word around even though that’s the technical name for a female canine.

Next, we stopped to watch the handlers meticulously groom their dogs, namely the Poodles who were contending later on. Standard Poodles, like most of the other breeds, have specific show trims – the Continental is the most popular. In the Continental clip the hindquarters are shaved with pompons on the hips and the face, feet, legs and tail are shaved except for puffy bracelets on the hind legs, puffs on the forelegs, and a pompon at the end of the tail; the chest is left in a full, but shaped mane.

While the black Poodle stood patiently on the metal table, I watched its handler use his scissors to even out the unusual pompons and remove any straggly pieces of fur. Other groomers used blow-dryers to add volume to the puffs while another was gently teasing her mini dog’s mane like she was Farah Fawcett’s hairstylist in the late 70s. The grooming process was time-consuming and kind of odd, but it was quite interesting to observe.

Then, we stopped by ring number four where the fluffy Huskies were prancing into the fenced in arena and down the green carpeted paths. My mom and I grabbed two chairs around the ring to watch. They weren’t great seats considering we weren’t close enough to hear what the judges were saying to the dog handlers or to understand what was going on, but we still had a decent view of the dogs. As the Huskies circled the ring, I had trouble distinguishing what features made each dog stand out from the rest. But unlike myself, the judges were familiar with the specific dog breed and they could evaluate the individual dogs based on how well they conformed to the published breed standards.

In the competition the handlers line up their dogs and pose them so that their stance is perfect for judging – this process is known as stacking. Then, the judges attempt to identify the dog that best meets the published standards for that breed. It seems as if the judging is relatively subjective bearing in mind that some of the breed specifications include “full coat” and “cheerful attitude,” which are kind of ambiguous – how is a judge supposed to know exactly what that entails? I also assume that the dogs are not judged in comparison to each other; instead they are assessed based on the judge’s perception of the ideal specimen.

Throughout the contest the dogs are competing to earn points towards the title of “Champion” and then “Best in Show.” The number of points varies depending on what level they are entered in – beginner, intermediate or advance – and also on how many dogs are competing and the overall size of the show.

During the judging process merely sitting, lying down, or walking on a leash is insufficient, so most competitions also have an obedience trail. We didn’t see any dogs on such trails besides a little Yorkie practicing “stay” with its owner. But when on the obedience trail, the canines must perfectly execute a predefined set of tasks when directed to do so by the handler. Success in this aspect of the competition is dependent on the dog’s ability to obey commands like come, drop, heel and sit, and to perform various tasks such as retrieve and so on.

Anyway, the Huskies were very compliant yielding to their handler’s every command. I really noticed all of the work that goes into these competitions and my mom was loving every minute of the show!

You always hear about the controversies and scandals revolving around other pageants, but I wonder if there are vicious politics like favoritism, nepotism, bribery or sabotage in the purebred dog world. Even though the contestants are only pooches, the competition is clearly very cutthroat!

I’m not sure who won “Best in Show” at the Wisconsin Kennel Club's dog show since we left before the finals, but we got to shake paws with a few of the breed champions and were glad to see some of our favorite types of dogs.

It’s one thing to watch a dog show on TV, but it’s another to be front and center for the competition and to learn how much time, effort and practice goes into such contests. I don’t think I’d ever considering showing a dog, but it will be nice when I have my own house and my own Boxer to play with one day.

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Wisconsin Kennel Club dog show
Wisconsin State Fair Park (Exposition Building)
S. 84th St. and W. Greenfield Ave., West Allis
$8 adults, $7 seniors, $5 children (per day)

Comments

[wfbdoglover]

Brilliant Blog! I felt like I was there myself. I am probably the only one you will ever meet that loves that dog smell!! I would have been in 7th Heaven. I will look for it next year!

[Audra]

I love dog shows!!

Cool pics... The poodle's do is awesome.