At this weekend’s Golden Gate Kennel Club 2006 All-Breed Dog
Show in San Francisco, it’s all about the canines struttin’ their
stuff
As they walk by, people stop and look and whisper excitedly. Their hair is freshly washed and expertly coifed, their nails perfectly done. Their ears drag along next to them as they glide past their admirers, and drool flies everywhere when they give their heads a shake. Kitty, above, and Arty, sibling basset hounds, are ready for their close-up, Mr. DeMille, and there’s no better place for them to shine than this weekend’s Golden Gate Kennel Club 2006 All-Breed Dog Show. Along with the dog owners featured here, several other South Valley residents and their pups will head to San Francisco to participate in the show.
‘Almost every show dog takes a certain amount of grooming. Smaller dogs with shorter coats won’t take as long, obviously, but any dog should be groomed regularly. Australian shepherds have longer hair, so we need to make sure they don’t get any mats in their hair. Show dogs need to be well-brushed and have their nails clipped or ground back on a regular basis. Some need grooming almost daily, or at least several times a week. Australian shepherds are energetic dogs, so they look very perky in the show ring. To train a dog for show, it takes practice. You have strangers come up to the dog and touch their face, look at their teeth. It’s part of their socialization. You start taking them out as young puppies to meet people.’
– Hollister resident Bonnie Hong, owner of “Cody” Peppered Acres Rebel Heart, an Australian shepherd.
‘Toy breeds aren’t just house pets, they’re excellent watch dogs and they’re really smart. People should train their toy breeds because they love to have fun and love to work. Striker does an exhibition to show just how smart toy breeds are. He has brains. We do what I call “doodling,” where he follows me around. He watches me when he heels. Everything stems from the commands ‘down, sit and stand,’ and you get them to follow the commands by having them follow food in your hands.’
– Gilroy Resident Dorothy Mash, owner of Striker, a miniature pinscher. Striker follows Mash as she turns in small or big circles, forwards and backwards. He performs jumps and retrieves.
‘Newfoundlands are not for everyone. They’re a wonderful dog, they’re great with kids, they pull carts, they do water rescues. But they require intense grooming, especially in the spring and fall when they drop their coats. Newfys can’t be left in a yard, and they should not be shaved – their coats are their protection. (Newfys) have an Irish spotting gene, so for judging, it’s acceptable for them to have white spots on their chest, feet and the tip of their tails.’
– Gilroy resident Pamela Rubio, owner of Charade and Arthur, two Newfoundlands
Striker, a minature pinscher, stands on his hind legs. According to the American Kennel Club, characteristics physical traits of the miniature pinscher include compactness, sturdiness and alertness. Personality-wise, the ‘min pin’ is animated and spirited, according to the club. When being critiqued, judges look a smooth, hard and short, straight and lustrous coat that closely adheres to the body. There are also specific size requirements.
‘We show our own dogs, who are already champions, in a class called best of breed. The judges pick one that will go on to the hound group and compete against all the different kinds of hounds, and then the winner of the hound group will compete for best in show. (The show at) Cow Palace is what’s called a bench show, where members of the public can go up and talk to breeders, meet the dogs and see what various breeds are like. There are only about four bench shows in the whole country.
‘We spend a lot of time doing animal welfare and responsible dog ownership advocacy. We’ve participated in California legislation, and we think it’s really important to match the right dog with the right family. For example, basset hounds are highly intelligent and very stubborn. If people don’t have a sense of humor and patience, this is not the kind of dog for you. They’re also very independent. They’ll be at your side when they want to be, which, honestly, is most of the time. But fetching balls to them is a dumb game.’
– Gilroy residents Sharon and Jim Dok, owners of basset hounds “Arty” Champion Castlehill’s Art Deco and “Kitty” Champion Castlehill’s No Appointment Necessary. The Doks say the movie “Best in Show” is very accurate in its portrayal of quirky show dog owners and say they are fairly quirky themselves. In their RV, they don’t have a dinette; they have kennels for the dogs to ride in.
Cody, an Australian shepherd, and Hong prepare for this weekend’s show. The breed is an intelligent working dog with strong herding and guarding instincts, according to the AKC. It is attentive, animated, lithe and muscular. The dog’s coat is of moderate length and coarseness.
