Knotty’s nerves might have resembled his name Friday afternoon,
but by Sunday evening, the 5-year-old bloodhound was beaming.
Knotty
– formally known in dog shows as Champion Heathers Knock on
Wood, won
”
best in show
”
at the Gavilan Kennel Club Dog Show, held last weekend at Bolado
Park at the San Benito County Fairgrounds.
Knotty’s nerves might have resembled his name Friday afternoon, but by Sunday evening, the 5-year-old bloodhound was beaming. Knotty – formally known in dog shows as Champion Heathers Knock on Wood, won “best in show” at the Gavilan Kennel Club Dog Show, held last weekend at Bolado Park at the San Benito County Fairgrounds.
The show gathered approximately 900 dogs and their owners from around the state to compete for the titles of most obedient, best of breed and best in show. Friday featured a specialized all-golden retriever competition and all-breed obedience competition, which continued Saturday. The all-breed show took place Saturday and Sunday.
Knotty and his owner, from Topanga, Calif., won the all-breed show both days, giving them their 41st and 42nd best-of-show titles from around the country. Among Knotty’s most prestigious and most recent awards are best of show at this year’s Golden Gate Kennel Club and this year’s American Kennel Club and Eukanuba national championship.
In the four separate competitions of the obedience trials, the winners were from Tracy, Los Angeles, Redwood City and San Rafael.
Almost every one of the 157 breeds of dogs recognized by the American Kennel Club were represented at the show, said Katherine Dettmer, a Gilroy resident and president of the Gavilan Kennel Club.
In the all-breed competition, dogs compete in best of breed in seven categories: working, hound, herding, sporting, non-sporting, toy and terrier. The winners of those categories compete for best of show.
Dogs are judged based on their specific breed standards, such as the lines of their backs and their stances, as well as the quality of their coats, the brightness of their eyes and their personalities, said Pete Keesling, a veterinarian at the San Martin Veterinary Hospital.
“It doesn’t do any good to have the best dog out there in terms of physical appearance, then have the judge walk up and the dog ducks its head and says, ‘Oh, no,'” said Keesling, who attended the competition as the on-site vet in the case of a medical emergency. “The judges want the dog that says, ‘Hey, how are ya?’ So there’s a certain aspect of animation they’re looking for as well.”
In the obedience competition, dogs compete in three progressively difficult categories, known as novice, open and utility, said Verne Carlino, the show’s obedience chairwoman and the club’s obedience instructor.
Judges give the dogs commands, and each dog is judged based on how well it performs. Novice dogs, for instance, are given five exercises, including sitting and lying for one minute, lying for three minutes and heeling off leash. In the open category, commands include trotting off leash in a figure 8 and retrieving a dumbbell over a high jump.
In the most advanced category, utility, judges give commandments involving scent discrimination, in which dogs must discern their owner’s scent among 10 objects, only two of which have been touched by the owner.
After each competition, a dog will receive one point for every dog it has beaten in that show. At the end of the season, dogs are ranked nationally based on point accumulation.
Dettmer got involved in the show about seven years ago after buying a standard dachshund from a breeder. When she and her husband purchased the pup, Dettmer said the breeder specified she wanted the dog to go to a show home.
“Our response was, ‘what’s that?'” Dettmer said, laughing. “So she explained it, and we thought it sounded like fun. … People that get involved in these shows love dogs, and they love the pure breeds. Some of them are breeders, but they’re not doing this for commercial purposes. They just enjoy being with their pets.”
Like many competitors, Dettmer said she enters dog shows for the fun of it rather than to make money. In fact, she said, many times participating in a show is anything but a money-maker. The average entry fee is $25 to $28 per dog per day, Dettmer said, plus the cost of hiring a professional handler – which can run up to $100 per day of competition – if the owner chooses. Many competitors travel to the shows, so they also have to pay for lodging and meals.
Dettmer, who shows standard dachshunds and bull mastiffs, said despite the thrill of competing, nerves can do a number on both the owner and the dog.
“It’s kind of like being in a play or musical,” she said. “You get a little bit of the butterflies before you go in the ring, and you’re so focused on listening to the directions of the judge. Not every judge follows the same format. But you don’t want to be nervous, because any nerves you have go right down the lead to the dog.”
Nerves aren’t the only variable in how well a dog will perform the day of the show, Carlino said. Some dogs perform better on a grass surface, than, for example, non-skid cement, which was used at Gavilan’s show. Dark-colored dogs generally don’t like the heat, Carlino said, and sometimes, the dogs simply just don’t feel like performing on the days that matter.
“You still have to bear in mind that you’re dealing with animals,” she said. “All the dogs that are placed (in the shows) are very well-trained dogs – any one of them can be a top dog. It just depends on the day.”
While standing watch at the show, Keesling said he enjoyed observing the varying reactions of different participants. Some were intensely competitive, he said, and others seemed to take the show a little less seriously.
“Dog shows are kind of a cultural thing. It’s different than what most people think,” he said. “What always intrigues me is that when these judges are out there judging and comparing the different groups … it’s tough. No matter how they do it, it’s going to have some subjective nature to it. The judges try not to have personal bias, but it’s going to be there, to some extent.”
And as for the humorous adage that dog owners look like their dogs? Well, it depends who you ask. Dettmer believes it – occasionally.
“Sometimes you see the resemblance, and they’re comical,” she said. “My dogs, for example, are long and lean. I’m not very tall, and I wouldn’t say I’m overweight, but …”
Keesling, on the other hand, takes a different view.
“You know, for every one dog that looks like its owner, there’s 10 exceptions,” he said. “Most of the time, they don’t. But it makes good fodder for conversation.”
