Dogs from across Canada and the United States are strutting their stuff at Chippewa Park in Thunder Bay, Ont., this weekend. The North Shore Dog Club is holding its fourth annual dog show at the park this weekend, with a variety of competitions taking place from Friday to Sunday.
"It is five all-breed dog shows," said Kris Brown, club vice-president, and show secretary. "We have 150 dog entries from all across Canada and the United States." "We have a judge from Japan, judges from B.
C., southern Ontario and prairies," she said. "We have specialties for special breeds of dogs, like we have a working dog specialty for Malamutes and Dobermans and that kind of stuff, and we also have American Cocker spaniel specialty [Saturday].
" "It's bringing all the dog people together to show their purebred dogs and have fun." The event — which runs from 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday — also includes vendors, Brown said.
"All the dogs are broken up into groups," Brown said. "There are seven groups: sporting hounds, working terriers, toys, non-sporting — which are Dalmatians, Shiba Inus, that kind of thing — and then herding." "Each group goes in, and all the breeds are judged individually," Brown said.
"Say the beagles, all the beagles are judged, and then they pick a winner from that [for] best of breed." Missy Manke with her Newfoundland dog Enzo. (Marc Doucette/CBC) "Then at the end of all the breeds that are in that group, they all go back in and they pick best in group," Brown said.
"That best in group winner will go on to the best in show at the end of the day." Missy Manke from Minnesota is competing this weekend with her Newfoundlands, the 10-month old Enzo and five-year-old Nova. Nova is a grand champion in the United States, and a Canadian champion, Manke said.
"My grandpa decided when I was two years old that me and my brother needed a dog, and a Newfoundland was it," she said. "I've had Newfoundlands since I was two." Manke said she got into showing dogs through her parents and grandparents.
And there's plenty of work that goes into preparing a Newfoundland for a dog show. "To bathe them and dry them and get them trimmed up, I probably spend three hours on each, at least," Manke said. Thunder Bay's Mel Lacey poses for a photo with her Golden Retriever Peter at Chippewa Park on Friday.
(Marc Doucette/CBC) Another competitor this weekend is Thunder Bay's Mel Lacey, who's at the show with her three-year-old Golden Retriever, Peter. "I've been doing this for several years," she said. "Any kind of activity I could do with my dog, it's just my passion.
" "I show other people's dogs because I've had the experience to show many dogs," Lacey said. "For me, it's just being out there with my dog, and he's my best friend." "He loves it too, which makes it a lot more fun.
" Peter has competed in shows in other cities, as well, including Winnipeg, Kenora, and Brandon, Man., he and Lacey will be heading to Winnipeg next weekend for another show. "He's actually the number three Golden and Canada right now," Lacey said.
"We're still working on getting some more points, we're really close to being number two." "This is our first big year out with him," she said. "We kind of put him away last year, he was in his awkward teenage stage.
But now, he's done very well this year, and like I said, he has tons of fun doing it." Kris Brown is vice-president of the North Shore Dog Club. (Marc Doucette/CBC) Ricki-Lee Helbling and her dog, a nine-and-a-half-month-old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retreiver named Red, made the trip from Dryden to compete this weekend.
"They are highly energetic and they're really up for anything," Helbling said of the breed, "Whether you like to hunt and fish, or you want to just be lazy on the couch, they've got a great off-switch." "They're great with my family and they're just the best. They're cuddle bugs and then they will run around the yard and circles.
" The Chippewa Park show is the second Red and Helbling have competed in. "I just noticed that I had a pretty good-looking, fancy dog and I reached out to my breeder and was like: 'Hey, let's do this, let's get her feet wet,'" Helbling said. "He's gotten best puppy and breed quite a few times.
" "He's doing confirmation all weekend, so there's five shows, and then we're just gonna hang out and watch the dogs," she said. "It's great." Brown said the show has grown steadily since it launched; the first event four years ago had fewer than 100 dogs competing.
"We wanted an outdoor show in Thunder Bay," she said. "We wanted to showcase Chippewa Park and we have been doing that, and it seems to be growing and growing and we're doing what we were hoping to do." "That's all we're working on right now is bringing dog sports and dog entertainment to the city, and to Chippewa Park in particular, because it's a beautiful place.
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